Derek Trucks on why TTB mixed it up on Future Soul. The inside story.

How a 1958 Flying V, an 'anti-AI' mission, and producer Mike Elizondo transformed the band’s sound for their 2026 release

Mar 20, 2026

Today marks the release of the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Future Soul album, in the midst of an epic Beacon Theatre run for the band, which brought March Madness back to the Upper West Side. They debuted the title track last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live and I wanted to give you a little taste of Derek’s thoughts on the album and the title track and why they mixed things up a little. (See below.)

The album is both an extension of their sound and a marked change in direction, with the band streamlining their songs, trying some new sounds anbd working with producer Mike Elizondo, because Derek told me they “wanted some outside ears.” I urge to listen to the whole album and give it some time.

I’ve lived with it for a few months now because I interviewed Derek for the cover story of the upcoming Premier Guitar magazine. You’re going to have to wait until that comes out to read the whole thing, but I wanted to give you a preview of it and share some of Derek’s thoughts on the album because I think it will help your listening experience to have this context.

“It feels like a healthy growth and shift for the band,” says Trucks. “I’ve enjoyed listening to this record from top to bottom more than anything I’ve ever done. I find the tunes really compelling.”

See a little bit of what Derek said himself, and check out more below, in a preview of my story.

If you’re going to the Beacon, keep the celebration going with Friends of the Brothers after-parties with very special guests at the Iridium March 20 and 21. Tickets for Friday 3/20 here, Sat 3/21 here.

And here, from my PG story, is what Derek said about the Future Soul title track:

Trucks had the core of his sound locked in when he was 12 years old and though specifics have changed, the basic approach has not: a Gibson SG tuned to open E straight into a tube amp played with his fingers. His most notable changeup comes on “Future Soul,” the album’s title track, which was written by singer Mike Mattison.

“When Mike brought that tune in, the laptop demo sounded grungy and mean as hell and I wanted to replicate that feel,” says Trucks. “I wanted the solo to feel like a building that is about to blow apart.”

To achieve that sound, he played a ’59 Gibson Flying V through a Tycobrah Octavia pedal and into a Vibroverb.

“We were able to maintain the spirit of Mike’s demo, which reflects the song’s lyrics,” says Trucks. “It’s about being frustrated with the world we live in and realizing that the way we think about music and art is not really the way most people think about it. It sometimes feels like the walls are collapsing and AI is coming for us all. The first thing that came to mind when I heard the song is that it’s a changing landscape, and we just hope that the thing that we do has a place in the future. I think it does, but it’s okay to be cranky about it.”

That, he explains, is what the line “I hope your future has soul” means to him.

I can’t wait until you can read the whole story. See you at the Beacon or the Iridium soon!