Alabama Shakes

About Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes formed in Athens, Alabama in 2009, which makes sense given the name. The core lineup came together when Brittany Howard and Zac Cockrell started playing music in high school, eventually adding guitarist Heath Fogg and drummer Steve Johnson. They were playing bars and small venues around northern Alabama, doing that thing where a band works out what they actually sound like by just playing a lot of shows.

The breakthrough happened faster than most. A rough recording of "You Ain't Alone" started circulating online in 2011, and suddenly they went from playing dive bars to getting calls from labels. The song sounded raw in the best way, built around Howard's voice, which doesn't really fit into neat categories. It's powerful without being showy, and it cuts through whatever production you put around it. They signed to ATO Records and released their debut "Boys & Girls" in 2012.

"Boys & Girls" did well enough to surprise people. It hit number six on the Billboard 200 and got them Grammy nominations, which isn't the usual trajectory for a roots rock band from Alabama. The album leaned into vintage soul and rock sounds without feeling like a retro exercise. Songs like "Hold On" and "Hang Loose" had this lived-in quality, like they'd existed for decades already. Howard's guitar playing was understated, more about tone and space than flash. The album went gold, they played the big festivals, the whole thing moved quickly.

They took their time with the follow-up. "Sound & Color" came out in 2015 and opened up their palette considerably. The title track started with ambient drift before kicking in, which told you immediately they weren't just going to remake the first album. They worked with producer Blake Mills and pushed into psychedelic territory, funk, more experimental arrangements. "Don't Wanna Fight" became the single everyone heard, but the album's best moments were often the weirder ones. It debuted at number one and won four Grammys, including Best Alternative Music Album.

Since then, things have been quiet on the Alabama Shakes front. Howard released two solo albums as Brittany Howard, starting with "Jaime" in 2019, which leaned harder into funk, R&B, and personal songwriting. She's been clear that the band isn't broken up, just on an extended break while members do other things. Fogg released solo material. Johnson plays with other projects. It's the standard "indefinite hiatus" situation where everyone says the right things but nobody's making promises about when or if they'll reconvene.

They left behind two albums that hold up, which is more than a lot of bands manage. Whether they make another one seems genuinely uncertain, and probably depends on whether Howard feels like she has something to say with that particular group of people.

They command a room with zero showmanship. Howard stands still mostly, lets her voice do the talking while the band locks into grooves that get tighter as the set goes on. Crowds quiet down to listen. When they hit the big ones, people lose it quietly—no screaming, just this palpable relief.

Known for Hold On, Don't Wanna Fight, Sound & Color, Girls in Alabama, Be Mine

See Alabama Shakes Live