Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell has announced plans to release the third studio album with his group The Dirty Knobs, Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits, on June 14. According to Rolling Stone, the 11-track collection will feature guest appearances by Graham Nash, Chris Stapleton, Lucinda Williams, and Campbell’s longtime Heartbreakers bandmate, keyboardist Benmont Tench.
Videos by American Songwriter
The Rolling Stone article offers an exclusive look at the music video for the album’s lead track, “Dare to Dream,” which features backing vocals from Nash.
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“Dare to Dream” is one of five songs on the new album that Campbell dusted off from his archives of unrecorded tunes he’s amassed over the years.
“Back in the day, I would write songs and then give them to my partner Tom [Petty], and that’s all I ever did with them,” he explained to Rolling Stone. “I gave him so much he couldn’t possibly ever deal with it all. I stuck a lot up on the shelf for future assessment. And so here I am in the future and I pulled them out.”
On “Dare to Dream” and Collaborating with Graham Nash
“Dare to Dream” features lyrics about learning how to enjoy life in the moment. The collaboration with Nash came about after Campbell interviewed the folk-rock legend on his radio show on the Tom Petty Radio SiriusXM channel.
“He kind of made it sound a little bit like the Hollies blend on the vocals,” Campbell said of Nash’s contribution to the track. “He really lifted the song up and it was just a thrill to have a hero of mine singing my song.”
About the Songs Featuring Stapleton, Tench, and Williams
Stapleton and Tench are featured on vocals and keyboards, respectively, on “Don’t Wait Up,”
“The words are kind of nonsensical in a way, but it kind of makes sense,” Campbell of the tune. “It’s about a woman waiting for her man to come home from wherever he’s been in the world.”
Williams alternates lead vocals with Campbell on the country-influenced “Hell or High Water.”
“Watching her sing almost brought me to tears,” Campbell told Rolling Stone. “The song took on a whole new depth once she did her part. I was really lucky to get her.”
“Don’t Wait Up” and “Hell or High Water” also are songs from Campbell’s archives.
About the “Dare to Dream” Video
Campbell and The Dirty Knobs shot the video for “Dare to Dream” in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while the band was in town to perform at the Carney Fest event on April 27. Some of the clip was filmed at the late Leon Russell’s The Church Studio, where Mudcrutch—the pre-Heartbreakers group that featured Petty, Campbell, and Tench—recorded their first demo in 1974. It marked the first time Campbell had visited the studio in 50 years.
The video also features archival footage of Campbell from his early days with Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Campbell and The Dirty Knobs’ 2024 Tour Plans
Campbell and The Dirty Knobs have a series of 15 North American summer tour dates scheduled. The trek kicks off June 21 in Skokie, Illinois, and runs through a July 16 concert in Toronto.
Longtime Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone will be behind the kit for The Dirty Knobs on the trek, since the group’s regular drummer, Matt Laug, will touring with AC/DC in Europe at that time.
In addition to songs from The Dirty Knobs’ three studio albums, fans can expect to hear several Petty tunes at every concert.
“It’s a bittersweet thing,” Campbell explained to Rolling Stone. “We do an old song because I still miss my brother. But he’s still alive in those songs.”
He added, “I do those songs pretty close to how they should be done. I’ve got the same character and slang and nuance. I’m not a great singer, but I can get the vibe of the song across, I think, as good as anybody, because I was there.”
Tickets for The Dirty Knobs’ tour dates are available now via various outlets, including StubHub.
Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits Track List:
- “The Greatest”
- “Angel of Mercy”
- “Dare to Dream” (featuring Graham Nash)
- “Hands Are Tied”
- “Hell or High Water” (featuring Lucinda Williams)
- “So Alive”
- “Shake These Blues”
- “Innocent Man”
- “Don’t Wait Up” (featuring Chris Stapleton & Benmont Tench)
- “My Old Friends”
- “Amanda Lynn”
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