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Alabama Shakes

Rock Band; Known for the Hit Single "Hold On"

Alabama Shakes
Travels From Travels From:
Athens, AL, USA
Speaking Fee Speaking Fee:
Live Event: $50,000 - $100,000
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Categories Categories:
Celebrity, Entertainers, Literary, Music
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Alabama Shakes Biography

The story of the Alabama Shakes begins in a high school psychology class in Athens, Alabama. Brittany Howard, who had started playing guitar a few years earlier, approached Zac Cockrell and asked if he wanted to try making music together.

They started to meet up after school and write songs sitting on Howard’s floor. Steve Johnson worked at the only music store in town, and Howard knew he played the drums. She invited him to a party where, she says, “he met everybody from our side of the tracks.” The three young musicians began working together, further expanding their style and approach.

The trio soon went into a studio in Decatur to record some of the songs they were working up, and this proto-demo found its way into the hands of Heath Fogg, with whom Howard had been familiar because he had been the lead guitarist in what she describes as “the best band in our high school.” Fogg, who by now had graduated from college, asked them to open a show for his band, which they agreed to do—on the condition that he play with them.

When they appeared at a Nashville record store, people started to take notice of the group’s relentless, hard-charging live attack, and Howard’s magnetic stage presence. One especially ardent fan raved about the band to his friends, which included Justin Gage, the founder of the Aquarium Drunkard blog. Gage wrote to Howard, asking if he could post one of the Shakes’ songs. She sent back the yearning, intense “You Ain’t Alone,” which he put up in late July, calling it “a slice of the real.” And, literally overnight, all hell broke loose.

“I woke up the next day to emails from record labels, managers, publishing companies,” says Howard. “At first I thought, everybody’s making a mistake!” Gage also emailed “You Ain’t Alone” to the Drive-By Truckers’ team. The band was immediately blown away and offered the Shakes an opening slot, sight unseen. (Patterson Hood of the Truckers later noted that the group “totally blew us off the stage in Winston-Salem.”)

Yet even as the attention and the pressure were mounting, the band—who by now had changed their name to the Alabama Shakes—continued to break new ground musically. Their first single, the hypnotic, show-stopping plea “Hold On,” grew out of an on-stage improvisation. “We threw out that riff,” says Cockrell, “and Brittany started singing along, and the crowd started singing with her like it was a song they already knew.”

In October, the Shakes gave a performance at the CMJ Festival in New York City that earned a glowing review from the New York Times. Jon Pareles described the band as “a thunderbolt dressed in bluejeans,” with music that’s “aching when it’s slow and growling and whooping when it’s fast.” NPR named them one of the best bands of 2011, while MTV called them one of the top bands to look for in 2012.

As word of mouth spread, more offers to tour came in, and the band members were finally able to quit their day jobs; until this point, all the writing, recording, and touring had to be done around such responsibilities as Howard’s work as a mail carrier and Johnson’s hours toiling as a night watchman at a nuclear power plant.

Now, with expectations at fever pitch, the Alabama Shakes have delivered Boys & Girls—six of the songs from that initial Nashville session, and another five recorded during the rest of the year. From the heart-rending title song to such stomps as “Rise to the Sun,” the album demonstrates the sense of groove and space the band learned from their idols, along with a blistering force and emotion that simply can’t be learned.

Overwhelmed by the response they’ve already received, there is one perception of the band that they want to challenge. “A lot of people think we’re a soul revival act,” says Cockrell. “That’s an honor to me, classic R&B is my favorite kind of music, but everybody has their own influences. Brittany is way more into rock and roll—she likes things pretty amped up most of the time.”

The release of Boys & Girls marks the arrival of a major new rock and roll band. To the members themselves, though, what’s been most exciting has been the reaction they have felt on stage, whether tiny local dates or under the glare of the media.

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Alabama Shakes Videos

  • Alabama Shakes - Hold On (Official Video) - YouTube
    Alabama Shakes - Hold On (Official Video) - YouTube
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FAQs on booking Alabama Shakes

  • How do I book Alabama Shakes to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Alabama Shakes for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Alabama Shakes, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Alabama Shakes or any other speaker of your choice.

  • What are the speaker fees for Alabama Shakes

    Speaking fees for Alabama Shakes, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Alabama Shakes are for live events and for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Alabama Shakes, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.

  • What topics does Alabama Shakes speak about?

    Alabama Shakes is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Celebrity, Entertainers, Literary, Music.

  • Where does Alabama Shakes travel from?

    Alabama Shakes generally travels from Athens, AL, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.

  • Who is Alabama Shakes’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Alabama Shakes for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Alabama Shakes for your next private or corporate function.

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    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Alabama Shakes or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.

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    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

Alabama Shakes is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book Alabama Shakes for your event is $50,000 - $100,000. Alabama Shakes generally travels from Athens, AL, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Fleet Foxes, The Avett Brothers, Saint Motel, Atlas Genius and Shovels & Rope. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Alabama Shakes for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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