Alabama Shakes Return with First Album in 11 Years, 'I Must Be Dreaming'
Alabama Shakes released their first album in over a decade, 'I Must Be Dreaming,' on Friday. Singer Brittany Howard said the record is about unity and relying on each other, reflecting on a chaotic world since the pandemic. The band reunited after a benefit concert led to the new project.
The reunion began as a favor when Howard agreed to headline a December 2024 fundraiser at Tuscaloosa's Bama Theater for Druid City Brewing Company, a struggling local business whose owner she counts as a friend. She then invited Cockrell and Fogg to join as a surprise, and rehearsing their older material rekindled the creative spark. Their previous album, 2015's Sound & Color, topped the Billboard 200 and earned three Grammys before the band paused touring in 2018 to pursue solo projects. The new 11-track collection retains their signature blend of blues, soul, folk, and Americana, with Howard describing the title as capturing both the disorienting strangeness of the post-pandemic era and the enduring possibility of joy within it.
This reunion album may resonate strongly with longtime fans who have waited over a decade for new material, potentially reconnecting a generation of listeners with the band's Southern soul sound. It could also signal a broader trend of established acts reconvening after extended breaks, offering audiences a sense of continuity amid cultural fragmentation. The album's themes of mutual reliance may provide emotional grounding for listeners navigating an unstable social landscape, though its ultimate cultural footprint will depend on how it reaches both devoted followers and newer audiences discovering the band fresh.