Back in the Seventies, Tom Petty’s first band Mudcrutch played everywhere — from unlicensed backyard festivals to topless bars — but they never performed at a charity benefit. On Saturday night, the reunited Mudcrutch played their first show in over three decades in the 500-seat Malibu Performing Arts Center, kicking off a thirteen-date California club tour and helping to raise funds for the Midnight Mission in Los Angeles.

“This is a trip, isn’t it?” Petty asked the well-heeled audience. “I’m just trying to get really good and grounded here.” (more…)

Thirty-four years after splitting up, Tom Petty and his pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch are releasing an album later this month. “It has an edgy country-rock feel,” Petty says of the fourteen-track album, which was recorded in two weeks and features every member singing at least one song. “I had to calm myself down at night, I was having so much fun.” For more on Mudcrutch, My Morning Jacket, Madonna and many more, check out our Spring Album Preview in the new issue of Rolling Stone on stands tomorrow. Check back on Friday for an expanded version at RollingStone.com.

[Photo: Getty]