Tedeschi Trucks Band Future Soul
Nearly 25 years ago, while growing up in Indianapolis, I saw Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks perform at separate shows. Tedeschi toured with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble; Trucks led his Soul Serenade crew. Both were phenomenal. Both were incomplete. They didn’t know it yet – how could they? – but they were searching for each other.
Working together with your spouse is one thing. Rocking with them is another. What Tedeschi and Trucks have built isn’t just a band. It’s a kinship translated into sound, a marriage that doesn’t just coexist but harmonizes. You can hear it in every note of Future Soul, their new album that doesn’t announce itself so much as settle into your chest and stay there.
A friend told me recently that slide guitar is “the sound of the heart.” I’d take it further: Future Soul itself is the sound of the heart – slide-driven, yes, but also carried by funky riffs, sanctifying vocals, and songs that refuse to look away from joy, love, kindness, hope. Not because the world doesn’t hurt, but because it does.
What is “future soul”? It’s powered by love and hard-driving rock riffs. It’s an evolution of classic Southern rock and blues infused with modern rock, pop, and just enough funk to keep you off balance. If this is where music is headed, we’re moving in the right direction.
Watch the band’s recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel and you’ll see what sets them apart. No extended jam session, no indulgent noodling – just disciplined musicianship in service of the song. There’s a bit of Black Keys in the modernized blues approach, but underneath runs something older and more fundamental: the sound of two people who’ve learned to surrender to each other and to what they’re building together. It’s all business until it transcends business entirely.
The album opens with “Crazy Cryin’,” bluesy pop with genuine funk that gets people moving without trying too hard. Even when they’re playing with contemporary sounds, they never abandon their blues core. The title track “Future Soul,” is also built on riffs. This one is co-written by guitarist/vocalist Mike Mattison, who emerges here as one of the album’s secret weapons alongside keyboardist Gabe Dixon. Between them, they wrote many of these songs, including Mattison’s “I Got You,” which channels Derek and the Dominos and Delaney & Bonnie into something that feels both familiar and newly minted.
“I Got You” is also where you first feel the whole ensemble lock in – that rare moment when individual musicians stop being individuals and become a single breathing organism. It’s joyous without being naive, polished without losing its rawness. The song’s ending showcases one of Trucks’ most melodic solos, reminiscent of “Jessica” in its unhurried confidence.
“Who Am I” arrives structured around a pop riff that doubles as an invitation to dance. The build to the chorus might be Tedeschi’s finest vocal performance on the album – not because she’s reaching for anything, but because she’s found it. “Hero” pushes into Allman Brothers arena rock territory with a modern punch, and Tedeschi doesn’t just sing it – she inhabits it, wails through it, makes it hers.
On “Under the Knife,” Mattison is a lead vocalist, and his smooth, cool approach works well here, on a song with a little more cajun flavor. Trucks gets loose here, but not too loose. It’s just right. That’s what’s so great about this album. You’ve got incredible musicians but no one is overplaying – they play to their strengths. They give each song the feel it warrants, and “Under the Knife” is no different. It perhaps has the most contagious chorus on the whole album, and certainly accomplishes its goal of making you feel stoned.
Then comes “Be Kind,” Dixon’s contribution and perhaps the most necessary song here. Not because its message is novel – we all know we should be kind – but because it manages to be both instruction and invitation. Poppy modern blues with a positive message represents new territory for Tedeschi Trucks Band, and they don’t just visit it, they claim it. You might like what you find if you just be kind to me / I might change my mind if you just be kind to me. The simplicity is the point. In a world where we’re all triggered and reacting, kindness becomes radical.
“Devil Be Gone” breaks into full blues territory with Page-Plant call-and-response between husband and wife. It’s a small thing, easy to miss if you’re not paying attention: the way they trade lines, finish each other’s musical thoughts, create space for each other to shine. You get a good feel for their dynamic here, and it’s bad-ass at the same time. “Shout Out” starts with a poppy riff and builds into a gospel banger by its conclusion. Throughout, you hear the Allman Brothers legacy without imitation, Tedeschi’s triumphant blues voice without artifice.
My favorite remains “What in the World,” written by Paul Olsen. It recalls Tedeschi’s early Just Won’t Burn days – that same haunting quality, that same commercial accessibility that never feels like compromise. This is Tedeschi at her finest: vulnerable without being fragile, powerful without overwhelming, giving you goosebumps not through vocal gymnastics but through precision and restraint.
The 12-piece ensemble – Brandon Boone on bass, Isaac Eady and Tyler “Falcon” Greenwell on drums and percussion, Mark Rivers and Alecia Chakour on vocals, Kebbi Williams on saxophone, Emmanuel Echem on trumpet, Elizabeth Lea on trombone – brings the kind of musicianship that transports. This Grammy Award-winning band doesn’t need to prove anything. They just show up and do the work.
Future Soul arrives with expectations. The band’s 2012 debut Revelator won a Grammy for Best Blues Album. They’ve won Band of the Year four times at the Blues Music Awards. They’ve sold out Madison Square Garden and over 20 nights at Red Rocks. They’ve performed at the Kennedy Center Honors and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
The album meets those expectations and quietly exceeds them. Produced by Mike Elizondo and co-produced by Derek Trucks, recorded at their own Swamp Raga Recording in Jacksonville and Phantom Studios in Gallatin, Tennessee, Future Soul stands as a testament not just to musical excellence but to what’s possible when two people build something together over decades. This is what power couples do when they’re working: they lift each other up, celebrate each other’s gifts, and invite the rest of us into what they’ve made.
The Future Soul 2026 Tour launches April 14 in Dallas, with stops at Red Rocks (July 31 & August 1), The Hollywood Bowl with The Black Crowes and Whiskey Myers (August 17), and festivals including Bonnaroo, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage and Telluride Bluegrass. My bass player is particularly excited about their June 20 stop in Missoula, Montana for the ZooTown Music Festival (so much so we had to find another bass player for our gig that day!)
Future Soul was released March 20 and is available wherever you stream music. It’s a celebration of what brings joy, an insistence on love and kindness when both feel in short supply.
Highlights: “I Got You,” “Who Am I,” “What In the World,” “Be Kind”
For info on tour, merchandise and more, visit http://www.tedeschitrucksband.com
Enjoy some of our previous coverage here: Show Review: Tedeschi Trucks Band in Tulsa