The nephew of Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks, Derek Trucks picked up his first guitar at age nine, shared the stage with Buddy Guy by the time he was 12, and played alongside Bob Dylan and Stephen Stills before he turned 20. In the mid-1990s, the young guitarist formed his self-titled band, which now includes gifted instrumentalists Kofi Burbridge, Todd Smallie, Yonrico Scott and Count M'Butu, as well as lead vocalist Mike Mattison. The group, which merges multiple musical genres and generations, released its debut in 1997. In 2009, it put forth its seventh album, Already Free, a collection of covers and original compositions that features the band's distinctive progressive roots sound with echoes of Eastern Indian influences.