Dan Auerbach keeps it raw. And the Grammys keep calling.
- - Dan Auerbach keeps it raw. And the Grammys keep calling.
Audrey Gibbs, Nashville TennesseanJanuary 1, 2026 at 10:34 PM
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After 25 years in the music industry, Dan Auerbach is still surprised when he receives a Grammy nomination. He has 24.
"To be honest, I was extra surprised this year," said the 46-year-old frontman of The Black Keys. At the 2026 ceremony, he's up for producer of the year.
The Nashville singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer has been nominated for the award five times, taking home the win once in 2013.
Auerbach is known for his production work on Lana Del Rey's "Ultraviolence" and Cage the Elephant's "Tell Me I'm Pretty," balancing his career in The Keys with his time in the studio helping other artists reach their goals.
This year, he stretched his limits even farther, propelling himself into the world of smoky blues, gospel and cumbia (Colombian folk music), all the while staying true to his thrashing, messy rock 'n' roll roots.
Dan Auerbach sits in his studio for a portrait in Nashville on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025.
On a bleary December morning, we sat down with Auerbach at Easy Eye Sound, his Nashville studio and record label.
Auerbach let us into his production process, discussed the work that formed his year and dove into what keeps him in Nashville.
The Black Keys pushed past anger in 2025
Among Auerbach's main feats of 2025 is producing and crafting The Black Keys' studio album, "No Rain, No Flowers."
The "Lonely Boy" band, which formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001, has risen to rock royalty in their more than 20 years together. Auerbach and his creative counterpart, drummer Patrick Carney, released their thirteenth record in August.
Recorded at Easy Eye, the band collaborated with songwriters Rick Nowels, Daniel Tashian and Desmond Child on the record.
"We went through a particularly harsh break with our old manager," Auerbach said. They parted ways with their team in June 2024.
"We should have known better, but we (messed) up and we paid the price," he said.
"We ended up having to cancel a tour because of that relationship with that person, and we were so depressed and just angry at ourselves, angry at this person and the whole situation. The only thing we could really do is go in the studio and try to make ourselves feel better."
That's the essence of the record, Auerbach said.
"It's just us getting back into it and trying to get over being so angry ... hence the title."
"No Rain, No Flowers" is an 11-track blues-rock record laced with nostalgia. Its overarching theme is letting go and learning from pain. It's a straightforward piece of musical therapy, and it's one of the works that earned Auerbach his Grammy nod.
But his other projects in 2025 focused on helping smaller artists achieve their target sound.
"That's why I'm extra surprised (about the nomination)," he said. "I'm happy it gives our artists a little bit more visibility too."
Dan Auerbach sits in his studio for a portrait in Nashville on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025.How the music finds Dan Auerbach
Auerbach's work this year included records with English singer-songwriter Miles Kane and Nashville blues singer Robert Finley.
He got in the studio with Latin instrumental band Hermanos Gutiérrez, the "ancient" sounding Early James and snarling rock band The Velveteers.
Canadian roots singer Jeremie Albino and Boston alt-rockers Fai Laci, too.
Because Auerbach makes a living off of his work with The Black Keys, he has no quotas to fill.
"It allows me to work on stuff I personally love, and it can be an artist who has no followers or an old established artist," he said. "I think what we do here is very boutique and very grassroots in a way."
Dan Auerbach sits in his studio for a portrait in Nashville on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025.
"Sometimes we hear something when we're out. Sometimes a friend sends us music."
He recalled finding one of his artists as he was walking down the street in Texas and noticed music drifting over from a nearby rooftop. It was The Animeros, a band that mixes cumbia with chicha and psychedelic music. This year, he produced their record.
The production process is always different, Auerbach said. "It's all about what the artist wants to convey. I'm just there to support in any way I can."
For Early James' 2025 record "Medium Raw," Auerbach leaned into James' "old soul feel," recording in a century-old house on eighth and Wedgewood. Hearing the house creak in the recordings was important, Auerbach said.
But there's one throughline across all genres and acts: He wants to capture an organic moment. "Even with its flaws ... especially with its flaws."
Robert Finley's record "Hallelujah! Don't Let The Devil Fool Ya" was one of Auerbach's most meaningful projects of the year. It was one of the first full gospel projects he's ever worked on.
Auerbach's father died a few weeks before the recording process. The album took on a spiritual weight.
"This really deep gospel record just kind of came out of nowhere," he said. Some songs, like the soulful ballad "His Love," hit Auerbach pretty hard.
"It was the right time. We got Robert and his daughter and it was magic. He's so talented."
Robert Finley performs during the Tell Everybody! record release show at Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.What's next for Dan Auerbach, The Black Keys?
Auerbach's got a jam-packed schedule between The Keys and his production work.
When he isn't in the studio, Auerbach spends time with his two kids, heading to Percy Warner Park and pickin' parties, a gathering where acoustic-folk musicians come together to play. He brought his son, age 10, to his first pickin' party months back.
"There's so many talented people in this town. Anything is possible on any given day," he said. "There's no other place like it."
Dan Auerbach sits in his studio for a portrait in Nashville on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025.
And in 2026, Auerbach's got work on the horizon with Sturgill Simpson and more from Hermanos Gutiérrez and The Black Keys.
It's about time he and Sierra Ferrell get together for a record too, Auerbach said.
He's also expanding his Easy Eye studio space, having recently bought the building next door, an old radiator shop he's always "lusted after."
The Black Keys are hitting the road to play shows with big open floors, inspired by the raucous, dancey energy they've experienced at some of their Europe shows.
"We've got a whole year planned ahead of us that looks incredible," Auerbach said.
So stay tuned for announcements. Where Auerbach goes, the music follows.
To learn more about Easy Eye Sound, head to easyeyesound.com. To learn more about The Black Keys, visit theblackkeys.com.
Audrey Gibbs is a music journalist at The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Dan Auerbach keeps it raw. And the Grammys keep calling.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
