The Future Has Soul: Tedeschi Trucks Band Returns to Bridgeport

TTB brought new music, old favorites, deep-cut covers and plenty of fire to Bridgeport’s Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, with Sheryl Crow along for the ride.

For the past five years, Tedeschi Trucks Band have made lower Connecticut a regular stop on their summer tours, often settling in for two-night stands. This year marks their fourth consecutive summer at Bridgeport’s Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater — a venue that has quickly become a natural home for the band and its devoted fans.

The Bridgeport shows also came with Susan Tedeschi back in full force after recovering from an emergency appendectomy earlier this summer, which forced the band to cancel its scheduled appearance at the Newport Folk Festival. There were certainly no signs of rust Friday night — Susan looked and sounded terrific, her unmistakable voice and guitar work front and center throughout the evening.

Formed in 2010 when Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks merged their respective bands, TTB has evolved into a powerhouse 12-piece ensemble creating original music steeped in soul, blues, funk, rock and folk. Along the way, they’ve built an incredibly loyal and passionate fanbase, including longtime members of the band’s appropriately named Swamp Family.

In May, the band released Future Soul, their fifth studio project — or eighth, depending on how you count the four-part I Am the Moon series. Much of the new material has found its way into this summer’s setlists, and the songs already feel like they’re taking on another life on the road.

Summer has also become synonymous with TTB’s multi-band Summer of Soul tours, with this year’s rotating cast including Lukas Nelson, Alabama Shakes and, for the Bridgeport shows, Sheryl Crow.

This weekend’s Bridgeport “residency” is TTB’s fourth in a row at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, built on the site of the former Bridgeport Bluefish minor league baseball stadium — a place where I used to take my kids over a decade ago. Today, the Amp feels a little like Disneyland for music fans: thoughtfully designed, easy to navigate, with great sightlines and an open, airy setting where I-95 and passing Metro-North trains become supporting actors as part of the backdrop.

Sheryl Crow Gets the Amp Singing

Sheryl Crow’s opening set was packed with familiar hits alongside some deeper cuts, all backed by a terrific band. Her unmistakable smile, energy and stage presence continue to shine, and her voice sounded strong throughout the hour-plus set.

It didn’t take long for the sing-alongs to begin, drawing fans into their seats and getting the Amp warmed up for the main event. Crow was a terrific pairing and opener for TTB.

TTB Lays It Down

Anticipating one long set rather than the band’s traditional two-set format, TTB hit the stage around 8:30 ready to settle in.

Susan and Derek may anchor the band, but the engine behind them is formidable: drummers Tyler “Falcon” Greenwell and Isaac Eady, bassist Brandon Boone, vocalists and percussionists Mark Rivers and Alecia Chakour, vocalist/guitarist Mike Mattison, saxophonist Kebbi Williams, trumpeter Ephraim Owens, trombonist Elizabeth Lea, and keyboardist/vocalist Gabe Dixon.

They opened with “Got My Mojo Working,” featuring founding Derek Trucks Band member Mike Mattison on vocals — an immediate shot of energy to start the night. Next came one of Susan’s longtime originals, “Don’t Let Me Slide,” a personal favorite and always something special to hear live.

With the band warmed up, it was time to dig into Future Soul. “Who Am I,” featuring Susan on vocals, was one of the early standouts, followed by the rocking title track. “Future Soul” is fast, loud and built for the stage, with Derek breaking out his Gibson Flying V while superhero-style animation filled the screens behind the band — a fun visual touch.

Then came those familiar opening drum beats. --“I Want More” remains an absolute powerhouse live, opening the door for some serious jamming before segueing into Frank Zappa’s “Willie the Pimp.” That gave Kebbi Williams and the rhythm section room to stretch out, with Kebbi eventually joining Isaac and Tyler up on the drum riser.

As the instrumental fireworks wound down, I could sense what was coming next: “Let Me Get By.” One of the band’s signature songs, it remains one of those TTB moments that never gets old — and one that’s nearly impossible not to sing along with.

Stripping It Down

About midway through the set came one of the night’s quieter highlights. The massive 12-piece band disappeared, leaving just Susan, Gabe and Alecia onstage for a beautiful rendition of Dolly Parton’s “Wildflowers.” I’d seen it appearing on recent tour setlists and was hoping Bridgeport might get it. We did — and it was worth the wait.

The full band returned for “Crazy Cryin’,” again featuring Mattison on vocals, followed by “Part of Me,” with beautiful interplay between Alecia and Susan — another personal favorite.

One of TTB’s greatest qualities is the band’s obvious love for the music that inspired them. Their sets regularly reach deep into the soul, blues, rock and Motown catalogs, but the songs never feel like simple covers. TTB absorbs them and makes them its own. Tonight that included a Sly & The Family Stone pairing of “You Can Make It If You Try” into “Everyday People” — a serious boot-shaking stretch of the set.

As 10 p.m. approached, the band launched into Dr. John’s “I Walk on Guilded Splinters,” delivered with its usual dark, simmering intensity.

The main set then wrapped with the timeless “Bound for Glory.” It’s one of those soul-lifting TTB songs I simply cannot get enough of, and there’s something especially powerful about hearing it toward the end of a show.

Four More for the Road

Encore time — and TTB still had plenty left in the tank.

First up Susan and Gabe covered “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” the Mike Reid/Allen Shamblin-penned song made famous by Bonnie Raitt. What a special moment, you could hear a pin drop and our hearts soar.

Then things got bigger - First was a newer addition to their repertoire, The Rolling Stones’ “Loving Cup” which is played with gusto. Next TTB invited members of Sheryl Crow’s band back to the stage, swelling the ensemble to roughly 17 musicians for one final blast. The expanded band tore through “Leaving Trunk,” associated with Sleepy John Estes and later Taj Mahal, before segueing into Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “Volunteered Slavery.”

It was a fitting ending to a night built around everything Tedeschi Trucks Band does so well: remarkable musicianship, deep respect for the music that came before them, new material that continues to evolve onstage, and the freedom to take a song wherever the moment leads.

The final notes landed around 10:40 p.m., closing another spectacular TTB performance and a special night in Bridgeport to kick off Labor Day Weekend.

Three summers into their Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater run, this pairing of band and venue is starting to feel like a tradition.

And for those of us lucky enough to have TTB in our backyard, that’s a pretty awesome thing. Their roots run deep — in the music that inspires them and in the connection they’ve built with their fans. But if this night was any indication, the future is shining bright. And thankfully, the future has plenty of soul.