Article Contributed by Sacks and Company
Published on 2026-04-14
Photo: Sheva Kafai
Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Fleetwood Mac) and his band The Dirty Knobs are set to release their new album Mission of Mercy, due June 12 via Soundly Music/Thirty Tigers. The album features appearances from the B-52s’ Kate Pierson and Morgane Stapleton alongside the Dirty Knobs’ Chris Holt (guitars, keys), Lance Morrison (bass) and Campbell’s fellow Heartbreaker Steve Ferrone (drums, percussion). Pre-order the album HERE and see below for the complete track list.
In celebration of the forthcoming record, the band is debuting the album’s first single, the rocker “I Remember.” “‘I Remember’ is a song written on the piano instead of the guitar,” notes Campbell. “The Dirty Knobs turned my demo into a great rock track that has an ethereal, jam-like quality to it, which I really like. I can see it being a great song to play live.” Listen/share the track HERE.
Mission of Mercy displays Campbell’s full songwriting range, with tracks ranging from the unbridled rock & roll of “I Remember” to the Americana ballad “More Than Gold” and even the Brian Wilson-inspired psychedelia of the title track. Campbell states that “Mission Of Mercy is an action-packed collection of tunes that continue the vibe we established as well as some new directions in the songwriting. It’s full-throttle Knobs from start to finish and we look forward to playing these live this year.”
Campbell is on tour throughout the summer in support of the new record, with upcoming performances including dates with Chris Stapleton. In addition to dates with The Dirty Knobs, Campbell will unveil a selection of hits by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers arranged for orchestra performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at the Atlanta Symphony Hall on September 12. See below for a complete list of shows.
Mission of Mercy follows the Dirty Knobs’ 2024 album Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits—the subject of extensive critical acclaim from NPR’s “Fresh Air,” Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, Consequence, Salon and more—and once again finds the band collaborating with co-producers George Drakoulias and Martin Pradler.
Last year saw the release of Campbell’s New York Times Best Selling memoir Heartbreaker, which Rolling Stone hailed as “essential…a vividly told new autobiography,” while the Los Angeles Times praised its “tale of endurance and patience rewarded” and No Depression proclaimed it “does what the best music memoirs do: encourage readers to listen once again, or for the first time, to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and to Campbell’s solo works.” See what the press had to say about Heartbreaker HERE.
The Dirty Knobs (named after tech slang for a broken amp dial) were founded in 2000 by Campbell as a writing and club-date project outside the Heartbreakers. The group finally got on record with 2020's Wreckless Abandon and 2022's External Combustion. Those LPs, Campbell says, were the Knobs “trying to find our way as a rock & roll band.” “Now it’s down to great songs,” adds Campbell, “the depth in the lyrics and chords.” He recalls something Petty once told him: “Tom said, ‘I love the English language. There’s so much you can do with it.’ I'm discovering that, too. Looking for rhyme schemes, the right word. At first it was a struggle. Now that door has opened,” Campbell says. “I’ve turned a corner.” The Dirty Knobs are “still a rock band but growing into different feels.”
MIKE CAMPBELL & THE DIRTY KNOBS
MISSION OF MERCY
1. No Regrets
2. Let Me Back In My Dream
3. My Mama Told Me
4. I Remember
5. More Than Gold (feat. Morgane Stapleton)
6. Mission of Mercy
7. Bongo Mania (feat. Kate Pierson)
8. Wrecking Ball
9. Done To Me
10. Armageddon
11. Vicious Hangover
12. Vagrant
MIKE CAMPBELL & THE FIRST KNOBS
TOUR DATES
July 7—Minneapolis, MN—Pantages Theatre
July 9—Chicago, IL—The Vic Theatre
July 11—Northfield, OH—MGM Northfield Park Center Stage
July 12—Pontiac, MI—Flagstar Strand Theatre
July 15—Nashville, IN—Brown County Music Center
July 17—New Buffalo, MI—Four Winds
July 18—Pittsburgh, PA—Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
July 21—Glenside, PA—Keswick Theatre
July 23—Waterville, ME—Waterville Opera House
July 24—Portsmouth, NH—The Music Hall
September 12—Atlanta, GA—Atlanta Symphony Hall*
October 2—Bristow, VA—Jiffy Lube Live†
*Mike Campbell & The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
†with Chris Stapleton
