Southern Rock and Alt-Country legends the Drive-By Truckers are hitting the road once again this summer and fall, but it won’t be just like any other tour.
This time around, the band will be commemorating the 23-year anniversary of their seminal 2001 concept record Southern Rock Opera, performing the album in near entirety at each show.
Despite it’s importance within the band’s catalog and greater ethos, the songs from the 20-track album rarely find their way into the band’s typical setlists. This isn’t surprising, though, because while each song is solid in its own right, the stories they tell when strung together are what makes them truly special.
For anyone who may not be familiar with Southern Rock Opera, the Drive-By Truckers’ 3rd album covers an array of topics rich in the history of the 1970s south, ranging from politics to rock and roll, all through the context of the greatest southern rock band of all time, Lynyrd Skynyrd.
A masterful endeavor of songwriting and storytelling, Southern Rock Opera didn’t come without its share of hardships. After years of writing and crafting the project, the band went though particularly grueling recording sessions during a September 2000 heat wave in Birmingham, AL without air conditioning. And once it was finally complete, the band’s depleted finances almost prevented the project from being released, but thanks to a crowdfunding campaign, the generous donations of their growing fanbase and fellow artists, like Widespread Panic’s Dave Schools, provided DBT with the funds necessary to get the project out there.
Quickly immortalized in the lore of Southern Rock, Southern Rock Opera is one of the albums that catalyzed the Drive-By Truckers’ initial success as a band, and now, over two decades later, fans will get to hear the 90+ minute double album live. On social media and through a press release circulated by DBT’s team at Big Hassle Media, founding member and frontman Patterson Hood provided some comments on the tour.
“DBT is thrilled to announce The Southern Rock Opera Revisited 2024 Tour. It’s been 23 years since the release of the album that drastically changed our lives and 22 years since we performed it (more or less) straight through in near entirety. We’ll be hitting the road, Three Guitars blazing, and telling y’all a story.
It’s an album we spent years writing and learning to play and then recording (in the upstairs of a uniform shop in downtown Birmingham, AL). It was initially released on 9/11/2001 (and later reissued by Lost Highway in the summer of 2002).
A lot has happened in the decades since it came out, both to the band and the world we live in. We feel that the record, while somewhat timeless, also has a current timeliness to it considering the social and political issues of today. Instead of performing it as as if it’s still 2000AD, we want to make it our own, reflecting who we all are now in 2024.
It’s going to be intense, but also a hell of a lot of fun and this time we’re offering a very special Southern Rock Opera Revisited VIP Experience that includes a soundcheck party and some special SRO Revisited limited edition items. VIP tickets are on sale starting today!
We’ll be playing songs from the original release, plus a small handful of songs that pertain to its themes and points of view, plus a short encore set that will be different each night. It’ll be a different and very special show, and very likely the last time we’ll ever do it so DON’T MISS IT. DBT-Southern Rock Opera Revisited 2024 Tour.
‘It ain’t about the past.’ See you at the Rock Show!”
With 39 shows spanning 36 cities, the Southern Rock Opera Revisited Tour is going to be something special.
You’re not going to want to miss it when the Drive-By truckers come through your town.
Southern Rock Opera Revisited Tour
JUNE
7 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
8 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
9 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom
10 – Henrico, VA – Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens*
13 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz
14 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
15 – Birmingham, AL – Iron City
16 – New Orleans, LA – The Civic Theatre
19 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
20 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater
21 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
23 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
26 – El Cajon, CA – The Magnolia
27 – Los Angeles, CA – The Belasco
28 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
29 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
JULY
1 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
2 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre
5 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
6 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
OCTOBER
16 – Washington, DC – Warner Theatre
17 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
18 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
19 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
22 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
23 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
25 – Minneapolis, MN – Uptown Theater
26 – Minneapolis, MN – Uptown Theater
27 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
29 – Des Moines, IA – Val Air Ballroom
30 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater
NOVEMBER
1 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
2 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
3 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s
5 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall
7 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
8 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
9 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
24 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
*Non Live Nation tour date