Review: Black Stone Cherry 'Live from the Royal Albert Hall…Y’all!'

Black Stone Cherry

By Mike O’Cull

Kentucky supermen Black Stone Cherry live out their dreams and share the results with the world on the band’s new album Live from the Royal Albert Hall…Y’all!.

Released on June 24th, 2022 via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group, the set captures the sound of Black Stone Cherry blowing the lid off of the legendary Royal Albert Hall in London, England in September of 2021. It’s available in a variety of formats, including 2LPs, 2LPs on transparent red vinyl (a web exclusive), CD + Blu-ray, and Digital.

BSC had long fantasized about playing the Royal Albert, a storied, Victorian venue that has hosted rock music’s biggest names, and gave an all-out, emotion-driven performance when they finally got their chance to stand where their heroes once stood. Their high-test, 21st Century southern rock sound incorporates hard rock, metal, and blues/rock influences into an extremely flammable style and clearly sends the assembled crowd into the heavens and back again. This was anything but just another gig for the band and crowd, both, and feels like a huge, public validation of the 20 years of work that the members of Black Stone Cherry put into making this show possible.

Black Stone Cherry has been breathing new life into southern rock for a long time now by adding big-league hooks and a heavied-up punch to the genre’s traditional recipe. Band members Chris Robertson (vocals, guitar), Ben Wells (guitar/vocals), John Fred Young (drums), and Steve Jewell Jr (bass) have spent their lives soaking up true, brass-knuckle rock and roll and it’s audible in every note they play. They’ve risen from humble, high school beginnings to appearing with major stars like Alter Bridge, Guns N’ Roses, Theory of a Deadman, Def Leppard, Gov’t Mule, Nickelback, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Company, Mötorhead, and ZZ Top. They’ve also charted multiple albums in the US and UK. This crew is as real as it gets and they’ve earned every bit of the honor of playing this prestigious room.

From the moment Black Stone Cherry hits the stage with the opener “Me and Mary Jane,” the energy levels in the band and the audience are stratospheric. The people know every word and sing them back to the band, the guitars are bold as love, and Chris Robertson’s voice is a perfect rock and roll instrument. What’s so wild is that you can hear the vintage Skynyrd style mixed with southern groove metal drumming and general heaviness and it instantly makes perfect sense. No explanation is needed for why BSC is so insanely popular. Listen once and you’ll understand.

The set list at Royal Albert Hall was full of quality newer songs like “In Love with the Pain” and “Again” as well as older hits and favorites including “Blind Man,” “Hell and High Water,” “Blame it on the Boom Boom,” and “White Trash Millionaire.” “Cheaper to Drink Alone” is tough as nails and introduces the band members to the crowd for some individual adulation, which they most assuredly get.

“Lonely Train” thunks like a locomotive even though it’s deep in the set. Nobody was running out of steam on this gig and you can feel each player upping their ante as the song barrels forward. John Fred Young is particularly hard core, drumming with the fierceness of ten men. The closing song, “Peace Is Free,” again features the audience on vocals and finishes the show with thoughts of encouragement and wishes for a better world. It’s a pure bonding moment between BSC and their fans that’s incredibly powerful and genuine. Every person in that room had waited their whole lives for that night and made sure it was the peak experience it needed to be. Live from the Royal Albert Hall…Y’all! documents a great and significant gig in the life of one of the USA’s most crucial bands and reminds us what an actual rock and roll show should feel like. Cue it up and jam.

Watch “Blame It On The Boom Boom”