Black Stone Cherry are a band in the truest sense of the term. Almost twenty years on from their incendiary self-titled debut, plus eight albums - including six UK Top 20 hits as well as four top 25 US radio singles over the past two albums - and scores of devoted fans worldwide, the Kentucky foursome retain the fire and camaraderie of their teenage selves. They are a truly collaborative force, in a way that few other bands at this level are. Hard rockers of enormous heart. Four accomplished songwriters with rock, metal, roots, blues, soul and hip hop in their blood. Old friends with an instinctive, compassionate sense for what each other is feeling.

On Celebrate – produced by the band and recorded at High Street Studios in Bowling Green, Kentucky – they embody all this at the height of their powers. There’s happiness and heartache. Muscular hooks and raw soul. The life experiences of four men approaching forty (two of them parents), in one emotive, unpolished diamond of a record. Six commanding, stage-ready original tracks and an inspired cover of Simple Minds’ Don’t You (Forget About Me) featuring Tyler Connolly (Theory Of A Deadman).

Celebrate’s roots stem from the road, where (in true Black Stone style) riffs and lyrics cropped up in soundchecks and tour-bus journeys across the world. In early 2025 they began meeting at guitarist Ben Wells’ home studio, two days a week, to write together in earnest. It was a rewarding experience. Surrounded by band posters, Star Wars figures and Elvis memorabilia – and with Wells’ three beagles as their first critics – they fleshed out ideas, often swapping instruments to nail the best ones.