One of the great regrets of my musical fandom is never seeing the late Tom Petty and his band, the Heartbreakers. His guitarist — Mike Campbell, who co-wrote many of his songs (as well as “The Boys of Summer” with Don Henley) — now leads his own band, The Dirty Knobs, who similarly play straightforward rock ‘n’ roll. (Campbell even sounds a bit like Petty, sharing his nasal singing delivery, which has been described as like Bob Dylan, but in key, and his north Florida accent.)
In their recent appearance at the Warner Theatre, Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs treated the audience to a night of originals peppered with a number of deep Petty cuts and classic covers.
This Warner Theatre show was Campbell’s longest set in a while, with an extensive encore, on July 29. After coming out to theme from the movie Goldfinger, the band got things going with a several of Campbell’s own songs: “So Alive,” “Dare to Dream,” and “Wicked.” He sarcastically introduced the hilarious “Fuck That Guy” as a “sweet little love song,” and told the audience that “Anna Lee” was a request.” They followed that with the first Petty song of the evening, “Love Is a Long Road,” from Tom’s solo material, before going back to his own material with “Hands Are Tied” and “I Still Love You.” We were then treated to three Heartbreakers numbers, “Makin’ Some Noise,” “The Best of Everything,” and “A Woman In Love (Is Not Me),” and other Petty solo cut, “Don’t Fade on Me.” (This seemed like an apt song, as I was dead tired and dangerously close to passing out in my seat.)
Campbell rounded out the main set with “Don’t Wait Up” and “Shake These Blues,” but he was far from done.
Stream “Don’t Wait Up” by Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs featuring Chris Stapleton and Benmont Tench on YouTube:
Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs came back for an encore that was more than half the length of main set — nine songs. They started and finished with Heartbreakers material, “You Got Lucky” and “Listen to Her Heart,” between which they did some soul (Bobby Womack’s “It’s All Over Now” and Solomon Burke’s “Cry to Me”), classic rock (Chuck Berry’s “Little Queenie,” the Troggs’ “Wild Thing,” Them’s “Gloria,” and The Dave Clarke Five’s “Anyway You Want It”) — and a song that was new to me, Tommy Roe’s “Everybody.”
Opening act Shannon McNally was a delight. This was my third time seeing her, and she’s been excellent every time. She started her set with “You Made Me Feel for You,” after which she talked about having an excellent dinner across the street, where she may have seen some congresspersons. Next up was “All These Blues Go Walkin’ By,” which she co-wrote with Terry Allen for his album Just Like Moby Dick. As she explained, Terry is a visual artist who specializes in large public installations, but he’s also been making music for decades. She described him as “one of America’s great-kept secrets,” and his music as a cross between Waylon Jennings and Randy Newman. (I helped her out by suggesting Newman, to which she replied, “You took the words right out of my mouth.”) Shannon plays in Terry’s Panhandle Mystery Band.
Watch the official music video for “You Made Me Feel for You” by Shannon McNally on YouTube:
A bit of a musical nomad, McNally has pursued his career from bases in Los Angeles, New Orleans, northern Mississippi, and, most recently, Nashville, which her daughter calls “a good starter city.” The industry has struggled to categorize her music as either rock or country, so when she got to Nashville, she made an album of Waylon Jennings covers and “told everyone to kiss my ass.” She continued, “You can’t make a Waylon album without a Kris Kristofferson song,” and played “You Show Me Yours (And I’ll Show You Mine).” After a J.J. Cale song, she was joined by Christ Holt on guitar and vocals for Townes Van Zandt’s “Pancho and Lefty,” which she dedicated to Emmylou Harris. For her last song, “Banshee Moan,” which she described as a song about “stifled female rage,” Shannon and Chris were joined on vocals by Hollye Bynum.
I’ll never live down seeing Tom Petty live as one of the great disappointments of my music fandom, but Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs did a great job of scratching that it, and their own material is terrific. This was a long, meaty set that gave the audience far more than their money’s worth, filled with great songs and excellent performances. I only wish I’d been less exhausted; hopefully, next time I see them, I won’t be quite so tired. Shannon McNally was a great addition to the night with her powerful and gorgeous vocals. Between the two acts, we got a great of material, ranging from rock to soul to country.
Here are some photos of Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs performing live at Warner Theatre on July 29, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of James Todd Miller.
Here are some photos of Shannon McNally opening Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs at Warner Theatre on July 29, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of James Todd Miller.
