Article Contributed by Sacks and Company
Published on 2026-05-12
Photo: Sheva Kafai
Celebrated guitarist and songwriter Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and Fleetwood Mac, and his band The Dirty Knobs, are debuting the new track “No Regrets” off their upcoming full-length record, Mission of Mercy, which is due June 12 via Soundly Music/Thirty Tigers.
Stream/share “No Regrets” here: https://soundlymusic.ffm.to/mctdk-noregrets
Campbell notes, “‘No Regrets’ was written the night before we recorded it. It’s like a movie in song about a fictional character who’s run out of town on a bum rap. What you hear is The Dirty Knobs’ first take; it’s basically saying, ‘let go of the past and go on living your life!’ Carried along by a Rickenbacker 12 string, our producer George Drakoulias says it has ‘gravitas.’”
Mission of Mercy is Campbell’s fourth album with The Dirty Knobs, featuring appearances from the B-52s’ Kate Pierson and Morgane Stapleton alongside the Dirty Knobs’ Chris Holt on guitars and keys, Lance Morrison on bass, and Campbell’s fellow Heartbreaker Steve Ferrone on drums and percussion.
Pre-order Mission of Mercy here: https://soundlymusic.ffm.to/mctdk-missionofmercy
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 touring with The Dirty Knobs, Campbell will unveil a selection of hits from across his career, including a number of tracks by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, arranged for orchestra and performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at the Atlanta Symphony Hall on September 12.
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.”
The book is now available in a new paperback edition, available for purchase here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/mike-campbell/heartbreaker/9780306833199/.
See what the press had to say about Heartbreaker here: https://sacksco.com/downloads/mikecampbell/mike_campbell_heartbreaker.pdf
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.”
Mission of Mercy Tracklist
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 Dirty 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*
September 15–19
Nashville, TN
AmericanaFest
October 2
Bristow, VA
Jiffy Lube Live†
* Mike Campbell & The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
† with Chris Stapleton
