The Buddy Blake Band is a rock ’n’ roll drive with The Who riding shotgun—R.E.M., Counting Crows, Grand Funk and Zeppelin riding in the backseat of a car once owned by Tom Petty.

Born in Northwest Florida, the band brings together four longtime friends: Buddy Bolter on lead guitar, Blake Bell on vocals, rhythm guitar and keys, Bob Matteson on drums and percussion, and Tom McMillan on bass and keys. They record live in the studio, leaving room for the unexpected thing that happens when somebody takes a chance and the others follow.

Their songs move through heartland rock, Americana, blues and Gulf Coast grit. They’re populated by people trying to get home, start over, make amends, or laugh at the sheer strangeness of being alive. There’s regret in the music, but also hope—and enough humor to keep either one from getting too comfortable.

The Buddy Blake Band has built an extensive catalog on its own terms, making full albums because that’s how these four hear the stories unfold. After all these years, the point is still the same: get in a room together, play the song, and see where it takes them.