# Dan Auerbach
**Dan Auerbach** (Daniel Quine Auerbach, born 1979) is an American musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, and producer best known as the vocalist and guitarist of the blues-rock duo the Black Keys, which he formed in [Akron, Ohio](https://www.edgepedia.org/akron-ohio), with drummer [Patrick Carney](https://www.edgepedia.org/patrick-carney) in 2001. Beyond the duo, he has recorded two solo albums, leads the psych-influenced soul-blues band the Arcs, and runs the Nashville label and recording studio Easy Eye Sound, through which he produces other artists.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446) • [2](https://theblackkeys.bandcamp.com/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979; AllMusic lists Wooster, Ohio, while other profiles give Akron, Ohio[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446) • [3](https://www.fandango.com/people/dan-auerbach-941144/biography) |
| Band | Co-founder, singer, and guitarist of the Black Keys (formed 2001 in Akron with drummer Patrick Carney); debut album *The Big Come Up*, 2002[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446) • [2](https://theblackkeys.bandcamp.com/) |
| Breakthrough | Major-label deal with Nonesuch in 2006; mainstream success with *Attack & Release* (2008), *Brothers* (2010), and *El Camino* (2011)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446) |
| Solo albums | *Keep It Hid* (2009) and *Waiting on a Song* (2017)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446) |
| Side project | The Arcs, debuted with *Yours, Dreamily* (2015); second album *Electrophonic Chronic* (2023)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446) • [4](https://www.thearcs.com/) |
| Label | Easy Eye Sound, launched in Nashville around 2017, home to his solo reissues and productions for other artists[5](https://apnews.com/article/3a9b1d4252d6d1b8d9874c489c987819) • [6](https://easyeyesound.com/collections/dan-auerbach) |
| Grammy record | 7 wins and 24 nominations, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical nominations in multiple years[7](https://www.grammy.com/artists/dan-auerbach/142/) |
## The Black Keys
Auerbach grew up in Akron, Ohio, in a family steeped in art and music; his father, Charles "Chuck" Auerbach, bought and sold art and antiques, and his father's collection of old blues records was an early influence.[3](https://www.fandango.com/people/dan-auerbach-941144/biography) • [8](https://relix.com/features/detail/the-black-keys-still-chooglin-after-all-these-years) He and Patrick Carney, who grew up on the same street, began playing together in 1996 and formed the Black Keys in 2001.[8](https://relix.com/features/detail/the-black-keys-still-chooglin-after-all-these-years) • [2](https://theblackkeys.bandcamp.com/)
**Early recordings.** The duo's first albums were made in improvised settings around Akron, including basements where Carney handled the engineering and, for 2004's *Rubber Factory*, a former tire-manufacturing plant. Auerbach has described the homemade methods plainly: microphones placed inside a clothes dryer for reverb, and a swung microphone for a reverse-Leslie effect. A demo tape helped the band land a deal with the independent label Alive Naturalsound, and *The Big Come Up* arrived in 2002.[6](https://easyeyesound.com/collections/dan-auerbach) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446)
**Mainstream success.** In 2006 the Black Keys signed with Nonesuch Records, and the albums *Attack & Release* (2008, produced with Brian Burton, known as [Danger Mouse](https://www.edgepedia.org/danger-mouse-musician)), *[Brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/brothers-the-black-keys-album)* (2010), and *El Camino* (2011) brought platinum records, Grammy awards, and arena tours.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446) Auerbach has said he never doubted that he and Carney would keep playing together, and that "Pat and I are the Black Keys when we're together, and we're not the Black Keys any other time at all."[6](https://easyeyesound.com/collections/dan-auerbach) • [9](https://shop.theblackkeys.com/pages/about-us)
The duo's later career has been prolific and turbulent. After a five-year hiatus they returned with *Let's Rock* in June 2019, and their 2025 album *No Rain, No Flowers*, their 13th full-length LP, followed a public split with their management and the cancellation of an arena tour in 2024. A new album, *Peaches!*, was announced with the single "You Got to Lose" and summer 2026 London shows.[10](https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-black-keys-share-cathartic-single-you-got-to-lose-to-announce-new-album-peaches-along-with-two-summer-2026-london-shows-3927685) • [5](https://apnews.com/article/3a9b1d4252d6d1b8d9874c489c987819)
## Solo work
Auerbach's first solo album grew out of a studio he built at the back of his house in Akron in 2008, writing and recording on his own whenever the Black Keys' touring schedule paused. *Keep It Hid* was released in 2009 on Nonesuch, and Auerbach describes it as the start of having his own studio; it was reissued by Easy Eye Sound in 2023 after being out of print for several years.[6](https://easyeyesound.com/collections/dan-auerbach) • [11](https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/artists/dan-auerbach)
His second solo album, *Waiting on a Song* (2017), was described as a love letter to Nashville, his adopted hometown since an August 2010 move, and featured the city's session musicians along with [Duane Eddy](https://www.edgepedia.org/duane-eddy) and [Mark Knopfler](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-knopfler). Auerbach has said that Nashville only began to feel like home once he stopped touring constantly.[12](https://www.musicradar.com/news/dan-auerbach-in-depth-ive-always-felt-like-the-underdog)
## The Arcs and other projects
In 2015 Auerbach formed the Arcs, a blend of soul, rock, and psychedelia, with songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Richard Swift and musicians from the New York retro-soul community; their debut, *Yours, Dreamily*, appeared that year. Swift died in 2018, and the band's second album, *Electrophonic Chronic* (2023), was built partly from material he had recorded with the group and released as a tribute, issued on Easy Eye Sound and produced by Auerbach and Leon Michels.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446) • [4](https://www.thearcs.com/)
Earlier side work included the [Fast Five](https://www.edgepedia.org/fast-five), a 2009 project with members of Hacienda and [My Morning Jacket](https://www.edgepedia.org/my-morning-jacket), and BlakRoc, a 2009 collaboration with [Roc-A-Fella Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/roc-a-fella-records) founder Damon Dash in which Auerbach and Carney created blues-based backing tracks for rappers including Mos Def, Q-Tip, Ludacris, RZA, and Ol' Dirty Bastard.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446)
## Easy Eye Sound and production career
Auerbach moved to Nashville in August 2010, and his parallel career as a producer expanded from there through his recording workshop and label, Easy Eye Sound.[6](https://easyeyesound.com/collections/dan-auerbach) His production credits include [Dr. John](https://www.edgepedia.org/dr-john)'s *Locked Down* (2012), which he cites as a turning point in understanding the session-player tradition; the Pretenders' *Alone* (2016), for which [Chrissie Hynde](https://www.edgepedia.org/chrissie-hynde) also recruited him to play keyboards; [Lana Del Rey](https://www.edgepedia.org/lana-del-rey)'s *Ultraviolence*; and Cage the Elephant's *Tell Me I'm Pretty*.[12](https://www.musicradar.com/news/dan-auerbach-in-depth-ive-always-felt-like-the-underdog) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446) • [11](https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/artists/dan-auerbach)
The label has released blues and roots artists as well as reissues of Auerbach's own catalog. One notable signing was the soul singer Robert Finley, whom Auerbach produced; Auerbach also joined the Music Maker Foundation's advisory board in 2017. More recent Easy Eye Sound releases include [Miles Kane](https://www.edgepedia.org/miles-kane)'s *Sunlight In The Shadows*, released October 17, 2025, produced by Auerbach, who sings backing vocals and plays on every track alongside Carney, Daniel Tashian, and Pat McLaughlin.[13](https://www.musicmaker.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/17_Annual-Report-2017-.pdf) • [14](https://concord.com/news/miles-kane-releases-dan-auerbach-produced-album-sunlight-in-the-shadows/)
A personal production project was *Remember Me* (2018), the debut album by his father, released as Chuck Auerbach on Easy Eye Sound on [Father's Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/fathers-day) 2018. Chuck Auerbach, who had encouraged his son's music from an early age, died in 2025 after a stroke and an esophageal cancer diagnosis; Auerbach cared for him at his Nashville home during his final months, and sessions with Carney during that period grew into the Black Keys' *Peaches!* material.[8](https://relix.com/features/detail/the-black-keys-still-chooglin-after-all-these-years) • [6](https://easyeyesound.com/collections/dan-auerbach)
## Awards
The Recording Academy lists Auerbach with 7 Grammy wins and 24 nominations across rock, American roots, pop, and alternative categories. His nominations include Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2026, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for "Beautiful People (Stay High)" (2025), and Best Rock Album for the Black Keys' *Dropout Boogie* (2023). AllMusic credits him with 2012 wins or nominations for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, Best Blues Album for *Locked Down*, and Best Rock Song for "Lonely Boy".[7](https://www.grammy.com/artists/dan-auerbach/142/) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446)
## References
1. [Dan Auerbach – Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-auerbach-mn0000189446)
2. [Music | The Black Keys, Bandcamp](https://theblackkeys.bandcamp.com/)
3. [Dan Auerbach Biography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/dan-auerbach-941144/biography)
4. [The Arcs – official site](https://www.thearcs.com/)
5. [Music Review: The Black Keys' 'No Rain, No Flowers', AP News](https://apnews.com/article/3a9b1d4252d6d1b8d9874c489c987819)
6. [Dan Auerbach – Easy Eye Sound](https://easyeyesound.com/collections/dan-auerbach)
7. [Dan Auerbach Grammy Awards and Nominations, Recording Academy](https://www.grammy.com/artists/dan-auerbach/142/)
8. [The Black Keys: Still Chooglin' After All These Years, Relix](https://relix.com/features/detail/the-black-keys-still-chooglin-after-all-these-years)
9. [About us, The Black Keys shop](https://shop.theblackkeys.com/pages/about-us)
10. [The Black Keys announce new album 'Peaches!', NME](https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-black-keys-share-cathartic-single-you-got-to-lose-to-announce-new-album-peaches-along-with-two-summer-2026-london-shows-3927685)
11. [Dan Auerbach announces reissue of solo album, Keep It Hid, The Line of Best Fit](https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/artists/dan-auerbach)
12. [Dan Auerbach in-depth: "I've always felt like the underdog", MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/news/dan-auerbach-in-depth-ive-always-felt-like-the-underdog)
13. [Music Maker Foundation 2017 Annual Report](https://www.musicmaker.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/17_Annual-Report-2017-.pdf)
14. [Miles Kane Releases Dan Auerbach-Produced Album Sunlight In The Shadows, Concord](https://concord.com/news/miles-kane-releases-dan-auerbach-produced-album-sunlight-in-the-shadows/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Blues, folk, and roots musicians › Blues musicians*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license