Blackberry Smoke Hosts Guest-Filled Homecoming 2023 Celebration In Atlanta

Georgia’s own Blackberry Smoke presented their annual holiday homecoming concert on Friday night at the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta. Larkin Poe kicked off the festivities with a support set and the sister act of Rebecca and Megan Lovell were among the guests who joined the septet during their two-hour performance.

Blackberry Smoke — Charlie Starr (guitar and vocals), Paul Jackson (guitar and vocals), Benji Shanks (guitar), Richard Turner (bass and vocals), Brandon Still (keyboards), Preston Holcomb (percussion) and Brit Turner (drums) — was augmented by The Black Bettys (Sherie and Sherita Murphy) on vocals and percussion throughout the concert. The band opened their 21-song show with “You Hear Georgia,” the title track off their 2021 studio album.

Friday’s BBS performance was heavy on material from both You Hear Georgia and 2012’s The Whippoorwill with six cuts from the former and seven from the latter making the setlist on Friday. “Live It Down,” “Hey Delilah,” “Ain’t The Same,” “Morningside” and “Old Scarecrow” were the tunes off You Hear Georgia besides the title track played by Blackberry Smoke on Friday. “Morningside” saw the band welcome guitarists Christian Gray and Spencer Jackson.

Blackberry Smoke treated fans to the title track from The Whippoorwill as well as “Pretty Little Lie,” “Sleeping Dogs,” “Everybody Knows She’s Mine,” “Ain’t Got The Blues,” “One Horse Town” and the “Ain’t Much Left Of Me” finale. Larkin Poe’s Rebecca and Megan Lovell emerged on mandolin and slide steel guitar respectively towards the middle of the set to lend a hand on “Let Me Down Easy,” a tune from the band’s 2018 LP, Find A Light, and also sang harmony.

Drummer Brit Turner’s daughter, Lana Turner, came out to help sing “Little Bit Crazy,” a song featured on the forthcoming BBS album Be Right Here. The 10-track collection produced by Dave Cobb arrives on February 16, 2024 via Legged Records/Thirty Tigers.

Blackberry Smoke returned for the evening’s encore with Rebecca and Megan Lovell in tow as well as guitarist Tyler Bryant for a cover of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.” The band and The Black Bettys then went it to play the aforementioned “Ain’t Much Left Of Me” to cap the night.

Stream an audience recording of BBS’ 2023 Homecoming Celebration taped by Z-Man below:

Photos by Ian Rawn

Setlist (via Setlist.FM)

Set: You Hear Georgia, Live It Down, Good One Comin’ On, Like I Am, Pretty Little Lie, Hey Delilah, Sleeping Dogs, Hammer And The Nail, Let Me Down Easy*, Everybody Knows She’s Mine, Ain’t The Same, Little Bit Crazy**, Waiting For The Thunder, The Whippoorwill, Ain’t Got The Blues, Morningside^, Run Away From It All, One Horse Town, Old Scarecrow

Encore: I Won’t Back Down^^, Ain’t Much Left Of Me

• * – with Larkin Poe (Rebecca Lovell on mandolin and vocals & Megan Lovell on slide steel guitar and vocals)
• ** – with Lana Turner on vocals
• ^ – with Spencer Jackson and Christian Gray on guitar
• ^^ – with Larkin Poe (Rebecca Lovell on mandolin and vocals & Megan Lovell on slide steel guitar and vocals) and Tyler Bryant on guitar