Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi assembled an eleven piece version of their group for two shows in Florida at year’s end. Joining the band’s namesakes at the Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on the 29th and the Florida Theater in Jacksonville on the 31st were mainstays Oteil Burbridge (bass), Kofi Burbridge (keys and flute), Tyler Greenwell (drums), JJ Johnson (drums) and Mike Mattison (backing vocals). New to the group were backing vocalist Mark Rivers as well as Kebbi Williams (saxophone), Saunders Sermons (trombone), and Maurice Brown (trumpet). The Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Band opened its New Year’s Eve show with “Don’t Let Me Slide” (as it also did on the 29th) and also offered such staples as “Midnight in Harlem,” “Anyday,” “Space Captain,” “Leavin’ Trunk” and Blind Faith’s “Presence of the Lord.” Just after the clock struck twelve ushering in the new year, the group charged into “Night Time is the Right Time,” the song long associated with Ray Charles, followed by a set-closing “Bound for Glory.” The Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Band then brought the evening to a close with a version of Aretha Franklin’s “Spirit in the Dark.”

The next confirmed dates for the group are in late April, during a tour of Australia and New Zealand.