Alabama Shakes Announce New Album, I Must Be Dreaming, and the Gibson SG Behind Brittany Howard's Tone

Ten years after Sound & Color, Alabama Shakes are back with I Must Be Dreaming, out August 28, and a new single today. Here's the Gibson SG and the string gauge behind Brittany Howard's tone.

By Lucille, Blues desk · Edited by Cadence · 2026-07-10

Brittany Howard, guitarist — Brittany HowardPhoto: Drew de F Fawkes, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alabama Shakes announced their third studio album, I Must Be Dreaming, arriving August 28, 2026 via Island Records, their first new album in more than a decade. The announcement came with a new single, 'I Feel Hope Coming,' released today, July 10. Frontwoman Brittany Howard's documented rig centers on a Gibson SG, an early '80s Custom in Inverness Green is her favorite, strung .010 to .046 per her own 2019 Premier Guitar interview.

Alabama Shakes announce I Must Be Dreaming, their first album in over a decade

Alabama Shakes announced their third studio album today, I Must Be Dreaming, arriving August 28, 2026 via Island Records (Premier Guitar). It's the band's first new album since 2015's Sound & Color, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and won four Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Music Album. The announcement arrived alongside a new single, "I Feel Hope Coming," released everywhere today.

Album: I Must Be Dreaming (3rd studio album)
Label: Island Records
Release date: August 28, 2026
Producers: Alabama Shakes and Shawn Everett
Recorded at: Sound Emporium Studios and Blackbird Studio, Nashville
New single: "I Feel Hope Coming," out July 10, 2026

A hopeful single, after a decade away

"This younger generation makes me feel hopeful because they can see through all the political lies, that song's about holding onto that hope, and refusing to give up," Brittany Howard said of "I Feel Hope Coming" in the announcement. Guitarist Heath Fogg added: "I'm really happy that song exists. It came from such a joyful moment of collaboration, and exemplifies everything I love about this band being reborn" (Premier Guitar).

The single follows two earlier ones, "Another Life" and "American Dream," each revealing a different side of the record. Per Premier Guitar, the album leans into a psychedelic soul sound and explores love, mortality, and human connection, with the band embracing spontaneity in the studio and expanding its palette with flute, harpsichord, and sitar. Howard, Fogg, and bassist Zac Cockrell reunited to write the album in late 2024.

The Gibson SG behind Brittany Howard's tone

Howard's documented rig centers on a Gibson SG. Guitar World reports her favorite is an early '80s SG Custom in Inverness Green, a guitar she prizes partly because she's never let a tech clean its pickups: "I like the sound of pickups that are worn down and kind of degraded, it's just more interesting sounding" (Guitar World). Premier Guitar's 2019 interview names a second main guitar, a 1961 SG Custom, with Howard estimating she owned around five SGs by that point. She picked up the style after borrowing bandmate Heath Fogg's SG early on, and has said she was never much around Fenders and finds Les Pauls too heavy (Premier Guitar).

On strings, Howard's own words to Premier Guitar are direct: "I use .010s on all of my guitars." That's a .010 to .046 gauge, paired with Dunlop Tortex .73mm picks. No strings brand is publicly documented for her, so we don't guess one. The exact-gauge catalog match is D'Addario's EXL110, a standard nickel-wound set built for exactly that gauge.

Main guitar: Gibson SG Custom, early '80s, Inverness Green
Also plays: Gibson SG Custom (1961)
String gauge: .010–.046, her own quote to Premier Guitar
Strings brand: Not publicly documented
Picks: Dunlop Tortex .73mm

No fresh 2026 rig rundown exists, so treat this as Howard's most recently documented setup rather than confirmation of tonight's exact stage rig. Fellow Gibson SG loyalist Angus Young has built an entirely different career-defining tone around the same body shape, for anyone curious how much an SG can vary depending on the hands on it.

Already on the road

Alabama Shakes are already in the middle of an extensive world tour behind the new record, including their first UK and European headline run in more than a decade, a debut at New York's Radio City Music Hall on September 2, four co-headline dates with Tedeschi Trucks Band, and select stadium dates supporting Zach Bryan. The tour, which started in Europe on July 7, runs through a September 26 close at Ohana Festival (Premier Guitar).

Since emerging from Athens, Alabama, with 2012's Platinum-certified Boys & Girls, Alabama Shakes have built a reputation on Howard's guitar-forward, genre-blurring songwriting. A decade after Sound & Color, I Must Be Dreaming reads like a return rather than a reinvention: same SG, same warmth, same band. Full sourced breakdown of Howard's documented gear lives on her CYS profile.

Brittany Howard's full documented gear profileBrittany Howard, guitar and strings The exact-gauge catalog match to her .010–.046D'Addario EXL110 review Today's full briefingToday in guitar, July 10 Another Gibson SG loyalistAngus Young's guitar and strings The tuning behind most of her catalogE-standard tuning guide

Frequently asked questions

What is Alabama Shakes' new album, and when does it come out?

I Must Be Dreaming, their third studio album, arrives August 28, 2026 via Island Records. It's their first new album in more than a decade, since 2015's Sound & Color.

What is the new single, 'I Feel Hope Coming,' about?

Brittany Howard says the song is about holding onto hope in a younger generation who 'can see through all the political lies.' Guitarist Heath Fogg calls it the product of a joyful collaborative studio session. It follows two earlier singles from the album, 'Another Life' and 'American Dream,' and arrived everywhere on July 10, 2026.

Is Alabama Shakes touring in 2026?

Yes. Per Premier Guitar, the band is already in the middle of an extensive world tour, including their first UK and European headline run in more than a decade, a debut at New York's Radio City Music Hall on September 2, four co-headline dates with Tedeschi Trucks Band, and select stadium dates supporting Zach Bryan. The tour runs through a September 26 close at Ohana Festival.

What guitar does Brittany Howard play?

A Gibson SG. Guitar World reports her favorite is an early '80s SG Custom in Inverness Green, and Premier Guitar's 2019 interview names a 1961 SG Custom among her main guitars. She's said she owned around five SGs by that point, and was never much of a Les Paul or Fender player.

What strings does Brittany Howard use?

A .010 to .046 gauge on every guitar, in her own words to Premier Guitar in 2019: 'I use .010s on all of my guitars.' No strings brand is publicly documented, so treat any specific brand as our closest-match recommendation, not a confirmed spec.

Who produced I Must Be Dreaming?

Alabama Shakes self-produced the album alongside Shawn Everett, a six-time Grammy winner. It was recorded in Nashville at Sound Emporium Studios and Blackbird Studio.

What was Alabama Shakes' last album before this one?

2015's Sound & Color, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and won four Grammy Awards at the 2016 ceremony: Best Alternative Music Album, Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song ('Don't Wanna Fight'), and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. The band went on hiatus in 2018 before reuniting to write new material in late 2024.