Black Stone Cherry
Carling Academy, Birmingham
By Ian Harvey

They may be from a dry, booze-free county, but Black Stone Cherry are steeped in the bourbon-soaked flavour of the deep south.

The Kentucky four-piece were voted best new band by readers of Classic Rock magazine last year and like the best devil’s brew they are maturing into a multi-flavoured concoction.

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From the opening track Rain Wizard, through the new single Please Come In and on to the uplifting Maybe Someday, singer guitarist Chris Robertson conducted the proceedings in Birmingham as guitarist Ben Wells spun around him.

Bassist John Lawhon and drummer John Fred Young layed down a steady foundation, the latter coming on like Animal from the Muppets, a whirling dervish tied down to his drum stool.

Robertson, is an affable front man with a voice beyond his years, lending an oak-aged authenticity to songs like Hell Or High Water and Blind Man.

The readers of Classic Rock and a packed Academy know what they are talking about, Black Stone Cherry are stars on the rise.

Support came from Atlanta rockers Sevendust and the UK’s own Stone Gods, the band formed from the ashes of The Darkness and fronted by Richie Edwards from Lichfield.

This is the third time this year Stone Gods have played at the Academy, and Edwards hailed the Birmingham venue as the nearest thing to a hometown gig for him, the band thrilling with tracks including You Brought A Knife To A Gunfight and I’m With The Band.