Hell or High Water – A Night with Lucinda Williams and Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs On Sunday, September 29th, rock band The Dirty Knobs with frontman Mike Campbell headlined with support from Lucinda Williams and her band at The Sound in Del Mar. This was the closing night of the leg of their tour and they did not disappoint. This tour was to showcase their latest album, “Vagabonds, Vigins, and Misfits” yet still paying homage to several previous classics. Neither my fellow KCR member, Sam Gurin nor I had heard of Williams or The Dirty Knobs, so we were eager to see what show they would put on. To start the evening, Lucinda Williams and her band opened the night with an energetic piece to prepare the crowd for the night. She dedicated “Stolen Moments” to Tom Petty. There was a theme of honoring Petty throughout the entire show, every moment displaying just how beloved the late rockstar was. Williams and her band played one of her hits, “Car Wheels and A Gravel Road” which described Lucinda’s childhood in the South. As their set progressed, the band showed their personalities and expertise through their art. Each musician provided excellent solos that supported Lucinda’s vocals. What made this performance even more impressive is the fact that in November of 2020, Williams unfortunately had a stroke. Despite that, she still put on a phenomenal performance, and you would never know she had that setback. At the age of 71, Williams was still playing with the same enthusiasm and passion as it was her first tour. They riffed off of a Led Zeppelin song and took inspiration from other rock bands. They closed out their set with a cover of “Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World,” and had Sam and I singing along with her. We overheard other fans describing that this show was an improvement since Williams’ previous performances that were shortly after her stroke. They explained that she sounded better
than ever, and exactly like the record.

After Lucinda and her band left the stage, Sam and I noticed that the set design was minimal. It consisted of very dim lighting and three Persian rugs. It was a very different set compared to the elaborate set designs that we see in newer bands today. Soon enough, the crowd boomed and guitarist legend Mike Campbell and his band took the stage. He was wearing a striking outfit, including a large burnt orange hat, leather vest, and keychain with feathers and beads around a foot-long hanging off of his belt loop. The crowd was mainly within the age range of 40-60 years old, and it was refreshing to be at a show where there was much more respectful concert etiquette and people were just there for the music. Every song played by Mike and The Dirty Knobs had everyone dancing and having a good time. Campbell taught us about the iconic “rebel yell” and how to execute it perfectly. He shared the story of how the title of one of their songs progressed from “Immigrant Man” to “Renegade Man” to “Innocent Man.” He played most of the songs on his 1960 White Falcon and displayed his years of experience on it beautifully. The band consisted of “Texas Craw Daddy,” Lance Morrison on bass, Christopher Holt on guitar, and Steve Ferrone on drums who was also a Heartbreaker like Campbell. After introducing the band, they played “You Got Lucky” and engaged the audience in a call in response, singing “Good

love is hard to find.” They played requests from fans they met previously, like “She’s Got The Sugar” which highlighted the use of a cowbell. Campbell described that the song “achieves rock and roll soul healing” and will allow you to enter “nirvana heaven” all because of the cowbell.
The entirety of their set was spent jamming out to the classic sounds of rock while joking and
telling anecdotes in between each song. After they played all their songs, Mike brought Lucinda and her band back out for, in his words, the “ultimate orgasm of the evening.” They covered Luncinda’s favorite Tom Petty song “Southern Accents” which she sang with such passion and care. Both bands played so casually yet with such fluidity together. Considering the amount of time both have been playing live shows, they were able to kick back and enjoy the music just as much as we were. Going into this show not knowing anything about either band, Sam and I left very big fans of both Lucinda Williams and Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs. We experienced a show that isn’t as common to hear anymore with its classic sounds of rock and roll. They put on a phenomenal concert, and I recommend that everyone give them a listen.