Regarding plans for the Halloween show, singer/guitarist/songwriter Patterson Hood told POLLSTAR, “I don’t know what we’re gonna do. I’ve got some ideas, but I don’t think we’re gonna do anything as a group as far as a theme.

“One year we did an Alice Cooper tribute for Halloween and worked up a whole set of Alice Cooper songs and all that, but we’re not going to do anything like that [this year].

“We’ll all just dress up, I’m sure, individually.”

Although Drive By Truckers have been around since 1996 and have released four albums, it’s their latest record that has thrust the group into the spotlight. The two-disc Southern Rock Opera is a coming-of-age story of sorts about a young Southern rock band, Betamax Guillotine. The fictional band is loosely based on classic rock heroes Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The album addresses the stereotypes of the South in a way only true Southerners can, and pays homage to the greats before them like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Neil Young, AC/DC, and others.

After the Gov’t Mule tour, the Truckers head back to the studio to do a final mixing and mastering on their new album, which is due out sometime next spring. They’ll then play a show with Widespread Panic in the Truckers’ hometown of Huntsville, Ala., and head to Europe where they’ll close out November.