In 2011, Vintage Trouble booked time at L.A.'s Bomb Shelter Studios, and recorded a no-frills album that captured their tough but soulful sound. Called The Bomb Shelter Sessions, the album earned positive notices from critics and attracted the attention of Doc McGhee, the manager who helped guide the careers of
Bon Jovi,
Mötley Crüe,
Skid Row, and
Hootie & the Blowfish. McGhee signed on as Vintage Trouble's manager, and he booked the band on a tour of the United Kingdom, where they were soon selling out clubs and earned a spot on the popular TV music series Later...with Jools Holland. The Bomb Shelter Sessions promptly rose to the upper reaches of the U.K. digital sales charts, and Vintage Trouble were juggling headlining gigs in clubs and theaters with British stadium dates opening for
Brian May and
Bon Jovi. In 2012, the album finally received a physical release in the United States, with the group supporting the release with North American tours opening for
Lenny Kravitz and
the Cranberries, with
the Who inviting the band to open for them on a late-2012 North American run. In April 2013, Vintage Trouble made the first of three appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and in the summer they once again joined
the Who on the road for a series of shows in Europe, as well as opening a show for
the Rolling Stones in London's Hyde Park. Legendary Australian hard rockers
AC/DC gave them another high-profile opening slot when they were added to the bill of the 2015 "Rock or Bust" tour, and in August 2015 Vintage Trouble made their major-label debut with 1 Hopeful Rd.; the album made them one of the first rock acts to be signed to the iconic jazz label
Blue Note Records, and the label's president, Don Was, produced the sessions. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi