Alabama Shakes are rock's generational bridge that won't break

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Set us as preferred The first time Alabama Shakes came to Los Angeles, Brittany Howard bought a longboard.This was in the early 2010s, as the fiery soul-rock band was beginning its ascent from a small town in the Deep South to high-profile gigs at the Grammy Awards and the White House; even back then, the group was generating so much energy onstage that Howard found it useful to have an outlet after shows to “kind of come down,” as the singer and guitarist puts it now.Does she still skate?“No,” she says with a laugh.

“Little bit older — don’t want to fall and break stuff.”The bones are feeling brittle?“The bones are feeling strong,” she replies.“I just don’t want to test them.”A decade and a half after that initial visit, Howard and her fellow Shakes — guitarist Heath Fogg and bassist Zac Cockrell — are back in L.A.

on a recent afternoon, gathered in a West Hollywood hotel suite to discuss their new album, “I Must Be Dreaming.” Due out Aug.28, it’s the band’s first LP since the three reconvened in 2024 after a seven-year break, during which Howard launched an acclaimed solo career that encompassed collaborations with Bon Iver and the Oscar-winning film composer Ludwig Göransson.

Nothing too dramatic broke up the Shakes in 2018, nor has their return been accompanied by much hoopla (beyond their decision not to invite back drummer Steve Johnson, which we’ll get to in a minute).“I don’t know about ‘comeback,’” Howard says when asked what term best describes the band’s reunion.“What y’all think?” she asks Fogg and Cockrell, both of whom respond with quiet shrugs.

Music Ahead of the band’s show Monday night at the Hollywood Bowl, Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson reveals how their signature songs came to be.Yet “I Must Be Dreaming” reveals a group still thrummin...