Down and dirty. That’s what listeners get upon hearing the first riffs of “Profane Prophecy,” the opening track from A Pound of Feathers, the Black Crowes’ tenth studio album.
In a world overflowing with autotune, AI, and songwriting that leave you guessing where credit begins and ends, the Crowes are unapologetically waving that freak flag of rock and roll that’s both familiar and wholly original. For the new album, brothers Chris and Rich Robinson once again teamed up with producer Jay Joyce, known for his work with Cage the Elephant and Lainey Wilson. Joyce also helmed the Crowes’ previous 2024 outing, Happiness Bastards.
For Rich Robinson, the eight-day recording session last summer, which yielded eleven songs, was proof that it was wise to run it back with Joyce.
“The whole process was a stream of consciousness with no filters,” Robinson said in an early May interview. “We love Jay and his studio. It was important for me and Chris to work with someone who can look at something from 10,000 feet away and really help us get to where we need to go.”
“A lot of it is meeting someone and really clicking,” the guitarist added. “That’s what happened with Jay and us. When we made Happiness Bastards, we were really happy with how well all three of us worked together. Jay quickly gathered how we operate best and kind of used that as a template. He understands and knows when to push and when not to push. It was more of a collaborative thing.”
While the Crowes have toured for over 30 years, don’t expect the brothers Robinson to rest on their laurels and ease into their later years as a nostalgia act. For Rich Robinson, that kind of mindset is crucial to why he picks up a guitar and plugs in.
“Chris and I are constantly writing, and we’ve amassed a bunch of songs,” Robinson said. “We love the studio and making records. We don’t want to sit still and play the old songs. We like creating music and being in the studio. We love watching something come from nothing. Ultimately, that’s what we’re looking at. It’s a major part of why you’re in a band.”
He continues: “It’s not about posing, being on stage, playing covers or old songs. It’s about creating things. We still try to write better songs. We try to push things forward and bring new influences into what we’re doing. It just seems natural to us.”
With a loyal fanbase and rich canon dating back to their 1990 debut (Shake Your Money Maker) from which to draw from, the Crowes are taking to the road this year, co-headlining the Southern Hospitality Tour with popular Texan rock troupe Whiskey Myers.
While some might call this a career resurgence, mostly due to a 2025 Grammy nod for Best Rock Album, as well as their first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination, the band has soared back following a brief breakup that culminated in a third reunion in 2019, Covid-19 notwithstanding. Delighted to be back on tour, Robinson promises something for everyone at their live shows.
“We’ll play songs from all the records, songs from the new record and unreleased songs, songs from the box sets and a bunch of covers,” he said. “We’ll kind of expand here and there. We play songs that everyone wants to hear every night. But we also take the other moments to play things that are rarities and things we haven’t played in a long time.”
For Robinson, the idea of making music and being creative is a sacred undertaking. Never one to heed trends, it’s easy to see why this holistic approach has not only fueled the Black Crowes’ longevity, but also helped them retain their loyal fanbase. It’s a pretty straightforward premise as far as Robinson is concerned.
“The sole purpose of creation is to express yourself,” he said. “A lot of artists see the world in a different way that can shine a light on something that may be mundane, but show it in a light that creates interest, beauty and an enigmatic understanding of something that you may not have seen. In my estimation, that’s what makes the world progress, to be able to see things in a way that is more important than just the standard, conventional way of experiencing them.”
** The Black Crowes perform at The Shoreline on August 20th alongside Whiskey Myers
