Photo by Zack Arias. Also be sure to watch this live performance video recorded at Relix.

Don’t expect Charlie Starr, frontman of Blackberry Smoke, to cut his hair anytime soon.

Although Starr might not fight lions – as Samson did when he lost his strength after his hair was cut according to the Bible – he and his bandmates have battled for years to rise through the musical ranks. So the hair thing, well, why take chances?

“That one guy has his hair cut,” says Starr. “And we know how that turned out.”

After more than 12 years of bumping along back roads and highways and playing 250 gigs annually, Blackberry Smoke has gained some musical traction. In the early days, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top and Kid Rock were names on their iPod playlists. Now, members of those bands are among the friends and fans of Blackberry Smoke.

The band, which took its name from a suggestion by The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson, is touring behind its new album The Whippoorwill – their first for Zac Brown’s Southern Ground label – and the buzz is good.

“I don’t know if it’s a turning point, but this album definitely shows the evolution of the band,” says Starr. “The vibe was different than any time we had been in the studio before. Everything was clicking, firing on all cylinders, and we knew this album was something special.”

Starr brought 22 songs to the band for this album. After winnowing it to 20, the five members played the songs for Brown. He chose 17 and left it to the bandmates to h the number to 12.

But midway through the recording process, Brown called Starr and asked him if he was superstitious. He wanted “Crimson Moon,” a personal favorite, on the album.

“I told him 13 songs are fine with me,” says Starr.

Such heady stuff is what keeps Starr and his bandmates moving toward the next musical rung.

“We’ve seen our fans get as excited as we are, if you can believe that,” he says. “And people are sending us reviews and it’s heartwarming to read what they write. Some people give us compliments comparing us to Skynyrd or Little Feat. I can’t put into words what things like that mean to us.”