Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo. The group formed after Farrar met Jim Boquist and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and recorded in the Minneapolis area in late 1994. While half of the band was rooted in the Minneapolis area, Farrar and Heidorn lived in the St. Louis area, and the band used both cities as bases for its operations during the first couple of years.

Son Volt's first album, “Trace,” met with critical acclaim and topped many “best-of” lists in 1995, despite not being a large commercial success. Two follow-up albums, 1997's “Straightaways” and 1998's “Wide Swing Tremolo,” continued in the same vein. “A Retrospective: 1995-2000,” released in 2005, gathered highlights from this era, along with previously unreleased recordings.

Farrar announced a hiatus from Son Volt after their 1999 tour. Beginning in 2001, Farrar released several solo efforts that postponed further releases from Son Volt. Farrar reformed with the original members of Son Volt to record a song for a tribute album for Alejandro Escovedo. The sessions reportedly went so well that Farrar and the other band members intended to record once again in the autumn of 2004. Just prior to the sessions, however, Farrar and the other band members abruptly ended negotiations.

Farrar formed a new version of the band with a different line-up and released an album on Transmit Sound/Sony Legacy, “Okemah and the Melody of Riot,” in 2005. In 2006 they released a live album and DVD called “Six String Belief.”

In 2007 the band released a studio album called “The Search.” “American Central Dust” followed, released by Rounder Records in 2009. Their next album, “Honky Tonk,” was issued in 2013 by Rounder Records. Currently the band consists of Farrar on guitar and vocals, Dave Bryson on drums, Andrew Duplantis on bass, Mark Spencer on keys and steel guitar and Gary Hunt on guitar, mandolin and fiddle.

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