"Petersen has a story-telling essence that is emotionally explosive but remains invitingly gritty."
- Glide Magazine
Raised in Cloquet, Minnesota, Petersen discovered rock & roll while riding around town in his father's car. Those memorable trips — with music on the radio, Petersen in the backseat, and his Dad behind the wheel — left a lasting impression. Petersen began playing electric guitar and eventually hit the road with Social Animals, opening for acts like Dashboard Confessional and All-American Rejects, while playing an anthemic, modernized version of the genre that had first captivated him. Along the way, he stockpiled a number of newly-written songs that didn't necessarily gel with Social Animals' cathartic stomp. Those songs piled up, unused, for years, then found their way onto Ditchbird's full-length debut, Real Enough For You Now, in early 2021.
Petersen's music has always been multi-faceted. With Social Animals, he's an internationally-celebrated rocker and lead guitarist, adding atmosphere and attitude to songs built for stadiums. With Real Enough For You, he scaled his songwriting back to its acoustic roots, reworking the influence of Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and The Replacements to his own brand of heartland folk-rock. With Some Dreams, he punctuates songs about the artistic experience — the elation, the anxiety, and the long drives from one show to the next — with guitar-heavy arrangements that nod to his rock & roll roots. This is Petersen's story, but it's our story, too: a universal tale about chasing down one's dreams, set to a soundtrack that's as melodic as it is muscular. - Andrew Leahey