The Black Keys

The Black Keys built their career from stripped-down basement recordings into one of the leading garage rock acts of the 2000s revival. Formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001, the duo pairs Dan Auerbach on guitar and vocals with Patrick Carney on drums. Friends since childhood, they started the band after both left college, drawing on blues traditions associated with Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, Howlin' Wolf and Robert Johnson.

After signing to the independent label Alive, the Black Keys released their debut, The Big Come Up, in 2002. The record led to a deal with Fat Possum Records. During the following decade, Auerbach and Carney developed an underground following through constant small-club touring, festival appearances, frequent releases and song licensing. Their third album, Rubber Factory, arrived in 2004 to critical acclaim and raised the band's profile, helping bring about a deal with Nonesuch Records in 2006.

The duo self-produced and recorded its first four albums in makeshift studios before moving into a professional setting for 2008's Attack & Release. For that album they worked with producer Danger Mouse, who became a recurring collaborator. Their commercial breakthrough followed with 2010's Brothers. The album and its single “Tighten Up” won three Grammy Awards. The 2011 follow-up, El Camino, peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and sent the group on its first arena run, the El Camino Tour. El Camino and “Lonely Boy” received another three Grammy Awards.

In 2014, the Black Keys released Turn Blue, their first number-one album in the United States, Canada and Australia. After the Turn Blue Tour ended in 2015, Auerbach and Carney stepped back from the band for several years while pursuing side projects and producing other artists. They returned in 2019 with Let's Rock, followed by the Mississippi hill country blues tribute Delta Kream in 2021 and the original-song album Dropout Boogie in 2022. Ohio Players was released in 2024, then No Rain, No Flowers on August 8, 2025. Their fourteenth album, Peaches!, was released in 2026.