Blackberry Smoke with Drake White at Irving Plaza NYC

I could sum up the show in one word, but I cannot think of one that would
capture how GREAT these guys are. So, I’ll give you more to convince
you to definitely make it out to a BBS or Drake White show in the future.

This was only my 4th Blackberry Smoke show, but the first time I
would see them as headliners. I had heard of Drake White but had never seen him before. He and his band “The Big Fire Band” played for almost an hour,
10 songs that won me over from the first note. Any band that has a fiddle
player gets bonus points in my book. The band sounded good and interacted with one another like they were having fun, which makes a show even better for me. Now Drake White may look like Zac Brown, but he
honestly reminded me of Eric Church (I can never say anything negative about Mr
Church). No chest thumping, but foot stomping, demanding the audience pay attention and
give him something back. And boy that man can move while plays the
guitar, such an energetic presence! He definitely gave 100% and came out for a
meet and greet after to a slew of new fans, including me. Hopefully there will 
be a full length album so I can listen to what I heard again and again.
 Next up, BBS. These guys are straight up the real deal. They may be signed to
Zac Brown’s record label but they remind one of the Allman Brothers with their
looks and sound. They don’t need flash, they put on a great Sothern
Rock/Country show with some blues thrown in, that lasted about 2 hours.
With only a simple backdrop, they let the music do the talking. Irving
Plaza holds a little over 1000ppl and I’ll tell you what everyone was
singing along to every song from Six Ways to Sunday to Sleepin Dogs. Two of the numbers that got the most enthusiastic applause were "A Good One Comin On" about skinny dipping and booze and "Up In Smoke". Brothers Brit and Richard Turner on the drums and bass
respectively, Paul on guitar and Brandon on keyboards all looked like they were
having a blast and sounded fantastic. Lead vocalist Charlie Starr just exudes
confidence with a laid back vibe, making what he does up there look effortless.
I could watch him-well all of them-on stage every night. Definitely take a 
listen and catch these guys when they are near you!