Black Stone Cherry, Carnival of Madness coming to Tulsa

Are you ready for the rock and roll carnival? If not, you better get ready. On Friday night the Carnival of Madness rolls through Tulsa as the tour boasting five bands and very reasonable ticket prices makes a stop at the Osage Million Dollar Elm Event Center.  Just $30 gets you an evening of great rock music from some strong up-and-coming bands. Black Stone Cherry drummer John Fred Young recently spoke with Tulsa Today to let us know about the upcoming show.

The Edmonton, Kentucky based group is currently touring in support of their album “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” which was released in May. Current singles “White Trash Millionaire,” and “Blame it on the Boom Boom” have both charted . “White Trash Millionaire” topped out at number 12 on the active rock chart, while “Boom Boom” is currently listed at number 30. Their last two albums have reached number one on the U.K. rock charts, while charting in the 20’s on U.S. charts.

Young, who has drummed since the age of five, says the band has had a blast on this tour. “This tour is going really good, we’re having a good time. It’s a good package because you get five bands for a really low price,” he said.

“It’s a good live show,” he added of the band’s 35-minute set that will include at least two songs from each of Black Stone Cherry’s three albums. “If I wasn’t in the band I think I would still go see our band play if I had never heard of us before,” said Young.

While talking about his upbringing, Young said that family and small town roots were big influences on the budding musician.

Young’s father, Richard Young, and uncle, Fred Young, are members of country-rock band The Kentucky Headhunters. Richard plays guitar while Fred plays drums.

“My uncle is my all-time favorite drummer,” John Fred said. “My dad produced the first album with us and helps with our finances. Him and my uncle both got me a drum kit when I was 16, it’s really nice to have family that you can count on like that,” he added.

Young said that growing up in Edmonton, a town of around 2,500 people, was also a plus for the band that formed in 2001 and practiced daily after school. “We didn’t have to compete with bands that were out there in bigger circles. Because we weren’t in a big city, we kind of got to do our own thing and we weren’t really influenced by a lot of other bands because there wasn’t that many bands,” Young said.

Also on the bill for the night are Omaha, Nebraska’s Emphatic, Las Vegas-based Adelitas Way, Orlando, Florida’s Alter Bridge and Vancouver, British Columbia’s Theory of a Deadman.

Adelitas Way’s latest single “Sick” peaked at number nine on the active rock chart, while Theory of a Deadman has two songs on the chart with “Lowlife” at number four and “Bitch Came Back” entered the chart at number 45. Alter Bridge is comprised of three of the four members of the popular early 2000’s band Creed along with singer Myles Kennedy who moonlights as touring vocalist for Slash.

Doors open at 5:30 pm for the show, with Emphatic kicking the show off at 6:30 pm. Adelitas Way, Black Stone Cherry and Alter Bridge will follow while Theory of a Deadman will headline the show.  Tickets are available at osagecasinos.com, by calling 877-246-8777 or at the box office. Osage Million Dollar Elm is located at 951 West 36th Street North in Tulsa.