Old 97's | Rhett Miller | Salim Nourallah February 21, 2013

Since the Old 97's roared out of Dallas more than fifteen years ago, they have blazed a trail through alt-country and power-pop, led by the piercingly observant lyrics of lead singer Rhett Miller. Each new Old 97’s record is hotly anticipated, and rightfully so: “Blame It On Gravity,” from 2008, contained some of the band’s most deeply felt and passionately played songs. But in a career full of high-water marks, "The Grand Theatre Volume 1" is perhaps the most ambitious and accomplished set of recordings yet. The album, the band’s eighth, began to come together last year, when Miller was on a solo tour of Europe with Steve Earle. “When I started in this band, I wrote on the road constantly,” Miller says. “But I was 23 then, so everything was new to me. Over the years, those strange and wonderful things have begun to feel more commonplace. On the familiar highways, in familiar hotels, it’s pretty easy to turn into a zombie. But on this tour, I was in England and Ireland and Scandinavia, places where I haven’t spent very much time in, and because of that things seemed somehow fresh. I felt recharged. In these old British theaters, you sit around in ancient dressing rooms filled with these objects that could only be in these ancient dressing rooms. It was all very inspiring instead of tiring.

Official Website: http://granadatheater.com/show/old-97s-2/