“CMT Crossroads: The Black Crowes & Darius Rucker” premieres Tuesday, May 16th at 10p/9c

 

Iconic episode filmed before a live, outdoor audience in downtown Austin, Texas

 

** SNEAK PEEK: Watch a first-look performance of “Remedy” here **

NASHVILLE – (May 9) – 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. 

For more information, visit CMT.com, check out “CMT Crossroads” on Facebook & YouTube and use the hashtag #CMTcrossroads.

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About CMT Crossroads:

“CMT Crossroads” illustrates the far-reaching roots of country music by pairing country artists with musicians from other genres. Each episode features a different set of stars playing together, swapping stories and sharing their common love of music. The series debuted January 13, 2002 with Elvis Costello and Lucinda Williams and since has showcased dream musical partnerships including Ray Charles and Travis Tritt; Bon Jovi and Sugarland; Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire; Def Leppard and Taylor Swift; Sting and Vince Gill; John Mayer and Keith Urban; Mumford & Sons and Emmylou Harris; Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood; Stevie Nicks and Lady Antebellum; Katy Perry and Kacey Musgraves; Alicia Keys and Maren Morris; Halsey and Kelsea Ballerini; LeAnn Rimes & Friends featuring Ashley McBryde, Brandy Clark, Carly Pearce & Mickey Guyton; and celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022 with the special installment “CMT Crossroads: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss.” The 2023 season kicked off with the pairing of FOR KING + COUNTRY & Jimmie Allen.

 

About The Black Crowes

​​In 1990, when journalists were lamenting the death of rock, as cheesy pop and hair metal dominated the charts, Atlanta’s Black Crowes gave the genre a swift and much needed kick in the ass with Shake Your Money Maker. Fueled by singles “Jealous Again,” “Twice As Hard,” “She Talks To Angels,” and the break-through cover of Otis Redding’s “Hard To Handle,” the band immediately took the rock world by storm, topping Rolling Stone’s “Best New American Band Readers Poll” in late 1990. The Black Crowes went on to release eight studio and four live albums, selling in the tens of millions along the way; they sold out shows around the world; had legendary guitarist Jimmy Page join as a member; got kicked off a tour with ZZ Top for insulting the sponsor; got screwed by bad record deals; got married and divorced, fought amongst themselves and against the rest of the world. In other words, they’ve done everything a legendary rock group should do. For more information about The Black Crowes visit: theblackcrowes.com.

 

​​About Darius Rucker

Darius Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide including their Diamond-certified debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the Top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time. Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four No. 1 albums on the Billboard Country chart, including RIAA Platinum-certified Learn to Live and True Believers, plus 10 No. 1 singles at Country radio and 11 Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum certified hits. Rucker was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012 and in 2014 he won his third career GRAMMY Award for Best Solo Country Performance with his 9x Platinum version of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time. He co-hosted the 54th annual CMA Awards in 2020 and topped the charts at Country radio once again with “Beers And Sunshine” in 2021. His brand-new single is called “Fires Don’t Start Themselves.” For more information on Rucker, visit dariusrucker.com.

 

CMT Press Contact:

Ali Marszalkowski, Ali.Marszalkowski@paramount.com