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Blackberry Smoke
Rocked The
Goodyear Theater
 Charlie Starr |  Richard Turner |  Paul Jackson |  Blackberry Smoke |
|---|---|---|---|
 Charlie Starr |  Benji Shanks |  Brandon Still |  Kent Aberle |
 Charlie and Benji |  Richard Turner |  Blackberry Smoke |  Benji Shanks |
 Charlie Starr |  Blackberry SMoke |  Benji and Paul |  Charlie Starr |
 Blackberry Smoke |  Charlie Starr |  Richard Turner |  Charlie Starr |
 Richard Turner |  Jason scott |  Jason Scott |  Jason Scott and The High Heat |
 Jason Scott and the High Heat |
November 9, 2025
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Blackberry Smoke is one of the best rock and roll bands out there today. They lean more to the southern rock genre, but they literally can play any kind of music and do it extraordinarily well. They can play anything from The Beatles to Zeppelin and that's exactly what they did last night.
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Charlie Starr and company proved that time and again as they put on a masterclass of a straight ahead rock and roll show.
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They band came out firing as they launched into some of their more rockin' tunes like "Hammer and the Nail," "Payback's A Bitch" and "Good One Comin' On."
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Before the band went into "Waiting For The Thunder" Charlie Starr and drummer Kent Aberle played the intro to Iron Maiden's "Run To The Hills." After the snippet, Starr noted "Ya'll are gonna say they played Iron Maiden at a Blackberry Smoke concert!" That snippet was just a hint of what cover songs the band had in store for the Akron crowd.
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In the middle of "Sleeping Dogs" the band tore into Leadbelly's "Midnight Special" before coming back to finish that epic song. Starr also acknowledged that Bad Company was being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tonight and they wanted to pay tribute to them by playing a fantastic version of "Running With The Pack."
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Of course many other classic Blackberry Smoke tunes were played such as "Ain't Go The Blues," "One Horse Town" and the foot tapping tune "Run Away From It All" which ended their main set.
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After a brief break, the band returned to the stage and Starr said "We're gonna do one for John, Paul, George and Ringo as the group launched into "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window." However, I also believe it was a nod to Joe Cocker who also was being inducted into the Rock Hall.
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This rock and roll extravaganza came to a close with the sing-a-long "Ain't Much Left of Me" leaving everyone with a smile on their face.
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Yes, we can say Akron finally got Smoked! Let's hope the boys return next year.
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Newcomers Jason Scott and the High Heat opened the show with some good original country tunes.
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Photos and review by Greg Drugan
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