It was about 20 years ago when NPR’s Morning Edition said: “It’s not easy to categorize the music of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, except that it’s hot.”

2016 marked the 20th anniversary of the Squirrel Nut Zippers’ most celebrated and commercially successful album Hot. Originally released in the summer of 1996, Hot was the follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed debut The Inevitable. By this time, the group had already established a substantial live following across the country thanks to early support from NPR, college radio, and non-commercial stations. Hot wound up selling more than 1.3 million copies. The Squirrel Nut Zippers recently performed its first set of tour dates since 2009 to sold-out crowds across the country. As the band’s visionary creator Jimbo Mathus has said of the re-launch, “it’s not a reunion, it’s a revival.” The band is currently in the studio working on a new album, which will be its first in 17 years.