Though the band is more or less based out of Athens, Ga., The Drive-By Truckers' soulful, literate Southern rock/alt-country hybrid grew out of the musically fertile soil of Muscle Shoals, Ala. – where principal Trucker Patterson Hood's father David helped record some of the best loved rock 'n' soul of all time.
DBT's 2001 pseudo-concept album Southern Rock Opera made the band a cult phenomenon; its impeccable follow-up, Decoration Day, should've made it a household name, but label woes saw the record first postponed, then released with little promotional fanfare. Now, with The Dirty South, the Truckers are starting to get their due, and word of their dynamic live show and classic three-guitar format is spreading far and wide. Providing support on this, the group's 4,000th tour of the Southeast, is similarly maverick Athens insurgent-roots outfit Southern Bitch.
The Drive-By Truckers, Friday, March 4 at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa; 8 p.m., $12 advance/$15 day of show.
-Scott Harrell
This article appears in Mar 2-8, 2005.