Why Drive-By Truckers’ 2001 ‘Southern Rock Opera’ feels more relevant than ever

Sitting near the center of “Southern Rock Opera,” the double-album breakthrough that placed Drive-By Truckers on the rock ‘n’ roll map, are a pair of Patterson Hood songs that speak directly to the album’s thematic blend of identity and conflict and, in no small way, to the very consciousness of the Athens, Ga.-bred band — “The Southern Thing” and “The Three Great Alabama Icons.”

The former is a guitar-crunching declaration of the Truckers’ heritage, but one that speaks to being a rock band from the South as opposed to a Southern Rock band.

“Ain’t about excuses or alibis, ain’t about no cotton fields or cotton picking lies,” Hood sings in with scorched, confessional candor. “Ain’t about the races, the crying shame. To the (expletive) rich man, all poor people look the same.”

“The Three Great Alabama Icons” is a remembrance by Hood spoken over a swampy, dirge-like groove. Here the sentiments are played out through the cross-purposes of the characters represented in the composition’s title: Segregationist governor George Wallace, legendary football coach Bear Bryant and founding Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman Ronnie Van Zant. Yes, Skynyrd actually hails from Jacksonville, but its landmark hit wasn’t titled “Sweet Home Florida,” was it?

The song further explores what the Truckers have long-termed as a “duality” — a love of its homeland and an acknowledgment of generations-old racism prevalent, but never contained to, the South.

Southern Rock Opera Revisited tour in Lexington

The year was 2001. From there, the Truckers grew in true grassroots fashion into a fearsome, three-guitar pack of warhorse rockers with narrative streaks that run from the personal to the political.

But as Hood, co-frontman/guitarist/vocalist Mike Cooley, guitarist/keyboardist Jay Gonzalez, bassist Matt Patton and drummer Brad Morgan return to Lexington this weekend, the music of “Southern Rock Opera” was will be placed front and center.

Nearly 25 years on, Hood finds its songs to be uncomfortably relevant.

“Unfortunately, the record is way more timely in 2025 than it was in 2001,” Hood said. “We had (Elon) Musk doing the Nazi salute on stage at the inauguration — on MLK Day, no less — so suddenly songs about George Wallace seem kind of timely. Even he would be horrified at what’s happening now.

“‘Southern Rock Opera’ gave us a level of notoriety that we wouldn’t have achieved otherwise, but it sometimes threatened to typecast us a bit as a ‘Southern Rock’ band. We’re a rock ‘n’ roll band that incorporates many different influences and sub-genres including country, punk, rock, R&B and a ton of other influences.”

The Truckers have been making “Southern Rock Opera” the centerpiece of a concert tour that began last June. Augmenting the performances was a July reissue of “Southern Rock Opera” boasting a selection of live recordings pulled from an Atlanta concert performed only two months after the album’s original 2001 release.

“While there are songs from ‘Southern Rock Opera’ we’ve played all along, we haven’t played it as a full-on concept piece since 2002,” Hood said. “Some of the songs haven’t been played at all in years. It’s been fun doing it like this. Very different from our regular DBT shows as we normally don’t use a set list. The shows are very different every night. With ‘Southern Rock Opera,’ it’s more structured. It’s been fun seeing how tight we can make it. After this tour, we very well might not do it ever again, or only on a very limited basis.”

“Southern Rock Opera” isn’t the only album Drive-By Truckers have been revisiting of late. November saw the release of one of its most socially charged albums, “American Band.” The reissue was timed to run ahead of last fall’s presidential election just as the original release prefaced the 2016 election.

“I feel a connection with that album and feel it has a definite kinship with ‘Southern Rock Opera,’ Hood said. “Most of the newer songs we have incorporated into the ‘SRO Revisited’ shows come from ‘American Band.’

The Truckers’ Lexington concert kicks off the final leg of the lengthy “Southern Rock Opera Revisited” tour.’ After concluding on Feb. 10, the band will return to Athens for its annual run of Heathens Homecoming shows at the famed 40 Watt Club. A mere four days after that engagement, Hood will become a free agent of sorts.

Solo album, tour

No, he’s not leaving the Truckers. But on Feb. 21, he will release his fourth solo album (the first in 12 years), “Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams.” A full band tour away from the Truckers will follow, concluding (for now) in Louisville at The Whirling Tiger on April 5.

While the record has its moments of combustible, guitar-amped fervor, much of it possesses a more open, wintry feel than a Truckers record.

“It just felt tight,” Hood said of the album. “These songs were mostly written over a 10-year period except for ‘Airplane Screams’ (the record’s penultimate tune.) It dates back to 1984, over 40 years ago. I spent a lot of time during lock down working on refining and demoing these songs which laid a blueprint for the album we made.”

The record enlists several longtime friends, including multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk of The Decemberists and indie neo-country stylist Lydia Loveless. Funk served as producer for “Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams.” Loveless duets with Hood on one of the album’s more ominous romantic remembrances, “A Werewolf and a Girl.” She will also join Hood on his spring tour.

“The album grew from my friendship (with Funk) and the chemistry we have playing together. He had a ton to do with the sound and vibe of the album. He is a great producer and player who kept me out of my comfort zone to a major degree.

“Lydia is a dear friend and amazing artist. When I wrote ‘Werewolf and a Girl,’ I heard her voice in my head. I didn’t have a second choice for that one.”

This, then, is how the first three months-and-change of 2025 will play out for Hood – the conclusion of an eight-month tour honoring one of Drive-By Truckers’ most championed albums and a new recording and tour of his own. There’s definitely no grass growing under this guy’s feet.

“I love doing both,” he said of the divergent paths his career follows. “They are both important sides of what I do.”

An Evening with Drive-By Truckers: “Southern Rock Opera Revisited”

When: Jan. 24 at 8 p.m.

Where: Manchester Music Hall, 899 Manchester St.

Tickets: $35-$175 at manchestermusichall.com/event.

This story was originally published January 23, 2025 at 4:55 AM.