CMT today revealed the newest installment of the iconic “CMT Crossroads” franchise featuring multi-platinum rock band The Black Crowes and 3x GRAMMY® award-winning singer-songwriter Darius Rucker. “CMT Crossroads: The Black Crowes & Darius Rucker” premieres with a special one-hour presentation on Tuesday, May 16th at 10p/9c, with an immediate encore at 11p/10c, and on Friday, May 19th at 12a/11c. It will also go live on Wednesday, May 17th on CMT.com, CMT VOD and the MTV app (CMT Crossroads), with subsequent premieres on CMT MUSIC and MTV LIVE.
“CMT Crossroads: The Black Crowes & Darius Rucker” pairs the legendary rockers with cross-genre superstar Rucker – known equally for his phenomenal country music career, as well as fronting the multi-platinum band, Hootie & the Blowfish. The episode has the longtime friends swapping stories and performing on each other’s most-celebrated songs, including can’t-miss renditions of The Black Crowes’ “Hard To Handle,” “She Talks to Angels,” and “Remedy,” Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel” and “Let Her Cry,” along with a rousing delivery of Drivin N Cryin’s quintessential Southern rock anthem “Straight To Hell.”
Shared Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes: “It was really cool getting to do Crossroads with Darius. We both come from similar music scenes in the south and we have a shared admiration for a lot of the same music. Darius has such a powerful voice and has written some great songs. I’m glad we finally got to share the stage with our friend!”
Said Darius Rucker: “I’ve been a fan of The Black Crowes for decades, and I’m grateful that we’ve also become good friends over the years. The first time I heard ‘She Talks to Angels,’ I remember being so moved by the lyrics that I went around Columbia, South Carolina asking every single bar to play it. I went home that night and put on Bonnie Raitt’s Home Plate, and decided I was going to try to write ‘She Talks to Angels’ for her. ‘Let Her Cry’ was what poured out of me. These guys have been so impactful on my career and sharing the stage with them was a blast.”
This episode of the critically-acclaimed music series was filmed outdoors in front of a live audience in the heart of downtown Austin, Texas as part of “CMT MUSIC AWARDS WEEK,” giving fans a one-of-a-kind opportunity to be a part of the magic. The crowd of thousands also found themselves in the presence of rock royalty as the pre-eminent Chuck Leavell (The Allman Brothers and The Rolling Stones) performed alongside The Black Crowes & Rucker on keyboards.
In advance of the May 16th “CMT Crossroads” debut, The Black Crowes and Rucker took the stage on April 2nd at Austin’s Moody Center to deliver a world premiere live performance of “She Talks to Angels” at the 2023 CMT MUSIC AWARDS. Watch the moving performance, with Leavell once again on keys, here.
“CMT Crossroads: The Black Crowes & Darius Rucker” is executive produced by CMT’s Margaret Comeaux and Michael McNamara. The Executives in Charge of Production are Jackie Barba and Heather D. Graffagnino. Leslie Fram is Executive in Charge of Talent; Shanna Strassberg is Talent Producer.
