I must admit I was worried that the departure of guitarist John Neff was going to leave a noticeable void in the sound of the Drive-By Truckers last Friday night at the Boulder Theater (Neff split in December of last year). His pedal steel was always on time amidst the guitar-heavy DBT shows, a near perfect "icing on the cake," if you will. All said and done, was his absence noticeable? Sure.

Before the band even takes the stage, the energy at "the rock show" is palpable:  Whiskey and flannel, talks of SEC football, and sweet sweet accents.  It's the closest to the south you’ll get on Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado.

The Ride Festival recently announced its second installment – happening July 13th and 14th at Colorado’s breathtaking Telluride Town Park. The 2013 Ride Festival lineup includes David Byrne & St. Vincent, Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Cake, Drive-By Truckers, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller and Son Volt, with others still to be announced.

Grateful Web recently had a chance to speak to Jason Isbell, front man for the 400 Unit and former Drive-By Trucker.  Jason reflected on a very successful 2012, touring with Ryan Adams, a new acoustic release and his plans for 2013.

Jomeokee Music and Arts Festival is pleased to announce additional artists to its first annual festival lineup. Patterson Hood & the Downtown Rumblers, the Captain Midnight Band, and The Danberrys have joined the lineup and Melvin Seals (Jerry Garcia Band) and Jeff Sipe have been added to a stellar cast performing a unique Everyone Orchestra set.

The Drive-By Truckers don’t play mediocre live shows. It’s pretty much a guarantee that any given audience in any given city is set to have their collective mind blown as they sit in a jam-packed theater, watching the techs set up the mics and guitars and set out the signature bottles of Jack Daniels and Patron on their respective stations on the stage. It’s a sure bet on ticket-money well spent—assuming you’re a fan of ass-kicking southern rock and roll.

Jason Isbell is one of those artists able to magnificently personify a region of the United States through his performance; he and his band are undoubtedly from the South, Muscle Shoals, Alabama to be exact. On Thursday night at The Fox Theater in Boulder they treated the audience to some musical southern hospitality in the finest sense.

The Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama this past weekend has officially cemented itself among the heavy-hitting top-notch summer festivals of the year, both in terms of musical content and festavarian (read: festival-goers) satisfaction.

On a tour supporting this year’s release Go Go Boots, beginning on February 16^th in Pennsylvania, the Drive-By Truckers have played a merciless schedule of nineteen dates that ended with a two night run at the Ogden Theater in Denver on Saturday.