Through tireless work and relentless touring, Blackberry Smoke have become one of the leading Southern rock bands.

Forming in Atlanta in 2000, the Blackberry Smoke have attracted fans across the world with full-throttle live shows and classic yet fresh sound. 

That touring schedule will lead them to Sweetwater Performance Pavilion on Friday, July 26, as part of their extensive Be Right Here Tour. 

Peeling back layers

Blackberry Smoke are criss-crossing the country in support of their latest album, Be Right Here, released in February.

Their eighth studio album has been described as continuation of their musical journey, “elevating their trademark blend of blues, Southern rock, and Americana that has helped them sustain a fruitful, more than two-decade-long career,” said American Songwriter. Whiskey Riff declared, “Their distinctively Southern rock sound and top-tier songwriting always comes through,” while Entertainment Focus calls the album “an enticing glimpse into the musical journey that awaits listeners.” 

Be Right Here was recorded live in studio, resulting in another raw and organic release full of heartfelt songs with honest lyrics. 

This process is preferred by the band and primary songwriter, lead guitarist and singer Charlie Starr. 

“Think about the James Gang and the Layla record by Derek and The Dominos,” Starr said of the album. “I want all the amps around the drums in the room. I want everything in the big room, no separation.” 

The finished product feels familiar. However, like peeling back another layer on an onion, the album reveals more about the band than ever before as they continue to add colors to their palette. 

While it may seem a bit of a departure from the commercially successful predecessor You Hear Georgia, Be Right Here is everything the band wanted it to be and more. 

“We all started to grin,” Starr told Loudersound of the first time they listened to it. “Because I remember thinking, ‘This is going to be different. It’s like making a ’60s record — we’re all in here and it’s warts and all.’ 

“We walked into the control room to listen to the first track, and everybody was grinning, like, ‘OK, this will work.’ ” 

‘Playing southern music’

Blackberry Smoke released their debut album, Bad Luck Ain’t No Crime, in 2003 and have gone on to record seven more studio albums, doing much of the work as an independent artist. 

Their 2015 record Holding All the Roses was the first independently released album to top the Billboard Country Albums chart in the modern era which they repeated with Like an Arrow in 2016. 

The seeds were sown with those albums and now the band is enjoying the fruits of their labor in the form the critical and commercial success. 

Their ability to continue to appeal to a wide range of audiences with each album is a result of a unified vision and refusal to be pigeon-holed into one genre or style of music. 

Starr told Arts ATL that whether someone calls them Southern rock, country, country rock, or something else, he gets it, because that is how people categorize music, but he may not always agree. 

“I don’t know if I really can define our music,” he said. “People call us a Southern rock band, and that’s cool, as long as they don’t think that can sort of marginalize or box us in. 

“Personally, when I think of The Allman Brothers or the Marshall Tucker Band, they are so different,” he told Arts ATL. “Then you think of Blackfoot. That’s an R&B band and a hard rock band and blues band and a jazz band and a country band. So, I just think of us as playing Southern music.”

Forming setlist

While some bands that tour as much as Blackberry Smoke have revealed members try to stay separated on tour to keep their sanity, such is not the case with these guys. They are friends and are still fond of each other, even after a couple of decades of long bus rides. 

“You could give us 10 dressing rooms in a venue and we always wind up in one,” Starr said. “We enjoy each other’s company. Maybe not every second of every day, but we’re friends. 

“I constantly get asked, ‘How do you keep a band together this long?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know how, but I know we love each other.’ And it’s real, you know?”

As for the live show, fans can expect to hear a mix of songs featuring the hits as well as some songs that may be a little more obscure. 

From night to night, the band plays what feels right, knowing the audience will come along for the ride. 

“I truly have no idea on what people want to hear,” Starr told Arts ATL. “I wouldn’t know where to begin to start second-guessing what people might like. 

“Joe Bonamassa is a great friend, and he also has a very varied audience. He was interviewing me for his podcast and asked me, ‘Do you tailor-make your playlist for your audience and for the situation? Or do you do like the Blues Brothers and say, ‘Screw it and go for it’?’ I told him that many years ago I used to try to plan for the audience, but it was a massive failure every time. So now, for the past 20 years or so, I just say, ‘You know, this is what we do. You either like it or you don’t.’ ”