Blackberry Smoke’s music is 21st-century Southern rock, with songs about getting away from it all, staying in motion and checking out when necessary.
The sound sometimes conjures a fog of bikers, Native Americans, hippies, cowboys and outlaws. The band has a ZZ Top meets Steppenwolf vibe, with lumbering boogie shuffles and slithering bluesy guitar solos.
There’s plenty of Skynyrd and Allman Brothers in the DNA too. The Atlanta band has a new record, “Find A Light,” its sixth studio album, and it successfully stakes out sonic turf in that place where the good ol’ boys and the freaks can pass the peace pipe. One song on the new album is called “Medicate My Mind,” which advocates chilling out majorly.
Elsewhere, Blackberry Smoke may be rocking a little harder than on past records, but it spaces it out with mellow breathers like “I’ve Got This Song,” a song about the simple durable beauty of music.
Blackberry Smoke plays College Street Music Hall, 238 College St., New Haven, on Tuesday, May 15, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $32. collegestreetmusichall.com