Live Review: Drive By Truckers @ The Empire.

by | May 19, 2014

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

I had never seen Georgia based band Drive By Truckers before, and I was extremely excited to photograph and experience a night of live music at Shepherds Bush Empire. The band’s music dates back three decades now and I spent the days prior to the show catching up on the music I was previously unfamiliar with.

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

The show was the closing date of their UK tour and it looked to be a really cracking gig with the crowd at the Empire  eager for some great rock music.

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

Heartless Bastards, a four piece from Ohio, opened the show up. Front-lady Erika Wennerstrom delivered a powerful performance with a strong stage presence. The opening act had a good mix of blues and country music and I would recommend giving them a listen.

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

Heartless Bastards play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

The now packed venue greeted the band with a roar as Drive By Truckers casually entered the stage. Vocalists Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood rotated vocal duties, with Cooley opening the set up with Made Up English Oceans from their 12th album English Oceans, followed by Patterson with Girls Who Smoke.

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

Some of the many highlights of the show were the great southern drawl cover Play It All Night Long written by Warren Zevon with the chorus  line “Sweet Home Alabama, play that dead band’s song” and the  song Lookout Mountain from the 2004 album The Dirty South. If  you have never been to Lookout Mountain in Georgia then Google it to see what they are sing about…watch out for that drop.

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

The band played for about two hours building up a wholesome sweat, dedicating the emotional closing song ‘Grand Canyon‘ to a friend of the band, Craig Lieske, who died last year.

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

Drive By Truckers play Shepherds Bush Empire (Solange Moreira-Yeoell)

Live review and photographs by Solange Moreilla-Yeoell. Drive By Truckers @ Shepherds Bush Empire 13th May 2014.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000UDZhuMOHjxk” g_name=”Drive-By-Truckers” f_show_caption=”t” f_show_slidenum=”t” img_title=”casc” pho_credit=”iptc” f_link=”t” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”t” f_fullscreen=”t” f_show_watermark=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_mtrx=”t” fsvis=”f” width=”600″ height=”450″ f_constrain=”t” bgcolor=”#ffffff” bgtrans=”t” btype=”new” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” crop=”f” twoup=”t” trans=”flip” tbs=”4000″ f_ap=”t” linkdest=”c” f_topbar=”f” f_bbar=”f” f_bbarbig=”” f_smooth=”f” f_up=”f” target=”_self” ]

 

Natalie Imbruglia @ Union Chapel (Kalpesh Patel)

Natalie Imbruglia Announces New Album ‘Algorithm’ And Shares Empowering Single ‘Upside Down’

Natalie Imbruglia has announced details of her forthcoming album Algorithm, set for release on 4th September, marking the beginning of a bold new chapter for the acclaimed pop artist.

Cusk (Sophie Vroom)

Cusk Unveil Haunting Debut Single ‘Blu Tac Piano’

Emerging London outfit Cusk have introduced themselves with the release of their debut single Blu Tac Piano, offering a striking first glimpse into the band’s atmospheric and emotionally raw sound.

Greg Mendez (Stephen Yang)

Greg Mendez Shares New Single ‘No Evil’ Ahead of ‘Beauty Land’ Album Release

Greg Mendez has unveiled his new single No Evil, the latest preview of his forthcoming album Beauty Land, set for release on 29th May.

Citizen (Atiba Jefferson)

Citizen Return With New Album ‘Halcyon Blues’ and Expansive Single ‘Highs and Lows’

Citizen have announced their long-awaited new album Halcyon Blues, set for release on 7th August, alongside the arrival of its lead single Highs And Lows.

Death Cab For Cutie (Shervin Lainez)

Death Cab For Cutie Return With New Single ‘Punching The Flowers’ Ahead Of UK & Ireland Tour

Death Cab For Cutie have unveiled their latest single, Punching The Flowers, taken from their forthcoming album I Built You A Tower, due for release on 5th June.

The Prodigy @ Wembley Arena (Neil Lupin)

Fire In The Concrete: The Prodigy Turn Wembley Into A Rave Warzone

There’s no easing into a Prodigy show in 2026—no atmospheric intro, no gentle escalation. The lights drop at London’s iconic Wembley Arena and, without ceremony, Omen detonates. The effect is immediate and physical. Bass surges through the floor, the crowd lurches forward, and within seconds the arena stops behaving like a seated venue and starts acting like a pressure cooker.

Katy Hurt @ Country on the Coast Festival 2026 (Henry Finnegan / @finneganfoto)

Where Country Finds Its Future: Inside Country On The Coast 2026

Set against the backdrop of the south coast, Country On The Coast 2026 delivered exactly what the UK country scene...
The Cab (Juan Flores Mena)

The Cab Return With Long-Awaited Third Album ‘Chasing Crowns’

After more than a decade away from full-length releases, Las Vegas pop-rock outfit The Cab have officially returned with their third studio album, Chasing Crowns, out now. The 18-track record marks the band’s first album in 15 years and signals a powerful new chapter for a group whose absence has only heightened anticipation for their comeback.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing