Live Review: Kris Barras Band - KK's Steel Mill, Wolverhampton
9th February 2023
Support: Dea Matrona
Words: Cat Finch
Photos: Tim Finch
What better way to spend a cold Thursday night in February than with one of the freshest rock acts in the country? Kris Barras is nearing the end of his very extensive headline tour and tonight he rolls into the Black Country and the West Midlands premiere music venue, KK’s Steel Mill.
There’s only one supporting act tonight, that of Northern Irish duo Dea Matrona. The two young ladies, with their backing drummer, have brought themselves out of the busking world and onto a grander stage and this new level of exposure suits them well.
There is no jazzy stage setup, no fireworks or pyros, these are two musicians who let their music do the talking. Opening with ‘Stamp On It’ they are soon into a glorious cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Well’. These two defiantly have a Stevie Nicks aura about them, but they are also multi instrumentalists and frequently throughout the set they swap duties between bass and guitar without dropping a beat.
The acoustic segment of the set featuring their own number ‘Glory, Glory (I Am Free)’ and Simon & Garfunkel cover ‘Homeward Bound’ breaks up the performance nicely and highlights the duo’s vocal range, before ‘Make You My Star’ rounds out their time on stage.
Tonights headline act is one of the freshest up and coming acts in the classic rock world. Kris Barras, a former MMA fighter turned singer/songwriter, brings his band to KK’s Steel Mill as part of a massive, multi-week, multi-city tour of the UK.
From the darkened stage pyro flares shoot skyward as the band launch into ‘Hail Mary’. Delivering a heavily blues inspired set, Kris’ own background adds the grit and determination to the music to draw the fans in. The venue full of fans pumping fists and banging heads along to the hook laden anthems. Kris a whirlwind on stage, standing still only to sing and whirling around like the Tasmanian devil when not.
Kris spans the back catalogue of his four album career throughout the set, throwing in old favourites alongside songs from his latest album ‘Death Valley Paradise’. New numbers ‘Dead Horses’, ‘These Voices’, ‘My Parade’ and Planet Rock radio favourite ‘Who Needs Enemies’ all feature before more pyro flares ‘Light It Up’ during the set closer.
Kris Barras and his band have come a long way in a short time, and are surly now on a trajectory to super stardom.
All photo credits: Tim Finch Photography
