Blacktop Mojo

Originating from Palestine, Texas, the Southern rock outfit Blacktop Mojo fuses post-grunge, classic rock, and metal into a high-intensity style positioned between the sounds of Soundgarden, Black Stone Cherry, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Their early work established a core of heavy guitar riffs and minor-key melodies on the 2014 debut full-length I Am, while the 2017 follow-up Burn the Ships brought greater sonic depth and amplified weight through its polished production. Subsequent releases refined this Southern-alt-rock hybrid across the 2021 self-titled album and 2024’s Pollen.

Matt James and Nathan Gillis launched the project in 2012, which later expanded into a quintet after Matt Curtis joined on bass alongside guitarists Ryan Kiefer and Kenneth Irwin. The band issued I Am independently in 2014 and maintained an active touring schedule that included support slots with Bon Jovi, Puddle of Mudd, Sammy Hagar, and Drowning Pool. Muscle Shoals producer Jimmy Johnson helmed Burn the Ships, issued in December 2017; after nearly a year of road dates the members returned home in October 2018 to begin writing their next record. Guitarist Chuck Wepfer had taken over for Kenneth Irwin by the time they entered the studio with Philip Mosley, making his recorded debut on Under the Sun, which appeared in September 2019.

Blacktop Mojo quickly issued the tracks “The End” and “Watch Me Drown,” both of which appeared on the Static EP in May 2020. The full-length Blacktop Mojo arrived in August 2021 and featured the singles “Tail Lights” and “Wicked Woman.” Throughout 2022 the group rolled out multiple singles, among them a reimagined version of the Temptations’ “My Girl” and the Dylan Wheeler collaboration “Getaway Car.” After a low-profile 2023, they previewed four new songs—“Red Enough,” “Like Wild Horses,” “As the Light Fades,” and “I Can’t Tell”—ahead of Pollen’s April release.