A couple of well-placed sources have passed this nugget along: ZZ Top frontman, guitarist, and facial hair evangelist Billy F. Gibbons will be a surprise guest during Atlanta boot-stomping rockers Blackberry Smoke's performance at Revolution tonight.
How did this come about, you ask? Well, Blackberry Smoke and ZZ Top were tourmates a few years back -- and you can probably guess who was on top of the bill. Things went particularly well on those outings. During that time, Gibbons gave a still-cherished piece of advice to Blackberry Smoke singer Charlie Starr with "Get some good lookin' boots" and later gave him a see-through, lucite guitar. He also helped out on percussion:
If attendees are lucky, Gibbons will opt for an ax instead tonight.
For anyone who just clicked on this because of the ZZ Top legend's involvement, Arielle Castillo has more about the bearded quintet: "In a landscape of overly compressed and formulaic guitar tunes, the
group sounds fresh. Yes, this is 'Southern rock,' but Southern rock
encompassing all the great musical traditions of the South -- swamp
boogie, bluegrass, rock, country, and even backwoods gospel." Nuff said.
Blackberry Smoke, with the Jacob Jeffries Band. 7 p.m. Wednesday,
November 30, at Revolution, 200 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale.
Tickets cost $9. Call 954-449-1025.
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