Patterson Hood

Patterson Hood is a prolific writer and performer, best known as the frontman, singer, songwriter, and guitarist for the critically acclaimed rock and roll band Drive-By Truckers. His work is characterized by vivid, character-driven stories infused with political subtext. In addition to his work with the band, Hood is also a writer of essays, columns, and short stories, as well as a solo performer and producer.

In recent years, Hood has penned an op-ed on the controversies surrounding the Confederate flag for The New York Times Magazine, a piece on Vic Chesnutt for The Oxford American’s annual music issue, and retrospectives on David Bowie for American Songwriter and Merle Haggard for NPR. In October 2016, he published his first short story, featured in The Highway Kind, a car-themed crime fiction anthology.

With Drive-By Truckers, Hood has released 14 studio albums and played over 2,500 shows in the past 28 years. In 2015, they released a 35-song, career-spanning box set recorded live at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Their trilogy of albums—American Band (2016), The Unraveling (2020), and The New OK (2020)—brought the band into more direct political and topical songwriting, garnering praise from critics and fans worldwide. In 2022, they released Welcome 2 Club XIII, reflecting on their formative years and juxtaposing the follies of youth with the joys and challenges of raising children.

Hood’s work has received critical acclaim from NPR, Rolling Stone, The Independent, UNCUT, MOJO, Pitchfork, Chicago Tribune, and The Guardian. He and bandmate Mike Cooley appeared on CNN’s Reliable Sources, interviewed by John Avlon. The Unraveling reached #1 on the Americana charts in the UK and topped several charts in the U.S., including the Independent, Americana/Folk, and Vinyl charts. They are currently set to release a deluxe reissue of their breakthrough album Southern Rock Opera and embark on a U.S. tour, performing the album in full for the first time in 22 years.

Hood has also released three solo albums and is currently completing a fourth, slated for release in early 2025. His collaborations include producing or playing on albums by Jerry Joseph, Bettye LaVette, Booker T. Jones, and The Dexateens. As a speaker and lecturer, Hood has taught at Princeton, Indiana University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Alabama. Notably, he delivered the commencement address for the graduating class of 2015 at the University of Northern Alabama and spoke at the Frank and Kula Lumpuris Distinguished Lecture Series at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.

A native of Florence, Alabama, Hood was raised in the Muscle Shoals area, a region renowned for its rich musical history. His father, David Hood, co-founded Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and was a bassist in the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, also known as The Swampers. David Hood’s career includes collaborations with iconic artists like Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Percy Sledge, and Bob Seger, to name a few. Patterson credits his father and the Muscle Shoals music scene for shaping his worldview, noting the duality of being proud of the region’s musical legacy while being critical of its political history—a theme explored in Drive-By Truckers’ seminal album Southern Rock Opera.

In 2015, Hood and his family relocated to Portland, Oregon, where they have been restoring a 100-year-old house. In addition to writing, recording, and touring, Hood has ventured into acting with roles in The Dark Divide (starring David Cross) and the indie film Ragged Heart. He also recently completed filming a small role in the upcoming indie film Sweetwater Road, slated for release in 2025.