When you’ve been a band long enough to release eight studio albums, play two thousand shows, work with Joan Jett & Stevie Van Zandt, and give birth to two children who are now old enough for guitar lessons, the Punk Rock roadshow turns into a family affair. But even with the addition of their two youngest traveling cohorts — son River and daughter Daisy — The Dollyrots won’t be confused for The Partridge Family anytime soon.

“Sometimes you get bored with the party,” says bassist/vocalist/mom Kelly Ogden. “We toured for over a decade being ridiculous, drinking too much, being crazy. Honestly, I was ready to throw in the towel more than once.” Things have changed since that earlier pre-parental era of the band, the longstanding artistic collaboration between Kelly and her husband, guitarist/dad Luis Cabezas. “Our kids are totally normal at home but are so easy on tour. They just know what to do, on stage and off. It’s a part of them,” says Cabezas.

The next adventure on the now-expanded Dollyrots caravan is the brand new album Night Owls, their latest full length effort. Released in October 2023 through Stevie Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records, the album is co-Produced by longtime collaborator John Fields (Jimmy Eat World, All Time Low, Meet Me At the Altar). “John Fields is our George Martin,” says Kelly. “He’s pretty much our bandmate that doesn’t tour.”

The Dollyrots are no stranger to success. The band has hit the Billboard Heatseekers and Independent Albums charts multiple times, they’ve been featured in movies and TV shows and they’ve shared stages with some of punk and rock’s biggest names. Their 2004 debut was released by legendary punk label Lookout! while the next two came out through Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records. Long a staple in rotation on Sirius/XM’s Little Steven’s Underground Garage, the band’s consistent output perked up the ears of Wicked Cool founder Stevie Van Zandt. “Their songwriting has reached a consistent level of greatness,” he says. They are now working with the label, an alliance which followed several DIY, fan-funded releases.

The partnership with Wicked Cool has also extended to the radio, where Kelly has held down the position of morning show DJ since 2019 on The Underground Garage, another Stevie Van Zandt creation. The Kelly Ogden Program airs every weekday morning on Sirius/XM Channel 21. In addition to fronting The Dollyrots, Ogden has also appeared in or shared her voice in TV and film as has the band, including ABC’s Schooled, Netflix’s Nimona, CSI: NY, Greek, Disney’s Brave, Easy A, a live performance on The Price Is Right, Dickinson, Billions, and Girl Trash: All Night Long. She also shares a side project with Bowling For Soup frontman Jaret Reddick called Jaret and Kelly.

Always active on the live circuit, the band gearing up for extensive 2024 tour plans in support of Night Owls. Kelly remarks, “You know how they say a band’s first album is usually their best? Well, I think because we had time for this one, you know, since the world stopped due to Covid, it’s a lot like a first album. We had so many bits and pieces and once we could finally get into the studio it all just flew out of us, like we had been holding something vital & urgent in for years. Because we had. If you love The Dollyrots you’ll love “Night Owls". If you don’t know The Dollyrots, you’ll probably love it too.”