When you are reviewing a Kris Barras Band live show, you sort of have to start with “My Parade.”
“Fall into line, get out of my way” is more than just a line from the song — it explains his attitude.
This is Barras in full arena-rock stride. If the blues and Hollow Souls Before Christmas were the yin, then this is very much the yang. With the band fully locked in — Josiah J. Manning (guitar), Billy Hammett (drums), and Frazer Kerslake all absolutely on it — Kris Barras has evolved into one of the best hard rock frontmen in the country. This isn’t really blues rock anymore. This is something else entirely.
So when he applies that power to a room like KK’s Steel Mill, opening with “Unbreakable” and “Dead Horses,” it really hits. These are songs built for rooms like this.
“These Voices” provides a contrast before “Ignite (Light It Up)” — already a single, but played with the confidence of a band that’s been back in the studio since December. He’s confident enough to road-test two brand-new songs, and they slot in seamlessly.
The new single “All Falls Down” has only been out a week or two, and he follows it with “Monsters We Made,” both very much in the style of the modern Kris Barras Band. When he introduces “Hail Mary,” he explains it’s the song that launched his career — a moment that lands hard given everything that’s followed.
He exits the stage having once again closed with “My Parade.” And if he really doesn’t give a fuck what people say — as the chorus proudly claims — then it’s worth saying this: Kris Barras Band have always been one of the most promising bands in Britain.
Now, they are surely set to make good on that promise.
2026 could be a very big year for them.
Before they come out, Bad Company is pumping through the PA. That does two things. One, it makes you want to listen to more Bad Company, because they were a magnificent band. Two, it explains exactly what Smith/Kotzen are about. This isn’t about metal. Not really. It’s not about the occasional flourishes Adrian Smith is known for, or the funkier edges Richie Kotzen sometimes brings elsewhere. This is about hard rock, pure and simple.
That comes through immediately in a set largely built from their two albums together — the superb debut and last year’s “Black Light White Noise.” They open with “Life Unchained,” and straight away you can hear how well this partnership works.
Where it really clicks is “Wraith.” The vocal interplay, the guitar tones, the way the song breathes — it all just locks together, with a confidence that only comes from players who trust each other completely.
By the time they reach “Glory Road,” the lineage is obvious. There’s swing, there’s swagger, and those twin guitars at the end feel genuinely special. If you find yourself thinking of Paul Rodgers and company, you’re not alone.
“Hate and Love” brings a more tactile feel, with Kotzen’s wife Julia Lage on bass, before things toughen up with “Blindsided.” It’s heavy without being oppressive, muscular without being forced.
And really, it’s the scale of what they’re doing that stands out. That’s underlined on “Taking My Chances,” before Smith introduces “Outlaw,” joking about the outlaw in everyone. The Thin Lizzy nods are obvious here, before things take a darker turn.
On “Darkside,” there’s a shift in mood before the band announce it’s time for some rock ’n’ roll.
“Got a Hold on Me” does exactly what it promises.
To close the main set, they play the first two songs they ever wrote together — “Scars” and “Running.” Both feel like statements of intent, before “Solar Fire” detonates to end the set.
Of course, there’s an encore — and it’s a fascinating one, because it shows two sides of the band. The snarling “You Can’t Save Me” — a Kotzen song — is all defiance and bite, before they follow it with “Wasted Years.” And yes, it soars. Yes, it’s brilliant. And yes, Smith wrote it, so he’s more than entitled to play it.
In fact, both men are more than entitled to play all of this. Because when you think about it, they don’t need to be here. But they want to be here — and that’s the crucial difference.
That’s the biggest of many things that make Smith/Kotzen so special.
