Blackberry Smoke Covers Grateful Dead’s ‘Althea’ In New York City

Blackberry Smoke concluded the Break It Down Acoustic Tour on Saturday and Sunday at City Winery in New York City, where the last show of the run featured a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Althea.” The Southern rockers also treated fans on Sunday to a bevy of originals from throughout their career and takes on songs by Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones, The Band and more.

The quintet and touring guitarist Benji Shanks worked through what according to Setlist.FM was their first version of “Althea” towards the middle of Sunday’s concert. Charlie Starr handled vocals on the song from the Grateful Dead’s 1980 studio album Go To Heaven written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter. Starr took a few solos during “Althea,” while Paul Jackson utilized a slide for a solo of his own. After the cover, the band honored the birthday of sound engineer John Farrell with a round of “Happy Birthday To You.”

Blackberry Smoke went heavy on tunes from 2012’s The Whippoorrwill on Sunday including “One Horse Town,” “Pretty Little Lie” and the title track. The tour closer also featured such staples as “Ain’t Much Left Of Me” and “I Ain’t Got The Blues.” BBS fit in covers of The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” The Rolling Stones’ “Loving Cup,” the traditional “Columbus Stockade Blues” and “Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I)” by Ray Charles. Watch a series of fan-shot videos captured by FretsmanRFS:

Band Intros > Althea

Ain’t Much Left Of Me

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Everybody Knows She’s Mine

The Whipporrwill

Setlist