Alabama Shakes

A rootsy, soulful rock band with bluesy grooves and Southern charm, Alabama Shakes' sweet brand of garage R&B made them one of the breakthrough bands of 2012. Formed in Athens, Alabama in 2009, the band started out playing covers of Led Zeppelin and AC/DC songs led by the big, rich drawl of front-woman Brittany Howard, a throwback to the great black, female stars of the 1960s. Their self-titled debut EP earned rave reviews in the New York Times and resulted in them signing to Rough Trade in the UK before releasing a series of vinyl singles through Jack White's label Third Man Records in the US. Acclaimed performances on TV shows ...Later With Jools Holland and The Late Show With David Letterman and their first single Hold On resulted in debut album Boys & Girls (2012) topping the UK charts (Number 8 in America) and widely recognised as one of the records of the year.