Alabama Shakes have not released an album since 2015. On Friday they released one, and the story of how it happened starts with a brewery owner in Tuscaloosa asking Brittany Howard to play a benefit show. She called her bandmates to rehearse. The rehearsals turned into an EP, the EP turned into a record, and I Must Be Dreaming arrived eleven years after Sound and Color to some of the best reviews of the band’s career.
What Came Out on Friday
I Must Be Dreaming was released August 28, 2026 on Island Records. It is the band’s third studio album and the first since Sound and Color in 2015. There are 11 tracks.
Shawn Everett produced it with the band, recording at Sound Emporium Studios and Blackbird Studio in Nashville. Everett engineered Sound and Color, so the sonic continuity is not an accident.
The Brewery Story
The reunion did not come from a label push or a management plan. Bo Hicks, a co founder of Druid City Brewing Company in Tuscaloosa, asked Brittany Howard to play a benefit gig.
Howard called Heath Fogg and Zac Cockrell to rehearse for it. The rehearsals went well enough that they kept going. That produced an EP, and the EP kept expanding until it was a full album. Bands that break up at their commercial peak usually come back for a tour offer. This one came back because someone asked for a favor.
Who Is on It
The lineup on this record is Brittany Howard on vocals and guitar, Heath Fogg on guitar, and Zac Cockrell on bass. Keyboardist Paul Horton has also played with the group. Original drummer Steve Johnson departed during the hiatus and is not part of the reunion.
Howard spent the intervening years building a substantial solo career, which is a large part of why the band’s return required an actual reason rather than a default.
The Rollout
It was a long one. Another Life arrived in August 2025. American Dream followed in April 2026. I Feel Hope Coming came on July 10, 2026, and the album itself was announced on July 7.
Three singles across a full year is a patient campaign, and it worked in the sense that the album did not arrive cold. The audience had a year to notice the band existed again.
The Reviews Are Very Good
The record holds a Metacritic score of 85 across six reviews, which the site classifies as universal acclaim. Uncut gave it 90. Exclaim, Mojo, and The Line of Best Fit all landed at 80.
That matters more than usual for a reunion album. The default outcome for a band returning after a decade is a respectful reception and a quick fade. This one is being reviewed as a record rather than as an event.
What Howard Says It Is About
She has been direct about the double meaning in the title. “It could be saying, I must be dreaming, because the world is so crazy right now,” she has said. “But it could also mean, I must be dreaming, because the world is so incredibly beautiful.”
On the writing, she added: “I did approach this differently, and I found that I did have kind of surprising things to say.” And on the band itself: “I’ve found that we’ve all grown up and we’re much gentler, more sensitive people.”
They Are Already on the Road
The band is in the middle of a North American run through September that includes Tanglewood, Radio City Music Hall, the Santa Barbara Bowl, and the Ohana Festival, plus co headline dates with Tedeschi Trucks Band and support slots for Zach Bryan.
Releasing an album while playing rooms that size is the position most reunited bands hope to reach two albums later. The Shakes never really lost the audience. They just stopped feeding it.
A Loaded New Music Friday
They did not have the day to themselves. August 28 also brought Erykah Badu and The Alchemist’s collaborative record, a Prince release, Mastodon’s Marrow Deep, Interpol’s This Mirror Weighs a Ton, The Linda Lindas’ Gotta Get Out, and Mike D’s solo debut Thank You.
Add Rod Wave’s 24 track Don’t Look Down to that list and it was one of the densest release days of the year. Alabama Shakes still cut through, which says something about how much goodwill an eleven year absence can accumulate.
The eleven year gap deserves more attention than it usually gets in reunion coverage. Sound and Color won a Grammy and debuted at number one. The band was not fading when it stopped, which is the rarer and harder version of walking away. Most groups take a hiatus because the audience left. This one took a hiatus with the audience still there.
Howard’s solo work in the interval was genuinely different from the Shakes, moving through funk, gospel, and electronic textures the band had never touched, and it is hard to imagine this record sounding the way it does without that detour. The reunion is not a return to a previous position. It is three people who spent a decade becoming different musicians deciding to be in a room together again.
The reviews suggest that difference is audible. The consistent note across them is that this does not sound like a band recreating itself, which is the failure mode that ruins most reunion albums. Whatever else I Must Be Dreaming is, it is not a tribute to Sound and Color.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the new Alabama Shakes album come out?
August 28, 2026, on Island Records. It is called I Must Be Dreaming.
How long has it been since their last album?
Eleven years. Sound and Color was released in 2015.
Who is in the band now?
Brittany Howard, Heath Fogg, and Zac Cockrell, with Paul Horton on keyboards. Original drummer Steve Johnson is not part of the reunion.
How did the reunion happen?
A Tuscaloosa brewery co founder asked Brittany Howard to play a benefit show. The rehearsals for it turned into an EP and then a full album.
How many songs are on it?
Eleven, produced by the band with Shawn Everett in Nashville.
Are they touring?
Yes. A North American run through September includes Radio City Music Hall, Tanglewood, the Santa Barbara Bowl, and the Ohana Festival.
