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I don’t get to many metal shows these days, so I jumped at the opportunity to visit North London for a rare UK visit from Kamelot. The Florida-born but now multi-national act are deep into their ‘Awaken The World’ tour with impressive looking support from Ad Infinitum, Blackbriar and Frozen Crown. I’m, unusually for me, bright and early for the start of tonight’s proceedings and expecting good things.
Read MoreLocated a mere stone’s throw from Maryland or a brisk ten-minute walk from Stratford International Station, the Cart & Horses in East London calls itself “The Birthplace of Iron Maiden” and isn’t shy about it. Iron Maiden played the venue on numerous occasions in 1976 before embarking on their ascent to the very top of the Heavy Metal tree, and the pub is a shrine to the UK legends (it’s also home to plenty of West Ham United fans). Every available surface is covered with art, records and memorabilia, so if you’re a fan of the boys, then the Cart & Horses is well worth a visit. The area around the pub remains untouched by post-Olympic Games regeneration and remains very much “old” London, aka dark, dreary and pretty bleak on a rainy night in December. Tonight’s music wouldn’t be all that far removed from Iron Maiden as it turned out, but more about that later as I was in town to catch up with up-and-coming Antipodean songstress Cassidy Paris, a recent signing to the Italian melodic rock label Frontiers.
Read MoreWhere does the time go? It’s a chilly, windy April evening as I hotfoot it from the day job to Islington. The reason for my haste is AOR stalwarts FM are in town on their ‘Thirteen’ tour. ‘Thirteen’ is about as good as melodic rock gets in 2022, and as it’s been a few years (the late 80s) since I’ve seen Steve Overland and co in the flesh, I’m expecting good things.
Read MoreAs it had been eighteen months since my last, pre-pandemic, live gig, I jumped at the chance to check out melodic rockers Vega on their return to touring at London’s Underworld. Eighteen months seemed like a very long time until I realised Vega and I last crossed paths, in the live arena, ten long years ago (March 2011) at London’s (sorely missed) Borderline. Vega were newcomers in those days opening for Houston, an act coincidentally now also on the Frontiers label.
Read MoreFor the first day of the annual Black Deer Festival, the gods have been kind and the sun is trying to break through the clouds. The UK is back in love with country music and all things Americana - at least on a musical level. This level of acceptance for the genre has not been seen on our shores since Dolly, Kenny and Tammy topped the charts and the Wembley Country Music festival was a must-see on BBC2. Black Deer is only in its sophomore year but it already feels like a must do on the crowded festival calendar.
Read MoreI set out on a crisp November evening to catch the Dan Reed Network on the London leg of a fourteen-date UK tour in support of their new album, Origins, at the intimate club 229. The night is hosted by radio station Planet Rock, (those tongue-out champions of chunk, churn and chug) and thus the black t-shirted rock credentials of the evening’s opening acts are beyond question. Hollowstar, from Cambridgeshire, are satisfyingly old-school bluesy hard rockers who sell out of CDs while they’re still onstage and Glasgow’s muscular Mason Hill - who also swiftly win the crowd - deliver a heaviness of the type I haven’t witnessed in years. It’s fantastic to see these hungry young guns perform with so much passion and pride and both acts give tonight absolutely everything they’ve got, which is plenty.
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