Blackberry Smoke

Sunday, January 6, 2012 • Doors 7pm • Show 8pm • $15 Flat • All Ages

w/ Drake White

The members of Southern Rock quintet Blackberry Smoke are no strangers to hard work. Playing up to 250 dates each year, the guys are on the road more often than not, and they’ve seen tangible results of their labor. The band has toured with and befriended idols such as The Marshall Tucker Band, ZZ Top (with Billy Gibbons jamming with the band on a Florida stop), Lynyrd Skynyrd and George Jones. The band was even asked to play for Jones on his 80th birthday, not long after the country legend turned in a guest appearance on the band’s sophomore album. They’ve toured Europe thrice over, and had their songs featured in video games (EA Sports’ NASCAR 08) and films (Swing Vote), as well.

Mixing elements of gospel, bluegrass, arena rock, soul and more than a touch of outlaw country, Blackberry Smoke has earned a passionate fanbase that continues to grow as the band itself evolves. The band is as blue collar as the bandanas its members wear.

“Our fanbase is as organic as you can get,” says drummer Brit Turner. “Each fan has been won by live performance or good old word of mouth.”

In a little more than a decade together, Blackberry Smoke has released three full-length albums—including 2012’s The Whippoorwill, the band’s first for country megastar Zac Brown’s Southern Ground label—two EPs and a live DVD, Live at the Georgia Theatre, which serves as the perfect showcase for the band’s raucous, rockin’ good-times-for-all take on rock ’n’ roll. A chunk of the DVD’s concert footage has aired numerous times on Palladia, and the band also shot a DirecTV concert that has aired countless times.

With Zac Brown and the entire Southern Ground team behind them, Charlie and the boys are experiencing all the benefits of life on a larger label. For an already busy band, business is booming.

Drake White

Drake White is an aspiring singer songwriter residing in Nashville, TN. The Hokes Bluff, Alabama native has a very different country feel with a freestyle twist on many of his original songs. He ad-libs throughout a show phrasing rhythmic lyrics as his entertaining live show unfolds. Drake frequently involves the audience in his witty craftsmanship of verbalization as well. The enthusiastic 27 year old credits many country, blues, rock, freestyle and bluegrass influences that forms his musical sound that is unique in its own way. The EMI singer/songwriter is incredibly motivated in his pursuit of creating great music and wants nothing more than to do what he loves. He is a God fearing, river rat, beach bum that loves the outdoors and expresses this love through his soulful lyrical exchanges that breeze through the listener’s ears effortlessly.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 4:09 pm and is filed under Past Shows. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.