Drive-By Truckers pull into D.C.'s 9:30 Club

What the heck was a band with as much critical and popular acclaim as the Drive-By Truckers doing opening for another band, even if it is rock ‘n’ roll royalty Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers?

The answer might just boil down to chief truckers Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley — who formed what became Drive-By Truckers in 1996 — being fans themselves. Although many bands wait for the day when their popularity is such that they don’t need to serve as openers, the pairing with Tom Petty was too cool to pass up, Hood said.