Credit: Courtesy of Live Nation
Alone, the most recent offering from the Pretenders, features a top-notch studio band that includes bassist Dave Roe (Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Sturgill Simpson), pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl (Blake Shelton), guitarist Kenny Vaughan (Lana Del Rey), keyboardist Leon Michels and drummer Richard Swift (the Arcs).

Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and Arcs produced the disc, and songs such as “Gotta Wait” and “Holy Commotion” have a garage blues feel to them.

“[Auerbach] lives in Nashville, and that’s a team of musicians he works with a lot,” Chrissie Hynde told us at the time of the album’s release. She brings the Pretenders to town to play Hard Rock Live on Saturday, July 7. “The bass player had been Johnny Cash’s bass player, and the guitar player Kenny Vaughan goes out with Marty Stuart a lot. They’re in Nashville, so that makes sense. But every musician I ever met really wants to play in a rock band, so they were all really excited to do this.”

Tickets to the show go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday. They’ll be available at the Rocksino Box Office, LiveNation.com, Ticketmaster.com or by phone at 800-745-3000.


This article appears in Mar 14-20, 2018.

Jeff has been covering the Cleveland music scene for more than 25 years now. On a regular basis, he tries to talk to whatever big acts are coming through town. And if you're in a local band that he needs to hear, email him at jniesel@clevescene.com.