Black Stone Cherry rock The Firmament

Black Stone Cherry in Greenville South Carolina

By: Michael Bragg (Photo Gallery & Review) of MJBragg Photography

Greenville, SC (March 29th, 2019) – All I can say is WOW!!!!

Tonight’s show at The Firmament in Greenville, SC was definitely a great one. Black Stone Cherry brought their “Carry Me On Down The Road” tour in to town with guests Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown and The Josephine’s.

From the first note to the last the energy was wide open. These three bands know how to entertain and work a stage. Leaving the venue felt like more of an experience than having just attended a typical show.

Formed in 2017 The Josephine’s hail from Bowling Green, Kentucky and have their own brand of rock ‘n’ roll. With mixed blend of influences like The Eagles to Tom Petty to the Foo Fighters the five piece has put together a stand out sound that matches their look and stage presence. Despite the main stream comparison this band is not typical of anything you hear on today’s radio. They just have a raw, low down and dirty, fuzzed out rock sound full of energy. I feel like many in the crowd were unaware of this group but after performing songs like “Doin’ Fine” and “Cocaine” it was easy to see The Josephine’s had garnered a new group of fans. One of my favorite songs from the groups set was “Fireball” from their self titled EP. The recording itself features a guest appearance by Sam Bush who also appears on “Sober Up” and Greg Martin of The Kentucky Headhunters is featured on “Coal Mine Gone.” Consisting of Brad Tabor (Leas Vocals/Guitar), Zach Lindsey (Guitar/Vocals), Josh London (Bass/Vocals), Alex Lindsey (Lap Steel/Vocals) and David Page (drums) The Josephine’s do a great job at holding the crowds attention and drawing you in with a great live show that just gives you a sense of realness.

Next up came Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown from Nashville, TN. Although they call the capitol of country music home this group is far from resembling that sound. With the amps cranked up these guys came to out on a rock show. Picking up where The Josephine’s left off Tyler Bryant (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Graham Whitford (Guitar/Vocals, son of Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford), Caleb Crosby (Drums) and Noah Denney (Bass/Vocals) kept the high energy show going. Like a man gone mad Tyler Bryant is a site to see. I’m not quiet sure I’ve ever seen anyone with that much music possessed soul before. Playing a set full of songs from their 2013 album “Wild Child” and 2017’s self titled “Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown” the band filled the room with a sound that is reminiscent of many classic 70’s style rockers but with a fresh, modern spin to it along with a bit of a backwoods bluesy vibe. This is a band that’s opened for notorious groups AC/DC, Guns ‘n’ Roses and ZZ Top to name a few so you know they’ve got their act together. Featured in the set were the new single released today, “On To The Next” from the upcoming “Truth & Lies” album.

The band also threw in an intriguing cover of “That’s All Right” from Elvis Presley and a Muddy Waters cover of “Mojo Workin” from the groups 2015 EP “The Wayside.” From wild guitar antics to Caleb’s drum solo in the crowd “The Shakedown” held nothing back demanding your attention with a captivating musical performance.

Opening their set with “Burnin” from the latest “Family Tree” album Black Stone Cherry flowed right into the continued vibe of the evening. Followed up by “Me and Mary Jane” and “Blind Man” fans jumped right in singing words to each song. Formed in 2001 the group has seen much success. Six studio albums and 3 EP’s have taken the band all around the world playing with the bands like Def Leppard and Whitesnake to Nickleback and Shinedown. Members Chris Robertson (Lead Vocals/Guitar), John Fred Young (Drums/Backing Vocals, son of Richard Young/Kentucky Headhunters), Ben Wells (Guitar/Vocals) and Jon Lawhon (Bass/Vocals) first began in the same basement as The Kentucky Headhunters used to practice forming their own high powered rock sound that has led them to 8 charting singles.

The band also has a softer side they showcased with a keys and vocal intro to “My Last Breath” that provided a nice mid set slow down. The group quickly picked things back up though with a brand new unreleased song titled “Bad Sign.” Being just down the road from hometown heroes the Marshall Tucked Band a crowd favorite was the medley of “Can’t You See” transitioning into the Allman Brothers hit “Midnight Rider” before going into one of BSC’s popular songs “In My Blood.”

John Fred Young got to through in a drum solo before the band ended with “White Trash Millionaire” and “Family Tree.”

Tonight’s show is one that I admittedly claim is hard to put into words. The passion each band put into their live show is something I haven’t seen in awhile and is missing from many over produced, choreographed tours going on right now. It was definitely nice to see three bands stick to the roots of rock. If you’re not getting out to see and support live music you don’t know what you’re missing.

Black Stone Cherry

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