The Black Keys

About

Also known as: Black Keys

Few bands have made a two piece sound this full. The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney out of Akron, Ohio, built their raw blues rock blueprint from influences like Junior Kimbrough, Howlin' Wolf, and Robert Johnson, cutting their early records in Carney's basement with minimal gear before anyone was paying attention. Their grind through small clubs and festival stages across the 2000s quietly built one of the more devoted underground followings in rock. The commercial tipping point came with Brothers in 2010 and its ubiquitous single "Tighten Up", which kicked off a run of Grammy wins and chart success that peaked with Turn Blue hitting number one in the US, Canada, and Australia in 2014. After a hiatus, they came back swinging with Let's Rock in 2019, then paid tribute to Mississippi hill country blues with Delta Kream in 2021, followed by Dropout Boogie in 2022 and Ohio Players in 2024.