SLCene Suggests: Patterson Hood at The State Room

PATTERSON HOOD, THE STATE ROOM, Friday, March 29, and Saturday, March 30, 9 p.m., $25

Any long-time fans of the Drive-By Truckers can tell you about the songwriting and storytelling prowess of Patterson Hood, the band’s most prolific writer and a man comfortable in the spotlight leading the band’s epic live shows. Hood’s latest work is a solo album, Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance, that evolved out of an effort to actually pen a book, what Hood called a “half-assed fictionalization” of a turbulent period in his life a couple decades back, before the Truckers came together and started their winding journey. As he wrote chapters for the book–since put aside–Hood also wrote songs that took on an autobiographical vibe, and those songs fill Heat Lightning. You can expect to hear those songs, as well as Truckers tunes and songs from Hood’s 2004 solo debut, Killers & Stars.

Besides the two shows at The State Room, Hood will be appearing at a CD signing and meet-and-greet at The Heavy Metal Shop on Saturday at 6 p.m.