{"id":3854,"date":"2026-06-06T19:11:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T19:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=3854"},"modified":"2026-06-06T19:15:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T19:15:20","slug":"ftv-black-crowes-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=3854","title":{"rendered":"FTV: Black Crowes 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the Vaults:\u00a0 The Black Crowes 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It has been a while since we checked in with the Brothers Robinson.\u00a0 When the Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel, buried the hatchet in 2025 and went out on their first Oasis tour in a long, long time, all bets suggested that it would implode.\u00a0 Maybe viewing this reunion as a Sign of the Apocalypse was a false flag.\u00a0 As it turned out, it was a wildly successful stadium tour and by the end, the band was even teasing they might go further and record new music.\u00a0 If the same logic is applied to Chris and Rich Robinson joining forces again, then they doubled down on the Apocalyptic angle by releasing TWO albums of new music since their reunion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The brothers have been in a band together since 1984 when Chris dropped out of college to join his younger brother in Mr. Crowe\u2019s Garden.\u00a0 Their father had been a folk singer who along the way had a minor hit, opened for artists like Bill Haley and Phil Ochs, and played the Grand Ole Opry with Lester Flatt and Eart Scruggs.\u00a0 The biggest influence Mr. Robinson had on the brother\u2019s musical career was his record collection.\u00a0 Mining their father\u2019s LPs turned them on to Johnny Guitar Watson, The Yarbirds, and the Modern Jazz Quartet.\u00a0 Their garage band beginnings were pretty typical for young guys trying to put a band together.\u00a0 According to Bill DeMain\u2019s <\/span>Classic Rock Magazine<\/span><\/i> profile (Issue 351, April 2026), \u201cThey sneered at slick rockers of the time – Loverboy, Night Ranger – as they mined the grittier past, covering songs by Love, Gram Parsons, and Humble Pie.\u00a0 They woodshedded and burned through drummers and bass players with <\/span>Spinal Tap<\/span><\/i> speed.\u201d\u00a0 They also started writing their own songs and changed their name to The Black Crowes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In 1989, a chance encounter with producer George Drakoulias helped them land a record deal with Rick Rubin\u2019s Def American label.\u00a0 Rubin also signed on to produce their first album.\u00a0 Rick\u00a0 suggested another name change to \u2018Kob Kounty Krows\u2019 but the brothers wisely avoided it with the \u2018good old boy KKK\u2019 attention it would have attracted.\u00a0 Rich says, \u201cI was nineteen when we made <\/span>Shake Your Money Maker<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 At that age you\u2019re kind of prepared for failure, because if you\u2019ve lived any kind of life, you\u2019ve failed at things.\u00a0 But you are not prepared for success, especially on the level we had.\u00a0 We were just like, \u2018Hey, we made a record!\u2019\u00a0 We didn\u2019t consider success, we didn\u2019t even consider failure.\u00a0 We\u2019ll go our way, play some shows, it\u2019ll be fun.\u201d\u00a0 In a matter of two years, they were in constant rotation on the radio and MTV, and they appeared on the cover of <\/span>Rolling Stone Magazine<\/span><\/i> (who voted them Best New Rock Band).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Shake Your Money Maker <\/span><\/i>went platinum.\u00a0 The Crowes ended up on bills opening for ZZ Top, Robert Plant, and AC\/DC.\u00a0 In a 22 month period, they played 350 shows.\u00a0 Rich continues, \u201cWe went from playing in front of fifty people in Tuscaloosa to sixty thousand at Donington.\u00a0 That\u2019s a fast ascendance.\u00a0 We all climbed Mount Everest together.\u201d\u00a0 He also noted, \u201cThis was before the fighting and the ego and the drugs.\u201d This last line sums up the middle history of the Crowes, but in the beginning, they even managed to avoid the \u2018sophomore jinx\u2019 second album.\u00a0 Their follow up to <\/span>Money Maker <\/span><\/i>(<\/span>The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion<\/span><\/i>) reached the top of the <\/span>Billboard 200 <\/span><\/i>in 1992.\u00a0 Sales of the next five albums regressed between 1994\u2019s <\/span>Amorica<\/span><\/i> and 2001\u2019s <\/span>Lions<\/span><\/i> leading to a hiatus between 2002 and 2005.\u00a0 When they regrouped to record and tour again, the band reached No. 5 with 2008\u2019s <\/span>Warpaint.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 Their greatest hits double album (<\/span>Croweology <\/span><\/i>(2010)) and a 20th anniversary tour was followed by a second hiatus, another tour in 2013, and finally a less than harmonious breakup in 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By the time the Crowes mounted a 30th anniversary tour to mark the release of <\/span>Shake Your Money Maker,<\/span><\/i> the only original members left were the Robinson brothers.\u00a0 I was fortunate to see the Black Crowes live twice before the bottom fell out of the original lineup (when the WOAS-FM West Coast Bureau was still in Los Angeles).\u00a0 At that time, there had only been minor changes in the core group.\u00a0 The first show at the L.A. Palladium saw Luther Dickinson playing guitar opposite of Rich.\u00a0 By my second show at the Wiltern Theater, Jackie Greene had replaced Luther.\u00a0 Both concerts were great and Steve Gorman\u2019s drumming was well worth the price of admission.\u00a0 My only regret was deciding to not see the second night they played at the Wiltern, but it was the right decision at that time.\u00a0 Only the encores changed between the two nights they played.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The discord in the band snuck up on them like it does for so many bands.\u00a0 Brothers will naturally find things to disagree on (see the Gallagher brothers and Everly brothers for starters).<\/span><\/p>\n

Over consumption of chemical substances tends to feed egos and ego driven dust ups lead to bands splintering apart more times than not.\u00a0 Acrimonious break ups that are played out in the media become a battle of \u2018he said, he did\u2019 that drives the wedge between band members even deeper.\u00a0 The final break up and the firestorm of accusations about who said and did what seemed to paint the Black Crowes into a corner that they were not going to be able to come out of.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Chris formed a Grateful Dead-like ensemble called The Brotherhood and toured behind some okay albums.\u00a0 He never apologized for them not being the Crowes, he just explained that they were playing music that they wanted to play.\u00a0 Rich\u2019s fortunes seemed to be a little better.<\/span><\/p>\n

First he teamed up with R.E.M.\u2019s Peter Buck in the Silverlites. \u00a0 Then he and singer John Hogg formed Magpie Salute whose sound leaned more toward the Tedesci-Trucks band\u2019s structure than the Dead.\u00a0 Their first release (the single <\/span>Omission<\/span><\/i> and covers of other tunes) was well received.\u00a0 There were enough interesting things going on for Magpie to tease listeners as to where they were headed.\u00a0 Their next albums (<\/span>Highwater I & Highwater II<\/span><\/i>) didn\u2019t disappoint and showed promise they were on an upward swing, but then it was done.\u00a0 Everybody (including his band members) wondered why Rich pulled the plug, but nobody really found a satisfactory answer.\u00a0 Mining the old interviews he did before the breakup, Rich signaled why it went south when he compared the differences between the Crowes and Magpie.\u00a0 In the Crowes, he had Chris to bounce things off of and collaborate with.\u00a0 In Magpie, he was the leader and lightning rod for everything and (in my opinion) he found it to be a lot more stressful and a lot more work than he expected.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The other factor, no doubt, was the plethora of offers that had been thrown at them about doing a reunion.\u00a0 After all the bad blood, getting back together didn\u2019t seem likely until 2021 arrived and it became reality.\u00a0 Rich says they had turned down previous offers because, \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to do any sort of BS money grab.\u201d\u00a0 The 30th anniversary of <\/span>Shake Your Money Maker<\/span><\/i> provided them an opportunity to right the wrongs of the past.\u00a0 He continues, \u201cWhen we got back together, we had grown a lot.\u00a0 I mean, we\u2019re both in our fifties now, and we said:\u00a0 \u2018Look, we don\u2019t want to grab the money, go on tour, fight and have it be (expletive deleted).\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t make any sense,\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Chris adds, \u201cWe didn\u2019t take them [the big money offers] because we knew we needed to start from scratch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The obvious questions were, \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t they want to work with the original band?\u201d and \u201cHow will their old fan base react to them \u2018starting from scratch\u2019?\u201d\u00a0 Their explanation shows they had given some thought to both questions.\u00a0 Rich told DeMain, \u201cWe can\u2019t bring back people that carry that old mentality to basically split Chris and I up.\u00a0 We need to strip everything back, and put our relationship first.\u00a0 We need to listen to each other.\u00a0 We need to keep it together.\u00a0 And so Chris and I\u2019ve been really adamant about that, and it\u2019s helped our relationship tremendously.\u201d\u00a0 Chris admitted that therapy has helped him improve his communication skills:\u00a0 \u201cGrowing up is the hardest part of all this, but Rich and I are mid-century products of the Deep South;\u00a0 our emotional vocabulary is not vast.\u00a0 To be where we are today, we had to mature, and that meant going through what we went through.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Unlike the six years before the 2021 reunion, they have been talking on the phone once a week and doing, \u201cJust stuff like brothers do, you know?\u201d\u00a0 Rich says.\u00a0 \u201cWe talk about the kids (Chris has two, Rich has seven), our dogs, cooking.\u00a0 We also talk about the day-to-day stuff of having to run the band and write new songs, and what new music we\u2019re digging.\u00a0 But it’s night-and-day better.\u00a0 It\u2019s much healthier.\u00a0 Making records is so much cooler.\u00a0 Touring is so much better.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The 46 dates of the <\/span>Money Maker <\/span><\/i>tour were mostly sold out and led directly to the release of their <\/span>Happiness B******* <\/span><\/i>album in 2024.\u00a0 The recording sessions were helmed in Nashville by producer \/ multi-instrumentalist Jay Joyce.\u00a0 Though he is known more for working with country artists like Eric Church and Little Big Town, the Robinsons felt he was the right fit for them.\u00a0 Chris says, \u201cWe come rolling in with these rough song ideas and loud amps, and he is right there with us.\u00a0 When we\u2019re in the studio, Rich is a little more studious, and I\u2019m far more Jackson Pollock, throwing paint around, seeing what sticks [laughs].\u00a0 And Jay rides that wave between us.\u201d\u00a0 Rich adds, \u201cWe really like Jay as a person, we respect him as an artist.\u00a0 Unlike some producers we\u2019ve worked with, I think he really understands the two of us and how we work, individually and together.\u00a0 He knows how to deal with Chris and I in ways that make it stay positive and move forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How did the brothers arrive at this harmonious place?\u00a0 Living on opposite sides of the country probably helps, but what they do when they are apart contributes to their new found maturity.\u00a0 Rich has followed the John Mellencamp school and finds tranquility in painting.\u00a0 Rich doesn\u2019t dabble in doodles, ala John Lennon.\u00a0 He is a serious painter.\u00a0 DeMain says, \u201cRich paints large canvases done in a colour-rich abstract expressionist style influenced by Gerhard Richter and Gustave Klint.\u00a0 He told the author, \u201cI love depth and texture.\u00a0 Painting seems to activate a different part of my brain.\u00a0 There\u2019s a different sensory scenario – smells and visuals and perspectives.\u00a0 I love it.\u00a0 It\u2019s peaceful.\u00a0 It\u2019s just you and the canvas.\u00a0 There\u2019s no band politics [laughs].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The more extroverted Chris does a lot of reading but that isn\u2019t enough to expend his excess energy,\u00a0 He says, \u201cWhatever is wrong with me has to do with a <\/span>lack of drainage<\/span><\/i> of the creative battery.\u00a0 I don\u2019t tend to shut off.\u00a0 There is always something driving my aesthetic.\u201d\u00a0 According to his Instagram profile, Chris and his wife Camille drain the battery by DJ\u2019ing at parties and clubs around Los Angeles.:\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll play old soul, funk, classical Persian music, everything.\u00a0 What I\u2019m saying is that just being in the world and travelling and absorbing art inspires me.\u201d\u00a0 It seems that \u2018peace at home begats peace in the band\u2019 if I am reading their hobby outlets correctly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Their newest record, <\/span>A Pound of Feathers<\/span><\/i> (2025) was approached with a different mentality than the albums the Crowes recorded back in their 1990 to 1995 heyday.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s be honest, we\u2019re not gonna have a hit record, man.\u00a0 But it\u2019s fun,\u201d is how Chris put it.\u00a0 Without the outlets that drove them up the charts back in the day (\u201cNo MTV and bands like Pearl Jam and Faith No More aren\u2019t on the radio\u201d) they have had to refocus their direction.\u00a0 \u201c[Music sales] is not a youth-driven thing.\u00a0 There\u2019s still an energy about it [recording] so we really have the freedom to just let it all kind of funk out.\u00a0 We always did whatever we wanted to do.\u00a0 But now, we also realise how we need to be excited about it.\u00a0 We need to feel fulfilled by this.\u201d\u00a0 Rich adds, “Because of content and streaming services, people make music now to meet an end, like, \u2018We have to make this record because we have to get it out on Spotify by this time.\u2019\u00a0 Whereas for us, a record is a statement.\u00a0 An amazing song is a gift, a gift to the world, a song that can move people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As far as how fans react to the new album, Chris concludes, \u201cI get that our audience is older, but you\u2019re gonna get the most out of it if you put something in too, so let yourself go, man, let yourself go.\u00a0 I want to tour and do great shows, and just keep on searching for that feeling,\u00a0 You know what I mean?\u00a0 I hope the Black Crowes people like this record and are surprised by it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rich says he is happy with the new record and their working relationship:\u00a0 \u201cYou know, Chris and I have always been in the studio.\u00a0 We get along great now, but even back in the day, no matter how bad we were fighting, when we would show up to write or to record, we just kind of put all that behind us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Being somewhat behind in the listening to new music department, I reached out to Todd at the West Coast Bureau and asked for his opinion about the latest LPs.\u00a0 Todd is the biggest BCs fan I know and when he got into vinyl big time, he donated all of the earlier Crowes albums on CD to the WOAS mothership.\u00a0 His first reaction to my request arrived as two poop emojis, so I am thinking he isn\u2019t fond of what he has heard in the new LPs.\u00a0 In spite of that, it will become my summer mission to give both a good listen knowing my biggest obstacle to liking the current Crowes will be the absence of drummer Steve Gorman.\u00a0 This is no knock on their current drummer, but Gorman was such a big part of the original Black Crowes vibe that he left big shoes to fill.\u00a0 Time for me to start listening!<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Piece Video:\u00a0 The song that started it all – live during the Shake Your Money Maker reunion tour<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Vaults:\u00a0 The Black Crowes 2026   \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It has been a while since we checked in with the Brothers Robinson.\u00a0 When the Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel, buried the hatchet in 2025 and went out on their first Oasis tour in a long, long time, all bets suggested that it would implode.\u00a0 Maybe viewing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,6,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bands-musicians","category-from-the-vaults","category-new-music","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3854"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3857,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3854\/revisions\/3857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}