The Latest Breaking News from Blackberry Smoke

"I'd never been that close to death before." Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted opens up on recent cancer battle - and why he's determined to get back to touring as soon as possible

Jason Newsted recently got the all-clear from throat cancer

Metal Hammer · May 15

“Legend has it that, while recording, Clarence said, ‘Hey, I need another finger to play this chord!’” Charlie Starr on the origins of the B-Bender – and how you can play those licks without one

No B-Bender, no problem, as the Blackberry Smoke frontman shows us 9 licks for that faux pedal-steel sound

Guitar World · Mar 17

“I didn’t want to copy Keith Richards or Rich Robinson from the Black Crowes. I wanted to try to find my own guitar voice”: Charlie Starr on how to make open G tuning work for you

In his inaugural Guitar World column, the Blackberry Smoke guitarist declares his love for a tuning that he learned, aged 12, when checking out Honky Tonk Women

Guitar World · Dec 21, 2025

“The Black Crowes got thrown off the ZZ Top tour. We picked up where they left off…Every night the tour manager warned us when the explosions were going to go off”: Michelle Malone gave up sax for guitar – and had John Mayer “begging” to join her shows

With her 20th album looming, the raw Americana player looks back on working with Albert King and Blackberry Smoke members, her ever-loving vintage gear and running her own label

Guitar World · Oct 1, 2024

"Nobody wants a reggae or a hip-hop record from us": How Blackberry Smoke keep moving forwards

Still dealing with the sad loss of their drummer, southern rockers Blackberry Smoke are gearing up for a European tour

Louder · Aug 21, 2024

“It’s beaten and it’s a Frankenstein. It’s got a lot of modifications since the ’50s, since it was born”: Gibson’s Charlie Starr Les Paul Junior signature upgrades the stock LPJ in just about every way

A Starr is reborn as the Blackberry Smoke frontman and champion of the Les Paul Junior gets his own Gibson signature model

Guitar World · Jun 11, 2024

“It’s beaten, and it’s a Frankenstein. It’s got a lot of modifications and changed parts…This guitar is a recreation of that idea”: Gibson launches the Charlie Starr Les Paul Junior

Available in Dark Walnut or Ebony, limited to 250 units, with an adjustable wraparound bridge as an intonation fail-safe, the Blackberry Smoke frontman's new model is a primo rock 'n' roll guitar

MusicRadar · Jun 11, 2024

“Dave Cobb had just done the last Slash record with walls of Marshall stacks, which got ungodly loud – I don’t think we used anything bigger than an 8” speaker!” Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr on why downsizing his backline made for bigger tones

Blackberry Smoke’s frontman, guitarist and compulsive gearhead explains why using little amps “creates a whole different experience”

Guitar World · May 21, 2024

"It was love at first feel, to quote Bon Scott": Charlie Starr is getting a signature Gibson Les Paul Junior – and it's a stunner

Two finishes and based on the neck profile and spec of Starr's mainstay modded 1956 Junior

MusicRadar · May 15, 2024

"We walked into the control room to listen to the first track, and everybody was grinning, like: 'Okay, this will work'": Charlie Starr on music, life, and two decades of Blackberry Smoke

Album number eight Be Right Here is a rebirth for the southern country rock family of Blackberry Smoke as they reflect on almost a quarter of a century of keeping their dream alive

Louder · Apr 10, 2024