The Black Crowes Unveil Festive ‘Run Rudolph Run’ At Capitol Theatre

The Black Crowes wrapped their Happiness Bastards (The Reprise) Tour with shows on Saturday and Sunday night at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. Frontman Chris Robinson led his bandmates through debut covers of holiday classics to end each concert.

On Saturday, The Crowes punctuated their 18-song performance with a “Back Door Santa” encore. The funky number was originally released by Clarence Carter in 1968.

While The Black Crowes hadn’t performed “Back Door Santa” live until Saturday night, they recorded a take on the Christmas song back in 2005. Initially released that December as a free download, the band shared their cover of the song on all streaming services in 2020.

The Robinson Brothers and company stayed true to the original for their version of the Clarence Carter gem. Check out fan-shot footage of The Black Crowes’ live premiere of “Back Door Santa” below:

Night two at The Cap saw The Crowes switch it up in a big way. Only three songs — “Hard To Handle,” “Jealous Again” and “Remedy” — were repeated from Saturday’s show.

The band returned to the stage end their 2024 with a pair of covers as their encore. Up first was a take on The Rolling Stones’ “Torn And Frayed” featuring Chris and Rich Robinson sharing lead vocal duties.

The Black Crowes followed with their first-ever live performance of Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run.” Chris Robinson introduced the cover debut by wishing the crowd, “Happy Holidays! Especially you pagans.” Berry initially recorded and released the song in 1958.

Watch The Black Crowes debut “Run Rudolph Run” at The Cap via audience-captured video below: