The Dirty Guv'nahs

Originating in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Dirty Guv'nahs deliver a classic Southern rock sound through frontman James Trimble, Hammond organist Chris Doody, pianist Michael Jenkins, guitarists Michael Jenkins and Cozmo Holloway, and brothers Justin and Aaron Hoskins on bass and drums. Their high-voltage approach blends the Black Crowes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Allman Brothers Band with infusions of Americana and the Band.

The members assembled the group while enrolled at university in Knoxville. Intended at first as nothing more than occasional shows, the project rapidly built momentum and cultivated a devoted hometown following. Victory in a campus battle of the bands contest supplied studio access, which produced the 2008 debut album Don't Need No Money. Spirited live performances earned support slots alongside the Zac Brown Band, Wilco, the Levon Helm Band, and additional acts.

Their self-titled second album appeared in 2009. A Bonnaroo booking led to sessions at Levon Helm Studios that yielded 2010's Youth Is in Our Blood. The sound continued to shift on the 2012 fourth album Somewhere Beneath These Southern Skies, produced by Ross Copperman, engineered by Richie Biggs, and issued via a Dualtone Music distribution agreement.

Two years afterward, fifth album Hearts on Fire entered the Billboard 200 at number 107. In 2015 the members declared the Dirty Guv'nahs would disband and staged a farewell concert in Knoxville that September. By early 2018, however, the group had regrouped, lining up spring dates in Knoxville and Atlanta while promising to "bring rock and roll back to the people."