-- Shares Facebook Twitter Reddit Email For decades, Mike Campbell made his living as the guitarist, co-songwriter, and co-producer with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers . His expressive blues-rock riffs lent buoyancy and a deep sense of yearning to the band’s songs, which are as timeless as they are emotionally incisive. Several years after Petty’s 2017 death , Campbell is still a road warrior as the leader of his own band, the Dirty Knobs.
Last week, the group released what might be their best album yet, “Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits,” which is a combination of new songs and tunes Campbell dug up from his formidable archives and decided to record. "I seem to write about damaged women that need to be saved." Petty fans will certainly find much to love about the album, in no small part because it boasts plenty of Campbell’s inimitable melodic guitars and warm, weathered vocals.
But the characters within the songs are vibrant and striving — and guests such as Chris Stapleton, Lucinda Williams and Graham Nash add the perfect amount of emotional depth. Related Stevie Nicks, George Harrison and Tom Petty's dad: The 10 best supporting characters in "Petty" Campbell checked in from Philadelphia, preceding shows where he’s planning to jump onstage with Chris Stapleton to collaborate on a cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “I Should Have Known It.” (Stapleton does his own version on the star-studded country tribute album, “Petty Country: A Country Music Cele.