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Tedeschi Trucks Band announce the third installment of their wildly popular Wheels of Soul Summer Tour. The 12-piece ensemble led by husband and wife Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi will be supported on all dates by longtime friends and collaborators The Wood Brothers and Hot Tuna. The tour is scheduled to hit some of the country’s premier outdoor venues on the most ambitious Wheels of Soul tour to date. After four consecutive sold-out shows at Red Rocks for TTB, this year’s tour adds a second night at the illustrious Colorado amphitheatre, with special plans in the works to make both nights unique events.
With an incomparable live show that embodies the vision of a large touring family bound by music, the Wheels of Soul summer dates are a favorite among fans and critics alike. The Oakland Press (Detroit) has deemed Wheels of Soul “the best musical hang of the season…a celebration of kindred creative spirits,” while Denver Westword calls TTB’s summer package “a wall of talent on stage.”
Through it all, the annual summer run has become more than just a fan favorite, it has become a highlight for the headliners as well. “It’s been great to develop this tour into an annual event where we get a chance to hit the road and share the stage with fellow musicians we love and respect. Each year we try to find bands that share our musical vision while bringing their own unique talents to this traveling circus,” says Susan Tedeschi about the summer runs. “We go way back with Derek and Susan. They are some of our favorite friends and collaborators” says Oliver Wood of this year’s Wheels of Soul tour. Oliver co-wrote a song on TTB’s Grammy-winning debut album, ‘Revelator’, and Derek and Susan guested on the Wood Brothers 2015 release ‘Paradise’.
Derek adds that this tour offers a unique opportunity for both the musicians and fans, “Every year as the tour rolls along the collaborations between all the musicians grow and grow. It inspires and challenges us in new ways and I think that really translates to the audience when they see how much fun we’re having with our friends.” Jorma Kaukonen (Hot Tuna) crossed paths with Derek and Susan early in their careers and their mutual admiration and kinship has grown as Jorma supported TTB on select shows in 2016. When asked about joining Wheels of Soul this year Jorma offered excitement and praise, “Tedeschi Trucks is arguably one of the greatest band in the world today. It is an honor for me and my Hot Tuna brothers to be part of this great tour”
Formed in 2010 after Tedeschi and Trucks recorded and toured for years as solo artists, Tedeschi Trucks Band is a live music juggernaut, touring over 200 days of the year. Their previous three studio records have all charted in the Top 15 of the Billboard 200, with their most recent effort 2016’s ‘Let Met Get By’ (Fantasy Records) produced by Trucks entirely and praised by Rolling Stone, the Wall Street Journal, and Associated Press, who called it “one of the great records of the year.”
TTB is currently on a series on North American tour dates, having just played multiple nights at the Chicago Theatre. The band plays three already sold-out nights at the Warner Theater in Washington, DC at the end of February, and ends their tour with a three-night stint at Nashville’s storied Ryman Auditorium before a European tour in the spring. A live TTB record is in the works and will be announced later this year.
Dubbed “masters of soulful folk” by Paste Magazine, The Wood Brothers are coming off their most successful year yet, including performances at Bonnaroo, Red Rocks and Carnegie Hall. Upon the release of their debut studio album in 2006, Chris Wood already had legions of devoted fans for his incomparable work as one-third of Medeski Martin & Wood, while his brother Oliver toured with Tinsley Ellis before releasing a half-dozen albums with his band King Johnson. The Wood Brothers’ latest album, ‘Live At The Barn’—recorded in front of a sold out audience at Levon Helm’s barn in Woodstock, NY—was released earlier this month.
For more than four decades, Hot Tuna has played, toured, and recorded some of the best and most memorable acoustic and electric music ever. Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady are former members of Jefferson Airplane, the influential San Francisco psychedelic rock band.