Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

Based in Denver, Colorado, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats mix rock & roll swagger with classic soul, R&B, and country influences. Frontman Rateliff first won acclaim for his quieter, more introspective folk-based albums, but his career surged after the Night Sweats’ gritty 2015 debut became a hit across North America. and Europe. Signed to the legendary Stax label, the band spent the decade’s second half enjoying a high-profile reputation, releasing a live album and studio follow-up before Rateliff returned to solo work with the reflective 2020 album And It's Still Alright. The Future, his dynamic third album with the Night Sweats, arrived in November 2021.
In 2013, following the release of his introspective 2013 solo outing, Falling Faster Than You Can Run, Rateliff formed the Night Sweats to bolster a set of more energetic songs he’d been working on. Their rowdy retro sound was deeply influenced by vintage soul, R&B, and gospel traditions, Van Morrison, and the Band. A formidable live unit with a reputation for stage-quaking shows, they signed to the Stax label. Rateliff and the label enlisted producer Richard Swift to capture the band’s live attack in the recording studio. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats’ self-titled debut album was issued in August 2015, preceded by appearances at the Newport Folk Festival and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. A breakout success at home and in Europe, the band toured globally in support of the album. While still on the road, they issued A Little Something More From, an eight-track EP that featured a combination of new tracks and live favorites. Capturing a performance on August 21, 2016, the one-year anniversary of the group’s eponymous debut, Live at Red Rocks followed in late 2017. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band added support on six tracks including Sam Cooke’s “Having a Party”; it was performed as a New Orleans second-line whilr the band exited the venue. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats returned with their second studio album, Tearing at the Seams, in March 2018. Another success, it topped charts in the U.S. and U.K. 2020 saw Rateliff resuming his solo career with the more contemplative And It's Still Alright, and in October 2021, a reconvened Night Sweats returned with a fiery third LP titled The Future. ~ Thom Jurek