Holt joined Campbell and the Knobs in 2022 and played guitars and keyboards on Mission of Mercy, a rambunctious new album featuring the B-52s’ Kate Pierson on “Bongo Mania.”
The Knobs wear their influences openly — the title track could pass for an outtake from Pet Sounds. Petty’s DNA is also hard to miss, especially in the nasal vocals: Campbell said in his memoir Heartbreaker that when he first shared his solo work with Petty, the response was blunt: “What are you doing? It sounds like a bad impression of me!”
Holt said playing with Campbell is a thrill, partly because he plays so fast and loose.
“I just hang on for dear life and follow him off the cliff. That’s one of the things that works really well about our musical chemistry. I’m not afraid to improvise and see what happens, and the Knobs thrive on that,” Holt told The Dallas Morning News in 2024. Bassist Lance Morrison and Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone round out the group.
No Texas shows have been announced on a tour that takes the quartet through the Midwest and the East Coast, including the Farm Aid benefit concert Sept. 26 in Virginia. Any slot at Farm Aid is high profile, but it’ll be hard to top the Knobs’ 2023 appearance when Holt found himself backing Bob Dylan on “Maggie’s Farm” and “Ballad of a Thin Man.”
When the Knobs’ tour wraps, Holt will head to Las Vegas in November to play four shows with the Eagles at the Sphere. It may be his last time performing “Hotel California” with the band, as Don Henley has said this year will probably be the Eagles’ swan song.