Lynyrd Skynyrd, BlackBerry Smoke, Wembley 2025 words and photos by Dawn Osborne

Lynyrd Skynyrd was an emotional gig with full tribute paid to Gary Rossington and the other dearly departed members. It was the first gig in the UK since Damon Johnson joined: he worked well with Rickey Medlocke and Mark Matejka and is a class act.

Proceedings were opened by Blackberry Smoke whose material was ideal for a good time and sounded great. With regard to putting on a show/entertainment value it was really all about frontman Charlie Starr as the other members largely left the interaction with the crowd down to him. He is clearly up to the task, his vocals were strong and clear, often with the music pared back to allow him to shine and at times he sounded like a preacher rallying his flock to ecstasy. Of course, as support this was unlikely, but he managed to warm up the crowd, get them singing along to ‘One Horse Town’ and, as their material is very accessible and they did a couple of covers including Led Zep’s ‘When The Levee Breaks’ even people new to them could get into it and start to enjoy themselves.  The honky tonk keyboards were showcased and help a lot to loosen things up. They packed twelve songs into the time they had so it was a bit of a whirlwind tour, although the guitars were allowed to go a little further on ‘Sleeping Dogs’ which was spliced with ‘Long haired Country Boy’ the Charlie Daniels cover.

Following a short film referring back to the roots of the band, Lynyrd Skynyrd kicked into ‘Workin’ For MCA’ with the band looking relaxed and cohesive.

Initial solos were unsurprisingly picked up by Rickey and Mark, but the chemistry between Rickey and Damon seemed particularly strong. Johnny Van Zant’s voice is ideally suited to the material and he has a commanding presence. I was taking photos at the time, but having welcomed “London” he did then shout “Birmingham, Birmingham” twice very loudly. Having checked this on a You Tube recording Rickey’s quick shaking of the head was clear and, I think this did happen, but everybody was so pleased to be there and, since there’s a Birmingham, Alabama, somehow it didn’t stick out that much said in that distinctive Southern drawl.

Next up is crowd pleaser ‘What’s Your Name’. Patriarch Medlocke is an impressive sight with his Native American looks and wild long white hair: he’s still high-kickin at 75, a great sight to see. He has many years of showmanship behind him and he does not stop interacting facially with the crowd and gesticulating to them, throwing open his arms after a lovely toned solo to get a cheer (which he does) and doing some impressive slide in rollicking tune ‘I Know A Little’!

Famous cover ‘Saturday Night Special’ also goes down well, and for an elderly London crowd they are not unresponsive. A Slipnot audience this is not, but they love their music just as much. Nevertheless after ‘Down South Jukin’. ‘Give Me Back My Bullets’, ‘Cry For A Bad Man’ and ‘Tuesday’s Gone’ Van Zant wants more and tells the audience that they are too quiet and that the band want the Wembley gig to be special: he knows how to do his job.

As does Damon Johnson, who fits in well, plays amazingly and is gradually taking on more of the spotlight as the gig proceeds on through to ‘Simple Man’. His band members clearly want him to do that and give him little reassuring nods and gestures inviting him to step up. He takes Rossington’s part in ‘Tuesday’s Gone’ against a backdrop of the man himself. It is no doubt daunting to take the place of a legend, but Johnson has the chops, the cool and the quiet self assurance to carry it off. When he and Medlocke gently touch foreheads afterwards there’s no doubtin’ I think that he is here to stay.

Keyboards are a big part of the show and play a really important part in the honky tonk fun of the JJ Cale cover ‘Call Me The Breeze’ (also feature Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke) and in the final track of the main set the perennial ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ in which all four guitarists including the new bassist Robbie Harrington come to the fore. The backing vocalists get to do the essential much loved backing vocals to the song and Johnny Van Zant soups the crowd up to full participation for this crowd favourite.

The encore is, of course, ‘Free Bird’ it could not be anything else. After the stage fills with dry ice and the camera hones in on the huge eagle sculpture which has now appeared on the piano, the unmistakeable intro starts to a roar from the crowd. Damon takes the melodic soulful slow guitar part of the song while Rossington sings the song on screen. Medlocke takes the iconic main solo while a huge mirror ball reflecting light like a huge star floods the stage with spectacular lighting.

Still iconic, still unforgettable, still Skynyrd!

Dawn Osborne