The Black Crowes Get Back On Track In Charlotte…Live Concert Review
Alexander Sink
Truliant Amphitheater
Charlotte, NC
June 6, 2026
The Black Crowes, and especially frontman Chris Robinson, found themselves quickly in the headlines the first week of June due to some comments that Robinson said during their Tampa performance. I won’t get into the politics of it, but he spoke his mind regarding his view of things and it was not received well by some of the crowd. Robinson has a habit of speaking his mind and I think he has earned the right to do so. I came to Charlotte with the approach that whatever happens, happens… I am just here for the music.
Speaking of habits, I have one that lingers from my Teen and college years of buying (especially Pearl Jam) albums. Some artists would release their albums on vinyl before digital or cassette and I bit, hook line and sinker. I still find myself pre-ordering albums before they are released, even though I know that I will be able to stream them before the album ever arrives. One recent album that I pre-ordered this winter was The Black Crowes A Pound of Feathers that was released on March 12th. Whether that was a good or bad decision was yet to be determined at the time of order, but fortunately it was a great decision.
I have been fortunate enough to catch the Crowes on their last two tours (Shake Your Money Maker Live and Happiness Bastards Tours) and have found myself listening to them more and more. I was a fan in the nineties but had drifted away as I got older.
The Crowes sounded much better on their Happiness Bastards Tour, than their previous one, and my fingers were crossed that Chris and Rich were able to capture this energy and solid playing. I will say that the Robinson Brothers and band did not disappoint at all with their new album and if Happiness Bastards was Grammy Nomination material, then this album is certainly Grammy winning material.
The album is a proper rock album from cover to cover, which is a rare thing to find in the age of digital singles. The Crowes have included musical influences from the nineties in their music, much like they wove together their seventies influences into their earlier albums. This isn’t a big surprise, since Chris and Rich have surrounded themselves with younger musicians, but the combination of their southern bluesy sound with the later influences is infectious. The album includes Buddy Guy like blues riffs all the way to a closer that feels more like a James Bond theme written by Fiona Apple. One of the songs that they have performed on this tour, It’s Like That, has an outro that would slide easily into any of the Jack Irons era Pearl Jam albums. For fans of the Crowes and the nineties, you will not be disappointed in what A Pound of Feathers produced.
The Crowes and Whiskey Myers set out this spring on their Southern Hospitality Co- Headline tour to support their new albums. I arrived late to the amphitheater and caught the second half of the Whiskey Myers set and it was high energy with a crowd roar at the end that would rival any college stadium on a fall Saturday. After a 35 minute switchover it was The Black Crowes turn and they kept the crowd rocking until the house lights went up.
The Black Crowes took the stage at 9:15 and played a deeper cut set than they had been playing on tour up to this point that didn’t even include one of their biggest hits, Remedy. It included songs like Stare it Cold, Good Morning Captain, Ballad in Urgency and Thorn’s Progress. There was only one song performed from the new album, High and Lonesome, and I was one of the only ones singing, thanks to my earlier album purchase.I do wish they had played Queen of the B Sides afterwards, but I am not complaining. On the album the two songs mesh into each other perfectly and it would’ve been a treat to hear them together live. This was the live debut of High and Lonesome.
The set finished strong for the Crowes with Hard to Handle, She Talks to Angels, Jealous Again and Twice as Hard making up 4 of the last 6 songs. Whiskey Myers joined them for an encore of The Rolling Stones’ Star Star and the crowd all walked to their cars with smiles on their faces and not a single negative remark to be heard. It seems as if the music wins over politics, as it always should. We should all remember that people speak up when they feel passionate about something or someone they love. It should never be a reason to leave in anger but an opportunity to enjoy the music together, regardless of the differences. That is what makes our country and our relationships truly great.
The Southern Hospitality Tour will continue it’s U.S. dates in July and if you have the chance to catch The Black Crowes, I highly recommend it. They are playing as well as I have ever heard them and after hearing what they put on this new album, the sky seems to be the limit.
For more on The Black Crowes, visit: https://theblackcrowes.com/
