Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs to tour with The Who

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs begin a nine-show run in California tonight, and this summer will tour with The Who and Chris Stapleton.

Campbell, who wrote, produced and played lead guitar with Tom Petty, released the band’s second studio album on March 4, “External Combustion,.”

West Coast concerts with The Who include Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center on Oct. 26 and Hollywood Bowl on Nov. 1. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs headline at Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheatre on June 18 and The Fillmore in San Francisco on Oct. 25. The band will play with Stapleton at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on July 23.

“The Dirty Knobs and I could not be more thrilled to be opening some shows for The Who this fall,” Campbell said in a press statement. “Playing with them at the Hollywood Bowl will be especially poignant for me, since the last time I played there was with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, a week before Tom’s passing. The Who have always been a huge inspiration for me as a musician. It is a huge honor to have the opportunity to do the shows with them. It will be a high point of my life.” 

The band’s tour is in support of the group’s new album, “External Combustion,” which is out now on BMG. The new music showcases the band’s evolution, pushing the band to a new level, jumping ahead in vision and drive, proving the first record was no one-shot deal.

Co-produced by Campbell and George Drakoulias (The Black Crowes, The Jayhawks), the 11-track album was recorded at Campbell’s home studio, Hocus Pocus Recorders in Los Angeles. External Combustion also features Margo Price and Ian Hunter as well as piano from fellow Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers founding member Benmont Tench on “Lightning Boogie.” Although Campbell wrote most of the songs on the new album within the past year, two of the tracks had been written in the 90’s, only to be rediscovered in Campbell’s extensive vault of unreleased compositions.

The Dirty Knobs came together nearly two decades ago, after Campbell met guitarist Jason Sinay (Neil Diamond, Ivan Neville) at a session and liked the way their guitars sounded together. What began as a less structured project for Campbell in between The Heartbreakers’ touring became something else altogether when they added the rhythm section of bassist Lance Morrison (Don Henley) and drummer Matt Laug (Slash, Alanis Morissette).

What followed was several years of intimate, almost incognito, performances in the band’s home base of Los Angeles and surrounding Southern California cities. After all those years playing together, it became clear The Dirty Knobs should take what they were doing to the next level. Following the passing of Campbell’s longtime compatriot, friend and bandmate Tom Petty and his performances with Fleetwood Mac on their 2018-2019 World Tour,

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs shows
June 7—Solana Beach, CA—Belly Up Tavern
June 9—Chula Vista, CA—North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre*
June 10—Inglewood, CA—The Forum*
June 11—San Bernardino, CA—Glen Helen Amphitheater*
June 12—Ventura, CA—Ventura Music Hall
June 16—Bakersfield, CA—Mechanics Bank Arena*
June 17—Wheatland, CA—Toyota Amphitheatre*
June 18—Mountain View, CA—Shoreline Amphitheatre*
June 19—Napa, CA—Uptown Theatre
June 23—Salt Lake City, UT—USANA Amphitheatre*
June 24—Denver, CO—Pepsi Center*
June 25—Denver, CO—Pepsi Center*
June 26—Aspen, CO—Belly Up Aspen
July 21—Oshkosh, WI—Waterfest
July 22—Bloomington, IL—Black Dirt Music Festival
July 23—Chicago, IL—Wrigley Field*
August 28—Toronto, ON—Danforth Music Hall
August 30—Detroit, MI—Saint Andrews Hall
September 1—Cleveland, OH—House of Blues
September 3—Indianapolis, IN—ALL IN Festival
September 4—Pittsburgh, PA—Roxian Theatre
September 7—Harrisburg, PA—XL Live
September 9—Huntington, NY—The Paramount
September 11—Albany, NY—Empire Live
September 13—Wilmington, DE—The Queen
September 16—Port Chester, NY—Capitol Theatre
September 18—Louisville, KY—Bourbon & Beyond
September 20—Winston-Salem, NC—The Ramkat
September 21—Richmond, VA—The National
September 23—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse
October 1—Dana Point, CA—Ohana Music and Arts Festival
October 14—St. Louis, MO—Enterprise Center†
October 15—Omaha, NE—Slowdown
October 17—Denver, CO—Ball Arena†
October 18—Salt Lake City, UT—The Commonwealth Room
October 20—Portland, OR—Moda Center†
October 22—Seattle, WA—Climate Pledge Arena†
October 25—San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore
October 26—Sacramento, CA—Golden 1 Center†
October 28—Anaheim, CA—Honda Center†
October 29—Las Vegas, NV—House of Blues
November 1—Los Angeles, CA—Hollywood Bowl†
*with Chris Stapleton 
†with The Who
Northern California shows are in bold face