Rifle Rock + A Good Ol' Southern Revival

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) Southern roots run deep through 'The Whippoorwill,' (August 14, Southern Ground Artists) the title alone evoking the eerie, mystic nostalgia of a bygone era - something that Blackberry's Smoke's front man Charlie Starr knows better than anyone. Born into a musical Southern Baptist household, learning to play an instrument was practically a birthright. "My grandmother taught me chords on the mandolin and piano, and my father taught me guitar. We always played and sang."

An inside look at the world of Blackberry Smoke: https://youtu.be/v_OJ6qh6LzM

In those days he couldn't have imagined sharing the stage with George Jones, The Marshall Tucker Band, or Lynyrd Skynyrd, but he notes, "I guess we are touching a nerve that people miss in music today; the revival of good ol' southern music."

And while there's no shortage of characteristically gritty "rifle rock," the diversity of material on the album came to represent something more sentimental to the band, especially Charlie. "I wrote 'The Whippoorwill' about my late grandmother. She had a massive impact on my life, and I miss her dearly. When the time came to name the album, I was looking at all the songs, soaking up the vibe of it all and it just seemed appropriate to call the whole thing 'The Whippoorwill.'

Keyboardist Brandon Still continues of the band's inspiration, "the idea has always been to write and perform music that excites us with the hopes that it will be equally as exciting, meaningful and enjoyable to our listeners." 'The Whippoorwill' is the culmination of years of hard work and generations of music tradition, and as Brandon puts it, "it's a timeless album so no better time than the present to get it out there."

Blackberry Smoke is Charlie Starr (vocals/guitar), Richard Turner (bass/vocals), Paul Jackson (guitar/vocals), Brandon Still (piano/organ), Brit Turner (drums/percussion).

Blackberry Smoke on the Web:
https://blackberrysmoke.com/