Live Shows: Patterson Hood and the Sensurrounders and Lydia Loveless, Arts at the Armory, Somerville, MA 3/18/25

Photo by Ken Sears

Drive-By Truckers are probably my favorite active band, and I try to get out to see them as much as possible. Their not currently touring, but Patterson Hood is behind his excellent album Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams, released just last month. With Lydia Loveless as his opener, there was no way I could miss it. I wasn't originally sure if he would have a band or not on this tour, but earlier this week I saw it was going to be Patterson Hood and the Sensurrounders, so I was very curious who that would actually be.

Lydia Loveless opened the show with a great solo electric set. She focused on newer songs like "Sex and Money" from 2023's Nothing's Gonna Stand in My Way Again and the just released Bandcamp exclusive "Accolades," but did go back to 2014's Somewhere Else for "Verlaine Shot Rimbaud." The crowd was definitely a Patterson Hood/Drive-By Truckers crowd, but there were pockets of Loveless fans that were there for her as much as they were for Hood. And anyone that wasn't was quickly converted to her cause. I've seen Lydia Loveless play both as a band and solo a few times, and this was one of my favorite performances. She seemed more confident than she has before and played a great opening set. 

When Lydia Loveless ended her set, she said that she'd see us again in a little bit. I assumed that meant she'd be joining Patterson Hood for "A Werewolf and a Girl," but it turns out she's playing bass in the Sensurrounders. Also in this new band were Hood's Drive-By Truckers bandmates Brad Morgan on drums and Jay Gonzalez on keyboards and guitar. (There was another multi-instrumentalist but I missed his name.) At one point Hood mentioned that he was nervous on this opening night of the tour, which made sense since this was a much quieter and more restrained show than the normal Drive-By Truckers big rock show. The crowd was (mostly) attentive and highly appreciative of the set, which mostly focused on tracks from the new album but also included older tracks from Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance and Murdering Oscar (and Other Love Songs). He even broke out two Drive-By Truckers classics: "Heathens" and "A World of Hurt." The latter closed out the show much like it typically does Drive-By Truckers shows, just more quietly. The show even included a ridiculously fun version of Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," which might have been perfect. This was a fantastic tour opener, and the diehard fans were well rewarded for their attention.