Hear Blackberry Smoke’s Foreboding New Song ‘Waiting for the Thunder’
With a slashing guitar riff and ominous lyrics about impending doom, “Waiting for the Thunder” announces the latest album from Blackberry Smoke. The song, premiering below, is the lead-off track from the country-flavored rock band’s new album Like an Arrow, set for release on October 14th.
“Simply put, it’s a rock & roll song. It’s the statement we want to make, musically,” says Blackberry Smoke singer and guitarist Charlie Starr. “Lyrically, I think maybe it touches on how crazy the world seems right now.”
“All the money and the war and religion / and the which one do you serve,” howls Starr halfway through the foot-stomper. “Why do we stand by and do nothing while they piss it all away?“
“Waiting for the Thunder” is a heavy dose of pure rock, which makes the Number One debut of Blackberry Smoke’s last record, Holding All the Roses, on the country chart all the more curious. “A lot of people have said that rock & roll radio disappeared and became pop and rap, and the only thing similar to it was country music,” Smoke’s drummer Brit Turner told Rolling Stone Country last year. “It was Eighties rock production and it was an easy fit, so that may have had something to do with it.”
Along with “Waiting for the Thunder,” Like an Arrow, produced by the band, features a dozen songs in total, including a duet with Gregg Allman on the slithering “Free on the Wing.” It’s an easy and natural union: Blackberry Smoke’s often spontaneous concerts evoke the spirit of the Allman Brothers Band. They’ll perform with Allman himself at his annual Peach Music Festival next month in Pennsylvania.
Here’s Blackberry Smoke’s upcoming tour dates:
July 29 — Clute, TX @ the Great Texas Mosquito Festival
July 30 — Fort Smith, AR @ Peacemaker Music & Arts Festival
August 5 — Albertville, AL @ Main Street Music Festival
August 11 — Portland ME @ Maine State Pier*
August 12 — Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony*
August 13 — Boston @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion*
August 14 — Scranton, PA @ Peach Festival*
August 16 — Utica, NY @ Saranac Brewery*
August 17 — Philadelphia @ Riverstage at Penn’s Landing*
August 18 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE Outdoors*
August 19 — Rochester Hills, MI @ Meadow Brook Amphitheatre*
August 20 — Huber Heights, OH @ Music Center at the Heights*
August 22 — Peoria, IL @ CEFCU Center Stage*
August 23 — Des Moines, IA @ Simon Estes Amphitheater*
August 25 — Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre*
August 27 — San Diego @ Humphreys Concerts by the Bay*
August 28 — Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre*
August 30 — Saratoga, CA @ the Mountain Winery*
August 31 — Rohnert Park, CA @ Sonoma Mountain Village*
September 1 — Eugene, OR @ Cuthbert Amphitheater*
September 3 — Missoula, MT @ Big Sky Brewery*
September 4 — Jackson, WY @ Fireman’s Ball*
September 9 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
September 17 — Cascade, WV @ Deep Roots Mountain Revival Festival
September 24 — Louisburg, NC @ Norris Creek Outdoor Entertainment Complex
September 29 — Glen Allen, VA @ Innsbrook After Hours*
September 30 — Cherokee, NC @ Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center*
October 1 — Charlotte, NC @ CMCU Amphitheatre*
October 14 — Springfield, MO @ Gillioz Theater
October 15 — Salina, KS @ The Stifle Theatre
October 20 — Sioux Falls, SD @ The District
October 21 — Rosemont, IL @ Joe’s Live
October 22 — Covington, KY @ Madison Live
October 27 — Evansville, IN @ Victory Theatre
October 28 — Chattanooga, TN @ Tivoli Theatre
October 29 — Atlanta @ Laid Back Festival
November 2 — Lincoln, NE @ The Bourbon Theatre
November 3 — Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theatre
November 4 — Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
November 5 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave
November 10 — Tallahassee, FL @ the Brickyard
November 11 — Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues
November 12 — St. Petersburg, FL @ Ribfest
November 17 — Syracuse, NY @ Westcott Theater
February 26-March 2 — Tampa, FL @ Outlaw Country Cruise
*with Gov’t Mule