Acclaimed American rock band Blackberry Smoke’s new song, “Ain’t The Same,” is debuting today. Listen/share HERE.
Of the track, lead singer Charlie Starr shares, “I wrote this song with Keith Nelson after spending time with a friend who is a veteran and suffers from PTSD. It’s the story of a young soldier going from one battlefield overseas to another kind of battlefield at home, and basically being forced to deal with it alone.”
“Ain’t The Same” is the third song unveiled from the band’s highly anticipated new album, You Hear Georgia, which will be released May 28 via Thirty Tigers (pre-order here) and marks their 20th anniversary as a group. With the addition of producer Dave Cobb, a fellow Georgian, You Hear Georgia pays homage to the band’s deep respect for their roots. Across the album’s ten songs, Blackberry Smoke continues to embody Georgia’s rich musical legacy as they have for the past two decades, honoring the people, places and sounds of their home state.
Ahead of the release, the band has released two additional album tracks: “Hey Delilah” and “You Hear Georgia,” of which Starr reflects, “Lyrically, the song is about the South being misunderstood. It’s obviously a rough and tumble world, and there’s a lot of bad people. But there’s a lot of good people too. It started with the idea of how people might have a preconceived opinion of you because of a thick Southern accent, then expanded into the reality of how some people just seem to have such a hard time getting along, thanks to political or religious views, or simply what part of the country you come from.”
In addition to Blackberry Smoke—Starr (vocals, guitar), Richard Turner (bass, vocals), Brit Turner (drums), Paul Jackson (guitar, vocals) and Brandon Still (keyboards)—the album also features Benji Shanks (guitar) and Preston Holcomb (percussion) as well as special guests Jamey Johnson (“Lonesome For A Livin’”), Warren Haynes (“All Rise Again”) and The Black Bettys (background vocals).
