Tedeschi Trucks Band

June 13, 2017

Augusta, GA

Bell Auditorium

Reviewed by Joseph Hett

Tedeschi Trucks Band Is Right At Home In Augusta

The Tedeschi Trucks Band made a stop in Augusta, GA on Tuesday night at the Bell Auditorium. The 12-piece band is led by the husband-wife duo of Derek Trucks (lead guitar) and Susan Tedeschi (lead vocals/rhythm guitar). This was an early stop on their summer tour – they were fresh and ready to rock.

They came out and jumped into the soulful “Anyhow” – off of 2016’s “Let Me Get By” album. For the next song, Trucks Tedeschi Trucks Band on 'More Natural' New LP - Rolling Stonegot a heavy riff going, and they cranked out “Made Up Mind.”

“Don’t Know What It Means” was a funky tune with the wah-wah pedal in full force on the guitar. It was accompanied with an extended sax and drum solo to end the song.

Tedeschi was left alone on stage with two backup singers.  She mentioned that the next song was a George Jones classic and that she performed it on John Prine’s new album. The song was titled “Color Of The Blues.”

The whole band came back out, and they went into the epic “Midnight In Harlem.” It was a very smooth flowing song. A sax was brought in to complete the tone of it. Trucks once again closed the song out with a phenomenal slide solo. That was a common theme all night long.

On “How Blue Can You Get,” Tedeschi got a chance to have a guitar solo. It was a solo that B.B. King would have been proud of. She also got to solo on “Leaving Trunk,” which was earlier in the set.

The house was rocking with the fast-paced and building “I Want More.” The TTB did exactly as that – they gave us more.

The entire auditorium jumped to their feet when they heard the opening riffs for Santana’s “Soul Sacrifice.” Not many bands cover this song, and it was a real treat to get to hear a guitar virtuoso and sharp band perform it. The drums came in, and they wrapped up the amazing song.

For the encore, they performed a cover of “Statesboro Blues.” This paid homage to Trucks’ upbringing with the Allman Brothers Band. It was also appropriate, since Statesboro, Georgia is only 80 miles away from Augusta.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band put on a phenomenal two-hour show for the energetic crowd in attendance. Their unique blues-rock sound with Tedeschi’s lead vocals is priceless. The torch has been handed to them to keep the genre alive and thriving.