Ep 860 : Charlie Starr of BlackBerry Smoke

Dean Delray's LET THERE BE TALK

Dean Delray

Music Interviews, Music

4.9 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 2 June 2026

⏱️ 93 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today on Let There Be Talk, I sit down with the great Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke.

For the last 25 years, Blackberry Smoke has been carrying the torch for authentic Southern rock, blending incredible songwriting, killer musicianship, and a relentless work ethic that has earned them one of the most loyal fan bases in music.

Charlie joins me to talk about the band's incredible 25-year journey, from grinding it out in clubs and bars to headlining theaters and festivals around the world. We dive into the evolution of the band, the stories behind the songs, life on the road, staying true to your artistic vision, and what keeps Blackberry Smoke moving forward after a quarter century.

If you're a fan of great songwriting, real rock and roll, and the spirit of never giving up, you're going to love this conversation.

Dig in and enjoy my talk with Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke right here on

Let There Be Talk.

All of my tour dates can be found here - https://www.deandelray.com/tourdates

Join My Patreon and support the podcast right here - https://www.deandelray.com/patreon

Watch both of my Stand Up Comedy special and subscibe to my YouTube right here for free - https://www.deandelray.com/

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today is number 860. Yes, that's what episode it is. Can you believe it? June 2nd. Welcome to the show.
0:12.1	Upcoming tour dates before we get into the guests. This weekend, I will be in Atlanta, Friday, Saturday, Sunday at the punchline.
0:21.4	The following weekend, I'm going to be in Batavia, Illinois, Friday and Saturday at the Comedy Vault.
0:30.4	Also, Quincy, Illinois one night, June 27th, and Phoenix, Arizona, the Desert Ridge Improv, July 23rd through the 26th.
0:41.7	Alliante Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada.
0:45.0	I'm headlining one night, August 8th, October 23 and 24.
0:50.8	I'm going to be at the Comedy Fort in Fort Collins, Colorado.
0:56.4	There are the tour dates.
0:57.9	Thank you for joining me.
1:00.7	25 years, Blackberry Smoke has been a band.
1:06.4	And hats off to that.
1:09.2	To tell you how hard and difficult it is to be a band for 25 years, it would take hours and hours.
1:17.9	Or it could take one second, me saying, almost impossible.
1:23.5	To be in a rock and roll band and travel and tour and put out records especially in this era is
1:31.2	extremely hard and my guest today Charlie Star has pulled it off Lee guitar and singer
1:38.1	songwriter of Blackberry Smoke fantastic band out of Atlanta and they're currently out on a tour right now. And I had
1:48.5	Jason Neustead on a few weeks ago. His band, Chop House, is doing some of the tour, including
1:55.3	the Ryman in July. So go out and see Blackberry Smoke on their 25th anniversary celebration tour. I highly recommend it.
2:06.7	It was great to talk to this man. We go all over the place. We talk about the beginning of the band,
2:13.7	how Charlie started playing guitar, our love of the Rolling Stones and the Black
2:18.4	Crows, his time in Atlanta, and also playing on other projects, all kinds of stuff, man.
2:28.5	Talk to this guy for a long time, and it felt like literally 10 minutes.
	...

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