Blackberry Smoke’s new song, “Azalea,” written by lead singer Charlie Starr and longtime collaborator Travis Meadows, is out now. Reflecting on the track, Starr shares, “It’s a heavy song. It’s not a happy song, per se. There’s some hope in there, too. It comes with both Travis and I being fathers. Hold on to your kids as tight as you can without smothering them.”
“Azalea” is the latest song unveiled from the band’s anticipated new album, Be Right Here, which will be released February 16 via 3 Legged Records/Thirty Tigers. Ahead of the release, the band has unveiled three additional album tracks: “Hammer And The Nail,” “Little Bit Crazy” and “Dig A Hole.”
Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell), Be Right Here is a timely reminder to be present and live authentically. Across these ten tracks—a collection of their signature rock and roll anthems, Americana-leaning ballads and country rock jams—the band celebrates the simple joys of life, the fleeting moments and the little bits of luck found along the way.
In celebration of the new music, the band will tour extensively this year with their “Be Right Here” headline tour. Upcoming stops include Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium (two nights), Pittsburgh’s Roxian Theatre, Boston’s House of Blues, Washington D.C.’s Warner Theatre, Cleveland’s TempleLive, St. Louis’ The Pageant and Denver’s Ogden Theatre as well as dates across the U.K., Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Italy and more. Special guests on the tour include Duane Betts, Ben Chapman, Hannah Dasher, FEEL, Georgia Thunderbolts, Hippies and Cowboys, John R. Miller, Soul Miners Union, The Scarecrows, Elvie Shane, The Steel Woods and Them Dirty Roses. The band will also join Cody Jinks for select dates this year.
Recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A and Cobb’s Georgia Mae in Savannah, the album features the band—Charlie Starr (vocals, guitar), Richard Turner (bass, vocals), Brit Turner (drums), Paul Jackson (guitar, vocals) and Brandon Still (keyboards)—alongside Preston Holcomb (drums) and Benji Shanks (guitar) as well as special guest vocals from The Black Bettys. Of the recording process, Starr shares, “We always track live together, but this time we had all our amps and drums and everything in the same room. It’s just as natural and as real as possible. The last album was very raw too, but with this one I remember different times I would say, ‘I think we should redo that,’ and Dave was like, ‘No, leave it that way. That way it’s magical.’”
Throughout their prolific career, Blackberry Smoke has released seven studio albums including 2021’s You Hear Georgia, which celebrated their 20th anniversary as a band. In addition to their studio albums, they have released several other projects such as their EPs Stoned, The Southern Ground Sessions and Live From Capricorn Studios as well as Homecoming: Live In Atlanta, a live album and concert film, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Album Sales chart. Since forming in 2001, Blackberry Smoke has continued to tour relentlessly, building a strong and loyal community of fans. In addition to their work as musicians, the band is deeply committed to charitable work and formed the Lana Turner Foundation, a non-profit supporting several national foundations committed to curing children’s cancer. With these efforts, the band has raised over $1,000,000 to date benefitting children’s cancer research.
