Southern rock legends the Black Crowes have released the second single from their upcoming album Happiness Bastards. Cross Your Fingers, the tale of a fraught romance, follows in the footsteps of Wanting And Waiting, which was launched last month.
Cross Your Hands, which opens with deftly-plucked acoustic guitar, explodes into life just north of the 40-second mark with a slinky, lascivious riff, with enough swagger and funk on board to keep the party throbbing before gospel vocals take it all to the church as the climax approaches.
Happiness Bastards was recorded in Nashville with Jay Joyce, who has previously worked with the likes of Halestorm, Brothers Osborne, Ashley McBryde, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood and Lainey Wilson. It's the first Black Crowes album since 2010's acoustic collection Croweology, and their first album of new material since the previous year's Before the Frost...Until the Freeze. It'll be released on March 15.
"This album is a continuation of our story as a band," says guitarist Rich Robinson. "Our years of experience writing and making music and touring the world are represented in this record, and we were brilliantly guided by one of the best producers in the business."
Late last month the Black Crowes announced shows in North America, the UK and Europe shows in support of the album. The North American run begins on April 2 at the iconic Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee and run through to May 7, when the band will perform at The Met Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. European dates kick off on May 14 at Manchester's O2 Apollo, and run through to June 9, when the band drop in on the Stone & Music festival in Mérida, Spain. Full dates below.
The Black Crowes: Happiness Bastards Tour 2024
Apr 02: Nashville Grand Ole Opry House, TN
Apr 03: Atlanta Fox Theatre, GA
Apr 05: Houston 713 Music Hall, TX
Apr 06: Irving The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, TX
Apr 08: Denver Fillmore Auditorium, CO
Apr 10: Phoenix Arizona Financial Theatre, AZ
Apr 12: Los Angeles Greek Theatre, CA
Apr 13: Oakland Fox Theater, CA
Apr 15: Seattle McCaw Hall, WA
Apr 16: Vancouver Queen Elizabeth Theatre, BC, Canada
Apr 19: Chicago Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, IL
Apr 20: Detroit The Fillmore Detroit, MI
Apr 23: Montreal MTELUS, QC, Canada
Apr 24: Toronto Massey Hall, ON, Canada
Apr 27: New York Radio City Music Hall, NY
Apr 28: Boston MGM Music Hall at Fenway, MA
Apr 30: Washington D.C. The Anthem, DC
May 01: Charlotte Ovens Auditorium, NC
May 03 Bethlehem The Wind Creek Event Center, PA
May 04: Atlantic City Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort, NJ
May 07: Philadelphia The Met Philadelphia, PA
May 14: Manchester O2 Apollo, UK
May 15: London Eventim Apollo, UK
May 17: Newcastle O2 City Hall, UK
May 18: Wolverhampton The Civic at The Halls, UK
May 21: Brussels Ancienne Belgique, Belgium
May 22: Amsterdam AFAS Live, Holland
May 24: Paris L'Olympia, France
May 27: Milan Teatro Arcimboldi Milano, Italy
May 29: Frankfurt Alte Oper, Germany
May 30: Stuttgart Liederhalle, Germany
Jun 01: Berlin, DE Verti Music Hall, Germany
Jun 04: Copenhagen Falkonersalen, Denmark
Jun 05/08: Sölvesborg Sweden Rock Festival, Sweden*
Jun 09: Mérida Stone & Music Festival, Spain*
July19: St. Paul Minnesota Yacht Club, MN*
* = Festival date
