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Song Review: Tedeschi Trucks Band - “With a Little Help From My Friends” (Live, Oct. 5, 2019)

- Band releases final track from Beacon 2019 as it postpones Beacon 2020

“We’ll be back next year, too” Susan Tedeschi said before the Tedeschi Trucks Band played the final song of its 2019 run at the Beacon Theatre.

Sadly, Tedeschi didn’t knock on wood as she spoke. And on Aug. 20, TTB postponed its 10th-annual Beacon run to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“As disheartening as this decision is, the health and safety of our fans, crew and staff is our top priority,” the band said in a statement. “We’re proud of the nine consecutive years and 39 performances we’ve shared with you at the Beacon.”

As a consolation prize - and with wishes for “good health and a positive outlook” - the band shared a video of that final song. And the powerhouse rendition of Joe Cocker’s arrangement of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends” the band turned in that night is a good way to bide your time - and for Tedeschi to rest her ravaged vocal cords.

For eight minutes, the 12-piece TTB are in their element, organ swirling, drums bashing, horns blaring, singers wailing, Derek Trucks shredding and Tedeschi singing her heart out and rapping about thankfulness for her own family and friends.

The remnants of that song are probably still wafting to the Beacon’s rafters at this moment.

Grade card: Tedeschi Trucks Band - “With a Little Help From My Friends” (Live - 10/5/19) - A

Album Review: Tedeschi Trucks Band - Signs

Themes of hurt, hollowness and - ultimately - hopefulness run through Signs.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band’s latest LP was written in the wake of the deaths of mentors Leon Russell and Col. Bruce Hampton and Derek Trucks’ former Allman Brothers Band mates Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks (the guitarist’s uncle) and exposes the heart of a group that is reeling but not relenting.

Don’t let the darkness of the world enter your soul, Susan Tedeschi inveighs on the ballad “Still Your Mind,” which seems a mantra for the entire ensemble.

For as much tragedy had befallen it before the album was cut, more change and loss followed. Bassist Tim Lefebvre left the group after Signs was completed and keyboardist/flautist Kofi Burbridge, who had taken leaves of absence to deal with heart problems in 2017 and again in '19, died just as it was released.

It seems appropriate and prescient, then, that Burbridge's elegiac string arrangements color ballads such as "Strengthen What Remains," on which he also contributes a haunting flute solo; his piano intro on the aforementioned "Still Your Mind," also takes on new meaning in the wake of his passing.

The LP opens with a pledge of solidarity as the 12 musicians and singers rip into "Signs, High Times," and Tedeschi trades vocal spots with Mike Mattison, Mark Rivers and Alecia Chakour. Together the four singers display the power of the human voice to move hearts and inspire strength to soldier on.

The band squeezes 11 compact songs - and nearly as many musical styles - into Signs’ 46-minute runtime. In addition to TTB's trademark - and unique - amalgamation of America’s musical threads, it dives deeply in to 1970s-inspired urban soul on the sacred promise that is "I'm Gonna Be There;" explores country-infused rock (think Backless-era Eric Clapton) on "Hard Case to Refuse;" and strikes hard with the grinding heavy-blues and rock of "Shame" on which Lefebvre and drummers Tyler Greenwell and J.J. Johnson buzzsaw through the wall of sound as the horn section punches with knuckles of brass.

And then there's Trucks - widely regarded as rock's finest living slide guitarist. Even if he sits out part or most of a track, he generally weighs in at some point, popping up toward the end to take a song home - his impact is, as usual, astounding.

Signs is unquestionably the finest of Tedeschi Trucks Band's four studio album to date. And while the group plays as a team throughout, it ends antithetically, with the husband-and-wife duo of Tedeschi and Trucks playing acoustic guitars on the funereal finale, "The Ending.”

And although it wasn't written for Burbridge - it’s about a guitar player - it might as well have been.

He turned into the light of his favorite song, Tedeschi sings to the mournful sound of 12 strings on two guitars, looked down at his watch and said 'it's time to go'

And he was gone.

Burbridge and the others may have departed, but based on the fortitude it displays on Signs, it’s safe to assume the Tedeschi Trucks Band isn’t going anywhere.

Grade card: Tedeschi Trucks Band - Signs - A

On May 22, 2026, Netflix released its Mating Season Soundtrack for its latest adult animated comedy. The album features nine tracks of original songs and score from Composer Mark Rivers, and it’s surprisingly decent for its subject matter. Keep reading to learn more about the album and where you can get it. Continue reading Mating Season Soundtrack: for Mature Netflix Animation Fans