Blackberry Smoke is an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2001. The lineup consists of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Charlie Starr, lead/rhythm guitarist Paul Jackson, bassist Richard Turner and keyboardist Brandon Still. Richard's brother Brit Turner was the band's co-founder and drummer before his death in March 2024. Drumming duties have been covered during the band's tours since late 2023 by Atlanta drummer Kent Aberle. In 2018, they added touring members guitarist Benji Shanks and percussionist Preston Holcomb, with Holcomb retiring from touring in the spring of 2024. They have released eight studio albums, two live albums and five extended plays.
History Blackberry Smoke was formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2001. They are the first independently released artist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album charts in modern history. Their debut album, Bad Luck Ain't No Crime, was released in 2003. Their second album released in 2009, Little Piece of Dixie, was featured by Paste magazine and other publications.
In 2015, Blackberry Smoke became the first small independent outfit to have an album, Holding All The Roses, go to No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Blackberry Smoke's 2016 album Like An Arrow did the same. They have performed throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, and South America. They have performed alongside numerous artists such as Tedeschi Trucks Band, Guns N' Roses, Zac Brown Band, ZZ Top, Eric Church and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The band had their first chart success with their third album, The Whippoorwill, released in August 2012. It reached Top 40 on Billboard 200. The album was released under the Southern Ground record label. On August 26, 2012, they performed at a charity benefit called the Boot Ride with the cast of Sons of Anarchy, partnered with The Boot Campaign at the Happy Ending Bar and Grill in Hollywood, California.
On November 12, 2014, they appeared with many others, including Jamey Johnson, Trace Adkins, Warren Haynes, Peter Frampton, Gregg Allman, in a show in tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.
They moved to Rounder Records in 2014, and released Holding All the Roses, produced by Brendan O'Brien, in early 2015. The album reached No. 1 on Billboard's Country Albums chart. The band spent much of the summer of 2016 on tour with Gov't Mule.
Blackberry Smoke released their fifth studio album, Like an Arrow, featuring Gregg Allman, on October 14, 2016, on their own record label, 3 Legged Records. The album landed at No. 1 on the US Billboard Country and Americana/Folk charts as well as the UK Rock and Independent Albums charts during release week. The band released its sixth studio album, Find A Light, on December 19, 2018.
In 2019, the band released via Earache Records a live album and a film, Homecoming: Live in Atlanta, recorded at their annual Brothers And Sisters Holiday Homecoming event at the Tabernacle in Atlanta in November 2018. In 2021 the band released its seventh studio album, You Hear Georgia.
On May 28, 2021, their album You Hear Georgia was released. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Americana/Folk Chart. It sold over 33k copies the first week, 12,239 copies in pure album sales. This was good enough to put it at No. 1 in album sales in both country and rock, and No. 3 in all music. The album also racked up another nearly 1 million streams its debut week. The album was produced by Dave Cobb and featured appearances by Jamey Johnson and Warren Haynes.
In March 2024, the band announced that their drummer Brit Turner had died after a battle with glioblastoma. He was 57, and was diagnosed with the cancer in 2022.
On April 5, 2024, Preston Holcomb announced via Facebook his last show would be April 27th and he would no longer be touring with the band.
Band members Current members Charlie "Starr" Gray – lead vocals, lead & rhythm guitar (2000–present) Paul Jackson – rhythm & lead guitar, backing vocals (2000–present) Richard Turner – bass, backing vocals (2000–present) Brandon Still – keyboards (2009–present) Benji Shanks – third guitar, mandolin, dobro (2018–present)
Touring members
Kent Aberle – drums, percussion (2022–present)
Former members Brit Turner - drums (2000–2024; his death) Preston Holcomb – percussion (2018–2024)
Discography
Studio albums +List of studio albums, with selected peak chart positions and sales Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales US US Country US Americana USHeat USIndie USRock UK UKRock Bad Luck Ain't No Crime Release date: January 7, 2003 Label: BamaJam — — — — — — — — Little Piece of Dixie Release date: September 29, 2009 Label: BamaJam — — — — — — — — The Whippoorwill Release date: August 14, 2012 Label: Southern Ground 40 8 30 10 12 — 30 2 US: 51,000 Holding All the Roses Release date: February 10, 2015 Label: Rounder Records 29 1 — — 7 — 17 1 US: 49,600 Sales figure given here Like an Arrow Release date: October 14, 2016 Label: 3 Legged 12 1 — 2 3 — 8 1US: 48,000 Find a Light Release date: April 6, 2018 Label: 3 Legged 31 3 — 2 6 — 12 1US: 31,300 You Hear Georgia Release date: May 28, 2021 Label: 3 Legged / Thirty Tigers 55 5 1 6 7 — 17 — Be Right Here Release date: February 16, 2024 Label: 3 Legged / Thirty Tigers 135 26 9 — 24 23 31 — "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Live albums +List of live albums, with selected peak chart positions and sales Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales US Country US USIndie GER UK Leave a Scar, Live: North Carolina Release date: July 8, 2014 Label: 3 Legged Records 17 128 22 49 35 US: 2,400 UK: 2,181 Homecoming/Live in Atlanta Release date: November 15, 2019 Label: 3 Legged Records Label: Earache Records (U.K. Europe only) — — 4 — —US: 2,500 "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Extended plays Title Details New Honky Tonk Bootlegs Release date: July 15, 2008 Label: self-released Little Piece of Dixie EP Release date: October 14, 2008 Label: Big Karma Records Wood, Wire & Roses Release date: September 18, 2015 Label: 3 Legged Records The Southern Ground Sessions Release date: October 26, 2018 Label: 3 Legged Records Live from Capricorn Sound Studios Release date: June 19, 2020 Label: 3 Legged Records Stoned Release date: 2021 Label: 3 Legged
Singles Year Title Peak positions Album US Country Airplay 2009 "Good One Comin' On" — Little Piece of Dixie 2013 "Pretty Little Lie" 46 The Whippoorwill "Ain't Much Left of Me" — 2014 "Wood, Wire, Roses" — 2015 "Living in the Song" —Holding All the Roses "Too High" —2016 "Waiting for the Thunder" — Like an Arrow "Pearls"— Like an Arrow (deluxe edition) "Believe You Me" — rowspan=3 "Sunrise in Texas" — "Let It Burn" —2018 "Flesh and Bone" —Find a Light "Best Seat in the House" — "Let Me Down Easy" — "I'll Keep Ramblin'" —2020 "Midnight Rider" — rowspan=4 "Take the Highway" — "Keep on Smiling"— "Southern Child"—2021 "You Hear Georgia"—You Hear Georgia "Hey Delilah" — "Ain't the Same" — "All Rise Again" — 2024 "A Little Bit Crazy" — Be Right Here "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Music videos Year Video Director2003"Sanctified Woman" 2009 "Good One Comin' On" Roger Pistole 2013 "Pretty Little Lie" Cole Cassell 2014 "Shakin' Hands with the Holy Ghost" Lewis Cater "Six Ways to Sunday" Blake Judd 2015 "Too High" "Rock and Roll Again" 2016 "Sunrise in Texas" Jamie Burton Chamberlin 2017 "Like an Arrow"2021 "You Hear GeorgiaAndy Sapp "Hey Delilah" "All Rise Again"
References
External links Official website You’ll hear Georgia in the music of Blackberry Smoke