Tedeschi Trucks Band plans four-album release, return to Fox Theatre

May 14—ATLANTA — The Tedeschi Trucks Band, the revered 12-piece collective founded by husband-and-wife duo, guitarist Derek Trucks and singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi, announced recently the most ambitious studio project of their storied career: "I Am The Moon," an epic undertaking in four albums with 24 original songs.

Inspired by a mythic Persian tale of star-crossed lovers, and emotionally driven by the isolation and disconnection of the pandemic era, the thematic "I Am The Moon" totals more than two hours of music, unfolding across a robust tapestry of genre-defying explorations that propel the treasured American ensemble into new and thrilling creative territory.

The four albums that comprise "I Am The Moon" — I. Crescent, II. Ascension, III. The Fall, and IV. Farewell — will be released in successive months beginning with I. Crescent, available digitally and on CD June 3. (All vinyl configurations, including individual LPs and the 4-LP "I Am The Moon" Deluxe Box will be available on Sept. 9.)

Tedeschi Trucks return to the Fox Theatre for two nights, July 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. with the "Wheels of Soul Tour." Support acts Los Lobos and Gabe Dixon will perform both nights. Tickets, starting at $29 (plus applicable fees) for the Atlanta shows, are on sale now at foxtheatre.org or by calling (855) 285-8499.

The decision to sequence and release "I Am The Moon" in four distinct episodes came "when we started thinking of records we love," Trucks says, citing "Axis: Bold as Love," the 1967 LP by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. "It's 36 minutes long. That's the way to digest a record."

With that approach in mind, TTB will present "I Am The Moon: The Film," immersive visual companions to each album. The corresponding films will debut three days prior to each audio release, offering fans an early opportunity to digest each album in its entirety as a communal listening and viewing experience via the band's YouTube channel. Directed by Alix Lambert, the films combine studio and performance footage with atmospheric photography and imagery beautifully capturing the music's kaleidoscopic textures. The project launches with the first episode: "I Am The Moon: The Film — I. Crescent" on May 31 at 9 p.m. PT.

The concept behind I Am The Moon, the GRAMMY-winning band's fifth studio recording, was suggested by TTB vocalist Mike Mattison in May 2020, two months after the band was forced off the road by the pandemic. The 12th-century poem "Layla & Majnun" by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi was the title inspiration for Eric Clapton's 1970 double-LP with Derek and the Dominos, "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" — an influential album for TTB.

But Ganjavi's source material resonated with Mattison and the rest of the band in an altogether different way. Finding complex themes and storylines that inspired their creative process, they forged a new, modern interpretation of the vast 100-page poem. "I Am The Moon" was written collectively and collaboratively, with band members contributing their own unique perspectives on the work. By January 2021 the band was recording at Tedeschi and Trucks' home studio, Swamp Raga, in Jacksonville, Fla., with Derek behind the soundboard as producer and long-time studio engineer Bobby Tis in charge of recording and mixing.

Operatic in scope, Tedeschi Trucks Band explores romantic relationships, collective struggle, faith, and the human experience on "I Am The Moon."

"It's amazing," Trucks says, "because we wrote most of this music in a pretty short time span. There are even chord changes that mirror other tunes on the albums — themes and variations, lyrical allusions, that pop back up.

"You always want to do something bigger and thematic. This is the first time it happened naturally."

Tedeschi Trucks Band have extensive tour dates planned for 2022 including their annual headlining Wheels of Soul summer U.S. tour. See list of dates below.

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND — I AM THE MOON: ALBUM + FILM RELEASE DATES:

I Am The Moon: I. Crescent: Film Premiere: May 31, Album Release: June 3

I Am The Moon: II. Ascension: Film Premiere: June 28, Album Release: July 1

I Am The Moon: III. The Fall: Film Premiere: July 26, Album Release: July 29

I Am The Moon: IV. Farewell: Film Premiere: Aug. 23, Album Release: Aug.26

I Am The Moon — All Vinyl Configurations: individual LPs + the 4-LP Deluxe Box Available Sept. 9.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band are Susan Tedeschi (Vocals/Guitar), Derek Trucks (Guitar), Gabe Dixon (Keys/Vocals), Brandon Boone (Bass Guitar), Tyler Greenwell (Drums/Percussion), Isaac Eady (Drums/Percussion), Mike Mattison (Vocals/Guitar), Mark Rivers (Vocals), Alecia Chakour (Vocals), Kebbi Williams (Saxophone), Ephraim Owens (Trumpet), and Elizabeth Lea (Trombone).

Tedeschi Trucks Band has close ties to Atlanta as numerous band members and crew call the state home, including drummer Tyler Greenwell, saxophonist Kebbi Williams, singer/guitarist Mike Mattison, bassist Brandon Boone and singer Mark Rivers. In addition, the group's recent press photos and video shoot were filmed at the internationally renowned arts site Pasaquan in Buena Vista.