It had been ten years, five studio albums, and two number one albums on the U.S. Billboard country charts since Blackberry Smoke played Fredericksburg. On Saturday night the guys brought their ‘Back on Our Bullshit’ tour to Dominion Raceway to kick off the 4th of July weekend. The tour is in support of their latest release, You Hear Georgia which was released in May. The album has seen a lot of commercial success and was the number one selling album in both country and rock in its debut week. Fans can purchase the album HERE.
The weather was perfect as fans poured into the grandstands and infield for the return of live music to the area. Dominion Raceway has built a stage on the infield of the small oval track facing the grandstands in their attempt to make the facility a true entertainment complex for the area. On this night Atlanta’s Blackberry Smoke would return to the area with a flawless twenty-one song set lasting nearly two hours. From the first notes of “Payback’s a Bitch” to the last notes of “Ain’t Nothing Left of Me” fans were on their feet, singing and dancing along to every word. I’ve been to many Blackberry Smoke shows and can’t say I’ve seen a bad one yet, and on Saturday Charlie and the boys didn’t disappoint. Charlie’s vocals were flawless and the guys sounded fantastic as they ripped thru hits like, “Good One Comin’ On,” “Pretty Little Lie,” “Waiting for the Thunder,” and “One Horse Town.” Several tracks from the latest album also made the night’s setlist with “Live It Down,” “Hey Delilah,” “Ain’t the Same,” “You Hear Georgia,” “Old Scarecrow,” and “All Rise Again” all making the cut before the night wrapped up with “Ain’t Much Left of Me.” With so much material to choose from, it’s hard to choose what to include in a setlist, but Saturday night’s set was the perfect blend of old and new with the only thing that could have improved it being another two hour set.
In celebration of twenty years as a band, Blackberry Smoke has released a limited Commemorative Collector’s Box set containing all seven studio albums as well as several other cool items. The box set can be purchased while supplies last from their website BLACKBERRYSMOKE.COM.
There’s only two remaining shows left on the current tour where the guys will play two nights at the 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals in Bloomsburg, PA after which the guys will take a short break before heading back out on the road for the rest of the summer for the ‘Spirit of the South’ tour. That tour will run from July 30th thru August 28th. Not a group to just sit around the guys will hit the road again to finish up the year with the ‘You Hear Georgia’ tour in the fall and joining 3 Doors Down on tour to finish out the year. Tickets for all the summer and fall tour dates can be purchased HERE.
Setlist:
Payback’s a Bitch
Like I Am
Good One Comin’ On
Live It Down
Pretty Little Lie
Waiting for the Thunder
Let It Burn
Best Seat in the House (preceded by “Happy Birthday”)
Hey Delilah
Sleeping Dogs (with “Long Haired Country Boy” snippet)
Ain’t the Same
Rock and Roll Again
You Hear Georgia
Lay It All on Me
Ain’t Got the Blues
Run Away From It All
Sunrise in Texas
One Horse Town
Old Scarecrow
Encore:
All Rise Again
Ain’t Much Left of Me (with “Mississippi Kid” snippet)
