Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

“Nathaniel Rateliff is one of these guys that will just carry the torch,” the legendary Robert Plant stated in a recent interview when asked “who is your favorite young artist?” Calling Nathaniel Rateliff ‘a leader of the next generation of greats,’ he continued, “Beautiful songwriting, beautiful singing, great delivery and he is a magnificent guy to go with it.” Plant is not alone. Rateliff’s collaborations with Paul Simon at Newport, Willie Nelson at the Hollywood Bowl and performing on-stage alongside Bob Weir and the late, great John Prine are just a few examples that underscore Plant’s sentiment.

Fast forward to 2024.

"South of Here," Rateliff and The Night Sweats’ fourth full-length album produced by Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Bon Iver, Kevin Morby) and recorded at Sonic Ranch outside El Paso, TX, reckons with a lifetime of pain and trauma and transforms it into a stirring, soul-baring rumination on love, loss, hope and resolve. Following "And It’s Still Alright," Rateliff’s beloved 2020 solo LP, and "The Future," The Night Sweats’ acclaimed 2021 release, the new album (with help and insistence from Cook), seamlessly blends both sides of his immense talent: emotionally potent, vivid storytelling and the rugged, R&B revivalism that has powered the band to world-wide acclaim over the past decade.

Rateliff’s songs have always come from a place of deep honesty, however through this recording process he found he was incorporating more of his own personal story than ever before. “Brad was a great producer to write alongside,” Rateliff noted. “This album is a look into my own struggle with anxiety, insecurity and also stories of my life. He encouraged me to take responsibility for my own narrative in the songs and to write about what’s happening in my life. These recordings were done together in a room with my closest friends. I hope these songs and stories give people an opportunity to better understand their own struggles, whatever they may be.”

It's all led to this point. On the grand and commanding "South of Here," Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats harnessed the struggle and followed their North Star to create the most essential recording of their career. “I always try to put some bit of hope in there,” Rateliff says. “The world feels pretty bleak right now, but nobody needs me to say that. We have to continue to figure out a reason to make things better, regardless of how bleak things may be. Admitting those difficulties builds strength.”