Last year, after over two decades of playing and recording a kick-ass brand of bluesy Southern rock, the Black Crowes from Atlanta, Georgia celebrated their 20th anniversary with a huge US tour entitled the ‘Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys Tour’. Well, the good news is that, this summer, the long-haired rockers will be bringing the tour over to the UK for three dates in Manchester and London. Unfortunately, the bad news is that the ‘Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys Tour’ isn’t just a clever name. After the string of European shows, the Black Crowes will indeed be saying “good night”. For now anyway. The six-piece have confirmed that the tour will be their last for a while as they prepare to go on an indefinite hiatus to spend time with family and to work on other projects.
Fans of the Black Crowes will know that this isn’t the first time that the band have gone on hiatus. Back in 2002, following the release of their sixth album ‘Lions’, the group decided to take a break and consequently spent three years apart, during which time singer and founding member Chris Robinson released two solo albums. In 2005, the band started playing together again, albeit with a slightly altered line-up, and they released a live album entitled ‘Freak 'n' Roll... Into the Fog’ early the following year. However, the Black Crowes didn’t bring out a new studio album until 2008 with the release of ‘Warpaint’, their seventh album and first in seven years. ‘Warpaint’ quickly experienced worldwide success and soon became their fastest-selling release since their second album, 1992’s ‘The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion’.
In 1984, brothers Chris and Rich Robinson began their musical career by forming the ‘70s blues-rock revivalist group Mr Crowe’s Garden. The band eventually started to write their own songs and changed their name to the Black Crowes before being signed to Rick Rubin’s newly-founded Def American record label in 1988. Two years later, they released their debut album ‘Shake Your Money Maker’, which became the first major success of both the band and the label. It featured the hit singles ‘Twice as Hard’, ‘She Talks to Angels’ and a hard rock cover version of Otis Redding’s ‘Hard to Handle’. Their next album ‘The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion’ proved to be an even bigger success, reaching Number One in the US Billboard 200 and Number Two in the UK.
The Black Crowes went on to tour with the likes of Aerosmith, ZZ Top and Oasis among others. Most notably of all in 2000, the band recorded a live album with ex-Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page entitled ‘Live at the Greek’. Although the album lacked any of the Black Crowes’ own tracks, thanks to the contractual regulations of their record company, it did feature a number of Zeppelin classics including ‘Celebration Day’, ‘Heartbreaker’ and ‘Whole Lotta Love’, as well as some other well-known blues numbers such as ‘Oh Well’ by Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac and ‘Shake Your Money Maker’ by Elmore James.
The latest hiatus has already sparked speculation that Chris Robinson will be re-embarking on his solo career for an undisclosed period. However, with three UK dates and more European shows lined up for this July, it looks like the Black Crowes will be going out in style. The two dates in London’s O2 Shepherds Bush Empire will include two sets – one electric and one acoustic. The latter will no doubt feature a number of tracks included on their recent ‘Croweology’, a compilation of some of their classic tracks re-recorded acoustically. And the former? With over twenty years of cracking blues-rock tracks to choose from, it’s likely to be a hell of a show.
July 2011 dates:
11th - Manchester Academy
12th - O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
13th - O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
Tickets for The Black Crowes will be on sale Friday January 28th at 9am.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
In 1984, brothers Chris and Rich Robinson began their musical career by forming the ‘70s blues-rock revivalist group Mr Crowe’s Garden. The band eventually started to write their own songs and changed their name to the Black Crowes before being signed to Rick Rubin’s newly-founded Def American record label in 1988. Two years later, they released their debut album ‘Shake Your Money Maker’, which became the first major success of both the band and the label. It featured the hit singles ‘Twice as Hard’, ‘She Talks to Angels’ and a hard rock cover version of Otis Redding’s ‘Hard to Handle’. Their next album ‘The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion’ proved to be an even bigger success, reaching Number One in the US Billboard 200 and Number Two in the UK. 
