Posted 2024
Black Jacket Symphony
Performing Journey’s Escape Album
and Their Greatest Hits
Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium
Chattanooga, Tennessee
February 9, 2024
The Black Jacket Symphony is a musical troupe headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Their forte is performing classic rock albums to near-note perfection.
I caught my first BJS performance in 2014 at Knoxville’s intimate Bijou Theatre when they performed Led Zeppelin’s IV to perfection.
And I became an instant fan.
Since that night, I have watched them perform the works of Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Saturday Night Fever, AC/DC, Eagles, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Journey’s history making “Escape” album . . . for the third time on February 9th in Chattanooga’s historic Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium. They were pretty darn good the first time I saw them perform it back in 2016.
This time?
Whoa!
This time around, BJS was un-freakin’-believable!
While the entire troupe was at their highest level of musicianship ever, I want to specifically highlight the vocals by BJS’s newest vocalist, Ryan Christopher, and guitarist Ben Owens. They are musical clones of Steve Perry/Arnel Pineda and Neal Schon if I’ve ever heard any.
Yes. They’re that amazing!
The first half of the show was BJS’s treatment of Journey’s Escape album. The second half of the show consisted of Journey’s greatest hits. From the first song until the last encore, BJS had the Chattanooga audience eating out of their talented hands. Ryan’s vocals – I’m at a loss for words. I’d defy anyone to objectively listen to his performance and then tell me that he doesn’t nail Steve Perry or Arnel Pineda either one. His range is amazing and exactly what it takes if one is going to dare perform Journey’s music. Ben’s guitar work is meticulously precise, awe inspiring, and just plain fun to listen to.
Unlike ten years ago when I first heard Black Jacket Symphony and they only toured the southeast U.S., this amazing troupe tours all over the country. Check out their tour schedule by visiting BlackJacketSymphony.com. Be sure to catch any of their shows. If you do, you’ll come out of the show a raving fan like I did.
