CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio – The Black Keys, the pride of West Akron, returned to their almost-hometown Friday night at Blossom Music Center to play for the general public on their “No Rain, No Flowers” tour.

The current tour follows a publicly rocky stretch. In 2024, before their “American International Players” tour, the band hired new management, booked and then canceled a U.S. arena tour due to low ticket sales, and subsequently fired that new management. Back on American stages after a successful European tour, drummer Pat Carney and singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach, plus five hired hands, played a one-hour, 45-minute set that touched most of their 13-album catalog, skipping only 2024’s “Ohio Players,” for a packed, all-ages amphitheater and lawn.

• Related: The Black Keys rise again with new album and hometown concert at Blossom Music Center

Following a pitch-perfect mock ’70s style station identification for “WTBK public access channel 13,” Auerbach and Carney appeared at the front of the stage, in front of a massive curtain, as a duo. They briefly hearkened back to their humble fuzz-blues-rock beginnings at local spots such as the Beachland Tavern and Akron’s long-gone Lime Spider to play a medley of early songs: “Thickfreakness,” “The Breaks” and “I’ll Be Your Man.”

Then Auerbach gave the band’s traditional greeting: “We’re the Black Keys from Akron, Ohio,” drawing big cheers from the O-H, I-O crowd. “We’re going to play another West Akron basement song,” he said before the curtain dropped to reveal the band’s expanded touring lineup. The now-septet tore into “Your Touch,” followed by the hit “Gold on the Ceiling,” with the bouncing crowd excitedly joining in on the song’s catchy chorus.

The bigger lineup meant some older songs were fleshed out with percussion, keyboards, three guitarists, and two-, sometimes three-part vocal harmonies, handled mainly by backing singer-guitarist and Ohio native Andy Gabbard, formerly of psych-rock band The Buffalo Killers. (“He’s from Cincinnati, but we won’t hold that against him,” Auerbach joked during band intros). Gabbard also took a slide solo on the new tune “A Little Too High,” and “Psychotic Girl” featured a wiggly ’70s-style synth solo from Ray Jacildo.

For the American leg of the tour, the band added English guitarist Barrie “Little Barrie” Cadogan — a former sideman with Liam Gallagher (who recommended him to the Keys), Morrissey, Paul Weller and others — who took a few sharp-edged solos on “I Got Mine” and dueled with Auerbach on the hazy “Turn Blue” ballad “Weight of Love,” the swampy “Heavy Soul” and the new soul-inflected “Too Afraid To Love You.”

The setlist leaned heavily on “Brothers,” their commercial breakthrough record, peppering six tunes from that double-platinum album through the set. Highlights included “Everlasting Light,” featuring a simmering intro and some fine falsetto from Auerbach; “Next Girl,” with a punchy, staccato solo from Cadogan; a sing-along “Tighten Up;” and a twofer to end the main set: “Howlin’ For You,” with Auerbach requesting the crowd “help me out” with wordless chorus — and they happily obliged.

The Keys have never been big on stage banter, but Auerbach repeatedly shouted out Akron (nearly every other performer at Blossom shouts out Cleveland). Then, before “Lo/Hi,” two runners from beloved Akron burger joint Swensons Drive-In brought out a tray of the restaurant’s signature Galley Boy burgers. (Whenever the Keys are in town, backstage Swensons is a tradition.) Auerbach even tossed a few of the wrapped burgers into the hungry, outstretched arms of a few lucky fans. As the runners basked in the crowd’s approval, Auerbach showed his Akron bona fides by chiding them: “Hey! You guys are supposed to be wearing shorts — what’s up with that?“ (Shorts are part of the official Swensons uniform.) The line drew laughs from the Akronites in the house.

The four songs from “No Rain, No Flowers” sounded leaner than their recorded counterparts. The album’s lone bluesy stomper, “Man On A Mission,” had more grit, as did the poppish title track and the ’70s soul ballad-inspired “Down To Nothing.” The night’s lone cover was a slow and syrupy take on the Canned Heat hit “On The Road Again,” featuring Auerbach’s reaching into his bluesy falsetto without aping Canned Heat singer Alan Wilson’s signature high tenor. The tune included an extended hill country-inspired slide solo for the evening’s purest blues moment.

After a dip in energy as the band played a few new tunes close together, the crowd — who stood for much of the show — was back on its feet and moving for the hits “Howlin’ For You” and “She’s Long Gone.”

Auerbach returned with an acoustic guitar for the fan favorite, phone light-hoisting “Little Black Submarines,” and the band sent everyone home with “Lonely Boy.” While multi-platinum records and multiple Grammy wins may be in their storied past, The Black Keys appear to have survived their bout with the proverbial music business rain and are back to collecting their flowers on the road — with a strong band, a catalog of sturdy hits and a still-solid, multi-generational audience.

Earlier, opener Gary Clark Jr., last seen in Northeast Ohio headlining Jacobs Pavilion in 2024, warmed up the crowd with an hour-long, seven-song set. He began with a swirling, bass-heavy snatch of the blues standard “Catfish Blues” before he and his longtime band tore into the toe-tapping, African-infused groove of “Maktub.” Clark Jr. had a strong contingent among the near sold-out crowd, and many fans of both bands danced in their seats while many dudes wailed on their air guitars along with Clark Jr. and his very real guitar.

• Related: Gary Clark Jr. brings his eclectic mix of soul, rock, funk and blues to Jacobs Pavilion

When Clark Jr. first hit the national scene, he was hailed as yet another in a line of the “next” contemporary blues-rock revivalists. But he quickly resisted the easy pigeon-holing. His subsequent output, especially his 2024 album “JPEG Raw,” has expanded far beyond that blues-rock tag. Nevertheless, whenever he stepped back from the mic to take a solo — such as in the breakdown of “When My Train Pulls In,” where he patiently constructed a solo from delicate, quiet single notes to bluesy bends and a screaming wah-wah crescendo — it’s clear the Texas native’s roots are firmly rooted in blues dirt. Clark Jr. reached into Curtis Mayfield territory with his silky falsetto on the funky, socially conscious “Feed The Babies,” and ripped off another extended, searing solo on the adrenaline-fueled shuffle of “I Don’t Owe You A Thang.” He ended with his breakthrough tune “Bright Lights,” leaving the crowd primed for the headliners.

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