Blackberry Smoke
Blackberry Smoke | Photo by Joe Lopez

Blackberry Smoke Announces “Spirit Of The South Tour”

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Blackberry Smoke will embark on their extensive “Spirit of the South Tour: A Celebration of Southern Rock N’ Roll” this summer with special guests The Allman Betts Band, The Wild Feathers and founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, Jaimoe. Kicking off July 30 at Bridgeport, CT’s Hartford Healthcare Amphitheatre, the tour will include a stop at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater, Tickets for the newly confirmed dates go on-sale this Friday, May 21 at 10:00am local time. Check HERE for Tickets

Created to honor the various influences within Southern music, each show will conclude with a unique collaborative finale including Blackberry Smoke, The Allman Betts Band, The Wild Feathers and Jaimoe as well as additional surprise guests. The Allman Brothers Band Museum At The Big House will also have a new mobile set up on-site at each show, featuring never-before-seen archival items including original hand-written lyrics, family photographs, iconic clothing and jewelry, one-of-a-kind instruments played by the band and more. Jaimoe will also be available for meet and greet opportunities at each stop. All ticket holders will be granted free access to the museum with $1 of each ticket donated to The Allman Brothers Museum at the Big House to help preserve its history and heritage.

The “Spirit of the South Tour” adds to a landmark year for Blackberry Smoke, who are celebrating their 20th anniversary as a group this year with the release of their highly anticipated new album, You Hear Georgia, out May 28 via Thirty Tigers (pre-order here). With the addition of producer Dave Cobb, a fellow Georgian, You Hear Georgia pays homage to the band’s deep respect for their roots. Across the album’s ten songs, Blackberry Smoke continues to embody Georgia’s rich musical legacy as they have for the past two decades, honoring the people, places and sounds of their home state.

Ahead of the release, the band has released four album tracks: “All Rise Again” featuring Warren Haynes, “Ain’t The Same,” “Hey Delilah” and “You Hear Georgia,” of which Starr reflects, “Lyrically, the song is about the South being misunderstood. It’s obviously a rough and tumble world, and there’s a lot of bad people. But there’s a lot of good people too. It started with the idea of how people might have a preconceived opinion of you because of a thick Southern accent, then expanded into the reality of how some people just seem to have such a hard time getting along, thanks to political or religious views, or simply what part of the country you come from.”

In addition to Blackberry Smoke—Starr (vocals, guitar), Richard Turner (bass, vocals), Brit Turner (drums), Paul Jackson (guitar, vocals) and Brandon Still (keyboards)—the album features Benji Shanks (guitar) and Preston Holcomb (percussion) as well as special guests Jamey Johnson (“Lonesome For A Livin’”), Haynes (“All Rise Again”) and The Black Bettys (background vocals).

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About Jerry Holthouse

Music editor for Nashville.com. Jerry Holthouse is a content writer, songwriter and a graphic designer. He owns and runs Holthouse Creative, a full service creative agency. He is an avid outdoorsman and a lover of everything music. You can contact him at JerryHolthouse@Nashville.com

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