The Alabama Shakes is an alternative rock group that fuses smooth soul music with the hard, cutting sounds of percussion and bass.

The band consists of lead singer/guitarist Brittany Howard , guitarist Heath Fogg, bassist Zac Cockrell, and drummer Steve Johnson. The Alabama Shakes formed in 2009, and released their debut album, Boys & Girls in 2012. Throughout their career the Shakes’ have won four Grammys and been nominated for five, yet they’re still underappreciated by the general public. Their demographic is mostly older, but their sound is timeless which I believe should reflect their audience base.

According to the Alabama Shakes website, the band felt a lot of pressure to deliver to their fans for their next album. Eventually, in 2015, they released their second album titled Sound and Color. Sound and Color consists of 12 songs of which were very experimental, seeming as if the band just wanted to test different sounds together and see what works. In their song Gemini, the main sound features the many guitars that represent Alabama Shakes. The musicians fuse together  various sounds of guitars to create a special ballad that is occasionally accompanied by lyrics. The song intensifies through periods of psychedelic sounds created by the electric guitar, then slows down with an acoustic bass.

Their most popular song from Sound and Color was a song that they performed at the Grammys, called “Don’t Wanna Fight”. This sound can only be described as a progressive take on rock & soul music. The lead singer, Brittany Howard’s  impressive vocals guide the other instruments to create “Don’t Wanna Fight”.

All of Alabama Shakes’ music is perfect for relaxing with friends or long car rides. Through the Shakes’ take of how sounds play together, the band has successfully  created a refreshing new take on rock & roll.