Talking music with friends after the recent Black Pumas show at The Fillmore Philadelphia (click here for that story) I was asked what ever happened to Alabama Shakes and would they play again?

The answer is probably, but not soon.

Leading lady Brittany Howard and high school bestie bassist Zac Cockrell are still buds. Cockrell plays on some of Howard’s solo stuff. After disbanding in 2018 following a smashingly good and critically-acclaimed sophomore album “Sound & Color”, Howard pulled rank and declared her independence. She ran to hills (literally to Topanga Canyon) to “discover” herself far from the spotlight she quickly developed as the darling of the music and entertainment industry.

In the days following the Pumas’ show my curiosity got the best of me and I did some digging… reading everything that’s been written on Brittany Howard and connecting the dots. I was delighted to hear her second solo album is being released next month. Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t hear boo about it on my music news platforms. Marisa Moss at The Guardian did a nice piece on Brittany (click here) that is worth your time if you want to do a deep dive.

Although Brittany grew up in an Athens, AL junk yard (yes she did) and struggled as a gay women in a mixed race household, I can relate to Howard’s constant penning of stories and images in back pocket notebooks as she buried herself in classic rock music. I have my own treasure trove of spiral books filled with I’m sure much less interesting stuff than Howard. Nonetheless, I get the creative drive.

At one of Alabama Shakes first gigs (with about 25 people in attendance), she caught the eye of Drive-By Truckers co-leader Patterson Hood, who quickly orchestrated their first studio effort and presented the band to their world as an opening act at their shows. One of my friends at the time (Charles), caught them opening for DBT at the 9:30 club in Washington DC and turned me on to the Shakes before they even toured as a stand-alone act.

On December 10, 2011, we went to the first solo Shakes show in NYC at The Brooklyn Bowl (Mike B is still pissed he passed on joining us). The band blew everyone away (click here for that story). A few months later they returned to Brooklyn on April 12, 2012 at the Williamsburg Music Hall (click here) and we stood (no joke) on the stage a few feet away from the band. I was on cloud nine and realized how odd and unique Howard really was (playing barefoot in Brooklyn was a dead giveaway – see the pic I took above).

The band’s popularity sky rocketed. In 2015, the Drive-By Truckers even opened up for Alabama Shakes at the Forest Hills Tennis Center. During the Truckers set, I ended up hanging with Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell (see the featured picture below) and heard all about how much the band revered Patterson Hood and the rest of the DBT band.

A few years later Howard put out her solo album which had an interesting soothing quality that eventually struck a deep chord with me (and many others considering the amount of hardware she won at The Grammy’s).

After learning about her creative process on the solo venture, I began to appreciate the music even more. Sometimes art needs to marinate in your brain. Such was the case here…

One of my closest music buddies (Billbone), sent me the picture below when he heard the news that Rolling Stone magazine was closing shop. I can only image Billbone sent me this to stir the pot (and he did). What he did not know is that I had already stared to pen this story. Weird.

I equate Howard’s ability to get through the all too common sophomore let down with the efforts of another lead gal … Arleigh Kincheloe of Sister Sparrow (website). Her retool post having a kid is rock solid. I recommend reading my stories on her “come back” show in White Plains a few years ago and the more recent gem at Levon Helm’s Barn in May 2023.

These days, I have the same feeling about Charley Crockett as I did about Alabama Shakes in the early days of their career. Crockett has that something extra special. I can feel it. Although musicians with that unique spark do not always make it (see the Sheepdogs), Crockett can break through. As Buzz Lightyear says… “to infinity and beyond!”

I just bought tickets to see him at the Capital Theatre (click here) in May for his first headliner tour. His “In the Night” album is one of my favorites of all time.

Here is a track from that…

Since releasing “In the Night” seven years ago, Crockett put out a few more country-heavy albums that clearly demonstrate his talents in a different way (like Brittany). I do hope he returns to that power groove roll he blessed the world with the songs on “In the Night”.

Like with Brittany Howard, I dug around for stories about what’s doin’ with Charley and found this great piece by Chris Willman published a few days ago in Variety (click here to read) that puts a great label on his music… “Swamp Pop-Soul”.

How fucking great is that! Thanks Chris.

Back to Brittany Howard and The Shakes… I imagine at some point she will revive the band and do something special. In the meantime, we should all take the time to connect with her second solo release. Today Larisha Paul at Rolling Stone dropped this story of her new stuff… (click on the pic to read more).

Here is one of her new songs “What Now” that presents a whole new side of Howard. Like it or not, we all have to give it our attention. She has earned that respect.