Songwriter Spotlight: Rich Robinson

The Magpie Salute first took flight in 2016 when Robinson assembled the original ten-piece incarnation for a now seminal Woodstock gig. The group went on to sell out four consecutive nights at The Gramercy in January 2017 chronicled with a historic Guitar Player cover featuring the two six-stringers.

Jonathan Graham

 Songwriter Spotlight: Rich Robinson
In 2015, Rich Robinson made it official: The Black Crowes, which he and his brother Chris had founded some 20 years earlier, were calling it quits. However, this has not slowed Robinson down in the slightest when it comes to new music, with a new solo release and debut record from his new collective, The Magpie Salute. In this issue's Guitar Interactive Songwriter Spotlight, we talk to the man himself.

Old friends pass through our lives similar to characters in a time-worn, dog-eared novel.  As we page through life, they return to walk alongside us on bold new adventures at all the right moments. Such is the story of The Magpie Salute. For as much as the group represents a musical union of swaggering rock n' roll, psychedelic blues, and campfire-worthy storytelling, it also marks a reunion of musicians whose paths twisted and turned right back to each other.

Pulled together by guitarist Rich Robinson, it continued a storyline he began in the Black Crowes with guitarist Marc Ford and bassist Sven Pipien. Meanwhile, vocalist John Hogg shared Hookah Brown with Robinson as keyboardist Matt Slocum and drummer Joe Magistro both joined him for solo records and tours over the years.

Now, these six individuals conjure magic on their full-length debut of original material, 'High Water I' released on August 10th 2018 with the promise of 'High Water II' to come in 2019.

It's the recontextualization of playing with one another,