BLACKBERRY SMOKE LIVE IN LAS VEGAS with KELSEY WALDON at The PEARL THEATER

BLACKBERRY SMOKE made a stop in Las Vegas at the beautiful Pearl Theater at the Palms Hotel & Casino on their Be Right Here Tour, and there was no better venue to showcase this band, a big room but with a real intimate feel. It's been almost 3 years to the day since I last caught Blackberry Smoke in Vegas, so I was really looking forward to getting my fix.

Opening up the show was female country / bluegrass singer KELSEY WALDON, who hails from a town actually called Monkeys Eyebrow, Kentucky, and she said "if you don’t believe me you can look it up!" Kelsey normally plays with a six piece band, but for this tour she is solo, and says this gives her a chance to play songs she normally does not get to perform. It was also Kelsey's first time playing Vegas, and I am sure it won’t be her last, she brought pure raw talent and the crowd loved her for it.

Waldon's last album There's Always A Song was 'very important' to her, it was all bluegrass covers with a bunch of collaborations, and was released on John Prine's Old Boy Records. The song "Backwater Blues" is about Kentucky's resilience after all the devastating floods they have received, and we got to hear this one in her set. The Pearl is a big stage, and one woman with an acoustic guitar standing on a stage had to be a bit intimidating, but Kelsey brought pure raw talent to Vegas and the crowd loved her for it. More on Kelsey Waldon HERE.

As the lights dimmed after the break, the crowd were on their feet and screaming for BLACKBERRY SMOKE! The band kicked off the show with “Fire In the Hole”, a song that showcases what each member of this classic band brings to the stage, great southern country rock n roll. Reaching all the way back to 2008 for “Good One Comin' On” a song that really appeals to every Blackberry Smoke fan, before "Be Right Here" from their 2024 album of the same name) and “Hammer and the Nail” got the crowd really singing and moving. BBS staging is that classic southern rock band look, nothing fancy, the band spread across the big stage while the music does the talking.

“Sleeping Dogs” breaks out into an intro jam that southern bands are famous for, and the groups three guitarists ( Charlie Starr, Benji Shanks, and Paul Jackson) playing off each other had the crowd cheering and screaming. Richard Turner on bass and vocals, and touring drummer Kent Aberle round out the live band, and these free jams really show off their musicianship and cohesiveness, and they 'smoke'! They also get a little interaction with the fans, lead singer Charlie Starr joked with the crowd, and after seeing a couple coming back from a refreshment break, yelled, “I am so glad you are back, because this is going to be awesome” then then broke into a Charlie Daniels chorus, “If You Don’t Like the Way I’m Livin', Then Leave This Long Haired Country Boy Alone” to cheers from the crowd.

A touching moment came when Charlie came out on stage alone with an acoustic guitar, and played a new song “Azalia” for their longtime drummer Brit Turner who passed away earlier this year, and brought tears to the eyes of many who have followed this band for years.

During the song “Ain’t Got the Blues” there is a line that goes “I can't frown for grinning, I can't lose for winning”, Charlie stopped and told the crowd “that wasn’t planned but that's a perfect line for Las Vegas” which got some howls. The set ran a lengthy near couple hours, finishing with "Little Bit Crazy", before a rousing encore of "Whatcha Know Good" and "Ain't Much Left of Me" before the lights go down.

To sum up the show, It's like comfort food, makes you feel good and you crave more. The band has a loyal following, and fans love to talk about what shows and how many times they have seen them. Blackberry Smoke loves them too - the band takes time to take photos and sign stuff when you catch them off stage. I really love seeing this band live, and this Vegas show was a great one to add to my brag total.

Check out Blackberry Smoke's new album Be Right Here, tour dates and more HERE.