BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, the supergroup that includes legendary vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH),guitarist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN) and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, ALICE COOPER, BILLY IDOL),kicked off its spring/summer season 2025 European tour final evening (Friday, June 6) at Amager Bio in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The band’s setlist was as follows, in accordance with Setlist.fm:
01. Sway
02. One Final Soul
03. Wanderlust
04. Crossfire
05. Tune Of Yesterday
06. Save Me
07. The Outsider
08. Faithless
09. Purple Solar
10. Chilly
11. The Crow
12. Keep Free
Encore:
13. Sista Jane
14. Black Nation
15. Mistreated (DEEP PURPLE cowl)
Fan-filmed video of the live performance might be seen beneath.
The trek is a mix of headline reveals within the Germany, The Netherlands, Austria and Czech Republic, in addition to pageant appearances akin to Sweden Rock and Poland’s Rock Legends.
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION is touring in assist of its fifth studio album, “V”, which got here out in June 2024.
Resonating with the band’s signature fusion of onerous rock and soul-stirring blues, “V” stands as a testomony to BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION‘s progress and mutual admiration, symbolizing their dedication to producing music that’s genuine, heartfelt, and reflective of their shared experiences and huge musical experience.
“This band permits me to embrace all of it,” feedback Bonamassa. “It is humorous as a result of the 4 musicians up right here — everyone brings a sure factor to this that’s very particular. Each half is irreplaceable. For me, it is about taking part in old-style rock guitar, loud.”
Hughes provides: “We make music for the 5 of us. We make music that we love and like, hoping it registers with everybody else. We do not make it for file corporations, or this man or that man.” Sherinian credit producer Kevin Shirley for conserving the band’s artistic energies centered, including, “We have got to present Kevin Shirley huge credit score as a result of he controls. He retains all of it flowing.”
Produced by Shirley, “V” marks a monumental chapter within the band’s storied profession, embodying a renewed spirit and an evolution of their unmistakable sound. Shirley captures the essence of the band’s journey, stating: “For a band that started off as a group of one of the best practitioners of their devices, they in a short time discovered a novel sound. This time round, it has extra function, the riffs are more durable, and there are hooks! Sure, hooks! It is essentially the most cohesive file, filled with soul and grit, and I believe that is the one which’s going to be the benchmark for BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION.” Glenn agrees: “In my view, we had one of the best time recording this file at Sundown Sound in Hollywood, tons of enjoyable and a magical recording. Meet you contained in the music.”
“Keep Free”, the lead single, is a powerhouse monitor that blends onerous rock’s uncooked power with a heavy dose of blues, channeling the spirit of legends like AC/DC and LED ZEPPELIN. It units the tone for what followers can anticipate from “V” — a testomony to the band’s dynamic synergy and inventive evolution.
Since their debut in 2010, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION has delivered a sequence of critically acclaimed albums, every showcasing the group’s potential to fuse British blues-rock with American soul in a method that captivates audiences worldwide. Their return with “V” reaffirms their standing as rock royalty and showcases their progress as musicians and storytellers.
Shirley‘s perception into the recording course of highlights the distinctive chemistry and camaraderie inside the band. “After we convened in 2023 to begin recording the album ‘V’, it actually was like selecting up the day after the newest gig,” Shirley displays. “The camaraderie is instantly evident. As soon as they begin taking part in, everyone seems to be lethal severe, and the music seems like this band, and nothing else sounds prefer it.”
“V” is a milestone that celebrates the journey, expertise, and imaginative and prescient of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION. Because the band embarks on this new chapter, they invite followers previous and new to affix them in experiencing the depth and energy of “V”.
Throughout an look on an August 2023 episode of SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, Hughes acknowledged concerning the musical route of the brand new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION materials: “It seems like BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION. There’s not too many left turns, there’s nothing occurring that is weirdly totally different. We adopted a vibe of the primary 4 albums, so it it is an extension, however it’s actually a development, should you can name it a development. Everyone’s taking part in out of their pores and skin. The vibe within the camp has by no means been so pleasant and enjoyable. It is a actually, actually nice vibe within the band. And we had a good time at Sundown Sound [studios] in Hollywood. And I am unable to wait so that you can hear it.”
Bonamassa informed “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” concerning the new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION album: “The factor about BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, whether or not you want the way in which we sound or not, once we all get collectively, it has a really particular factor that it does. Everyone brings a really particular factor to the desk, and it is a particular band.”
In accordance with Joe, he introduced the BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION members again collectively to make the follow-up to “BCCIV”, which was launched in September 2017 and marked BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION‘s first studio effort since 2013’s “Afterglow”. “I used to be the one which type of initiated the textual content, be, like, ‘Hey, is there anyone interested by doing a fifth one?'” he stated. “And Derek obtained again to me. Jason obtained again to me fairly rapidly. And Glenn referred to as me and stated, ‘I am unable to do something till this DEAD DAISIES scenario goes a method or the following.’ And I stated, ‘Honest sufficient.’ So when Glenn left THE DEAD DAISIES [in 2022], that was type of the inexperienced gentle for us to get again collectively.”
Relating to the songwriting course of for BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION‘s fifth album and the way it in comparison with that on the band’s earlier efforts, Joe stated: “This was the identical. I went over to Glenn‘s home about six instances and we hashed out some concepts — fairly tough, free concepts. Nothing in stone. And so I had a playlist on my cellphone, voice memos, BCC 1 via 10. And that was it. So, so day one, we simply [said], ‘Okay, let’s begin with BCC 1.’ And we sat within the courtyard at Sundown Sound — they’ve this very nice courtyard with a bunch of chairs — and we sat on the market with an acoustic guitar and a few issues and we simply bashed out the association. We have been, like, ‘Okay, that is cool.’ We went in, performed it three or 4 instances and that was it. No person charted something; we simply type of memorized it and did it. And we’d go into the management room, pay attention slightly bit, perhaps tweak one thing, however as soon as it fired up and after the second day, we actually hit our stride, going, ‘Okay, the band’s again.’ ‘Trigger we hadn’t performed collectively in six years.”
As for the recording course of for the brand new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION disc, Joe stated: “There’s not a number of overdubs. I hardly ever double the guitars, ‘trigger Glenn‘s bass sound is so huge and distorted, you recognize what I imply? It is, like, why do I have to double the guitar? Similar factor with Derek. It is nearly like taking part in within the band FREE. All of the sound comes from the 4 of us. And Jason takes up an enormous quantity of bandwidth; he is such a giant drummer.”
In a September 2022 interview with Andy Corridor of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3, Bonamassa acknowledged about what it’s a couple of “band scenario” that appeals to him, contemplating he has spent most of his profession as a solo artist: “I like nothing greater than to be a member of a band and taking part in guitar. I haven’t got to entrance it; I haven’t got to sing on a regular basis. And it is rather a lot much less stress than being the entrance particular person. Being the particular person in entrance is a particular skillset. It’s important to be an entertainer. You possibly can’t simply sit up there and stare at your guitar and go, ‘Wow. Look, I can play guitar fairly good.’ That is not gonna fill the theater. It’s important to placed on a present. And to placed on a present requires being an entertainer. So being in a band, the sum of the elements is bigger than the one entity. So this factor the place Glenn co-fronts BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, I can simply sit again and play rhythm guitar and watch him do his factor. He is a legend. After which conversely, Glenn does not must sing all evening; I am going to sing three or 4 [songs]. So we type of unfold out the entire workload slightly bit.”
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION‘s inception happened when Hughes and Bonamassa fused their types on stage in Los Angeles for an explosive efficiency at Guitar Heart‘s King Of The Blues occasion. With the assistance and steerage of Shirley, they additional added to their rock lineage by recruiting Bonham and Sherinian.
In a 2017 interview, Hughes talked concerning the chemistry between the BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION members, particularly since all of the musicians have had profitable careers previous to launching the group.
“This band was meant to be,” Glenn stated. “It was shaped out of a friendship with Joe and I. We obtained the [other] guys to come back in, and it is at all times been a powerful brotherhood. And we’re simply very fortunate and lucky to have met. I’ve recognized Jason since he was [a kid]. I simply suppose that these 4 guys on this band are the proper guys to play within the band.”
Press picture in tour poster by Rob Bondurant
