Hard-driving Nashville country-rockers A Thousand Horses are nothing if not resilient. Their 2024 album The Outside, their third, came after a particularly testing time that saw sweeping changes in the band’s personal lives and the departure of guitarist Zach Brown, while they also dealt with the knock-on effects of the pandemic.
A decade on from big-selling debut Southernality, the remaining members – frontman Michael Hobby, lead guitarist Bill Satcher and bassist Graham DeLoach – are gearing up for an exciting new chapter in their career.
Why is The Outside such a personal album for you all?
Michael Hobby: We started making this record in 2022 or 2023, and during that time Zach [Brown] left. There was no drama, no band fight or anything, it was just a natural progression in his life. So we needed to restructure our team, and also just getting back together again and making music was important. It re-sparked everything that we love about being in the band.
Had it been a difficult few years for the band prior to that?
With everything that was going on in the world, with the pandemic, we’d been stuck at home, off the road. I’d lost my father during that time as well, which was tough. And we were all new dads, which is a learning curve.
New song ’Til My Heart Don’t Beat is included on the newly expanded edition of The Outside. What does it signify?
It’s a bridge into what’s coming. We’re kind of moving back towards our roots and the southern rock thing that we do. We’re not trying to thread a needle or chase anything. We’re getting back to the records that Bill and Graham and I grew up listening to. It’s like: “Hey, here’s a little taste of the future.”
How does that southern rock heritage play into what you do?
The Black Crowes were a big influence on us, especially me, because they’re my second cousins and I grew up knowing them and listening to them. When you talk about great artists from the South, you’ve got Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, Tom Petty, Drivin N Cryin. Growing up, that music was everywhere around us. It was just part of the DNA around South Carolina and Georgia, where we’re all from.
It’s been ten years since your debut album Southernality. Do you ever reflect on that journey?
Absolutely. We were so young. You think you’re prepared for something like that, because you’ve dreamed of it your whole life. But it’s a rocket ship and you’re just strapped to it, praying to God that you’re going to survive. But we lived it up. Man, what a magical time.
What can people expect from your live shows over here?
We’re still working it out, but the thing about our UK fans is they love the deep cuts. So I really want to switch up our set for this run and do something special, pull out some of the older songs. And we’ll play some stuff that nobody’s heard yet.
So you have new songs ready to go?
Yeah, we’re working on a new record now. We’ve got nine or ten songs cut so far. We’re making A Thousand Horses rock record, getting back to what made us who we are. So we’re firing on all pistons.
A Thousand Horses' UK tour hits Manchester this evening (July 31) and London tomorrow, before the band return to the US. Full dates and ticket links are at their website.
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