Category: news

Blues From The Top returned to Winter Park, Colorado for the 24^th time with the same high-altitude mix of blues, soul, rock, and community spirit that has made it one of blues rock’s most rewarding summer music weekends. Set against the scenic mountain backdrop of the Rendezvous Event Center at Hideaway Park, the festival continues to blend marquee names with rising talent, all while carrying forward the legacy of founder John Catt and the charitable mission that has always given the event its heart.

Catt started the Grand County Blues Society in 2002. Under John’s stewardship, the society presented and produced multiple shows and festivals, including the annual Blues From The Top festival in Winter Park. Catt was also responsible for founding the Blue Star Connection in 2007, an amazing nonprofit that provides musical instruments for children with serious illnesses. Blue Star has reached thousands, mostly children, by donating musical instruments and gear to hospitals and mental health programs. He also initiated the Check Out the Music program that applied a public library concept to musical instruments and gear, focusing on kids and teens who could not afford to purchase these tools outright to further their artistic pursuits. Our genre and our species lost a great champion in 2017 when Catt passed away at the age of 68.

Over the years, Blues From The Top has earned its reputation as more than just a festival lineup — it is a destination, a reunion, and a reminder that the blues still thrives when talented artists, passionate fans, and a scenic setting come together in one place.

A pleasant opening Friday evening would see a pair of first-timers Marc Broussard and The Wood Brothers. Louisiana born Broussard set the tone with his “bayou soul” sound blending classic R&B and modern roots-rock polish. His 70-minute set list blended top songs “Home” and “Lonely Night in Georgia” with lesser-known gems like “Baton Rouge” and Bobby Blue Bland’s “Dreamer”. Broussard’s new album Chance Worth Taking features collaborations with Joe Bonamassa and Trombone Shorty. Unfortunately, they were not also in attendance, but we did get a taste with the single “You’ll Be Sorry”.  

As the sun set with a comfortable chill in the air, The Wood Brothers ushered in the night with their earthy grooves that blend roots, Americana, blues, and folk. There was a definite front-porch vibe as brothers Chris (bass) and Oliver Wood (vocals, guitar), and multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix leaned into the bluesy spectrum of their catalogue with songs like Camille Bob’s swamp-pop classic, “I Got Loaded” and “Sing About It”. Chris routinely danced with the stand-up bass while Oliver alternated between electric and acoustic guitars. Rix had a unique setup that was half drum set and half keyboards. The effortless way the trio moved between instruments and songs was indicative of a group that’s been making music for over two decades. The heads nearest the stage got their sway on with “You Choose Me” from their most recent album Puff of Smoke.  As fans ushered out to close out the first night, there was a sense that this year’s edition of Blues From The Top was already aging like a fine vintage.

Saturday morning was unfortunately very smoky due to wildfires in the state. It did not sway the turnout, which lined up down Main Street in anticipation of the gates opening at 10am. Fortunately, the air would clear in time for Tyron Benoit to take the stage to kick off a full day of blues rock. Tab’s younger brother alternated between playing electric guitar and rhythmic accordion as his band played a short 60-minute Cajun soul set featuring mostly covers like “Born on the Bayou”, War’s “Low Rider” and Rolling Stones hit “Beast of Burden”.  A local Denver news station interviewed festival producer Maria Chavez the Friday of the event, and she specifically called out another first time Blues From The Top performer, Bywater Call. She said Joe Bonamassa pushed for them to come to Winter Park and I don’t believe anyone was disappointed. Meghan Parnell (vocals) and Dave Barnes (guitar) front this perfectly synced seven-piece band from Toronto.  Bywater Call’s Canadian brand of muscular roots rock, blues, and southern soul led by Parnell’s powerhouse vocals were the early buzz of the festival. Songs like “Arizona” and “Everybody Knows” were familiar to fans, but we were also treated to a dueling guitar and trumpet instrumental between Barnes and Steven Dyte. The band also featured their upcoming album Broken Souvenirs with the latest single, “Is This Thing On?”. The band bought copies of the album in vinyl and CD in advance of its July 29 official release. They were eagerly scooped up during the meet and greet following the set.

Almost halfway through the lineup, we finally saw some familiar faces at Blues From The Top as The North Mississippi All Stars took the stage they last visited in 2018. Brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson have spent nearly three decades pushing Hill Country blues into jam-band and rock territory. They were joined by Joey Williams of The Blind Boys of Alabama, who would be playing the next day. The trio played multiple instruments throughout the set with Cody moving from behind the drum set to play keyboards, an electric washboard, and even taking lead vocals for a song. Williams showcased his skills on bass, lead guitar, taking drums when Cody wasn’t and even a turn on vocals as well. Luther fronted for most of the set that featured covers from Hill Country legends RL Burnside opening with “Po’ Black Mattie” and later “Poor Boy, A Long Way From Home” and Junior Kimbrough’s “Stay All Night” as well as originals like “Up and Rolling”. It was a treat of a set with extended solos that left a lot of empty camping chairs as the rear ends occupying them were busy moving and shaking.

The legendary Jimmie Vaughn was surprisingly also making his first appearance in the rarified mountain air. Vaughan is a Texas blues institution, best known as co-founder of The Fabulous Thunderbirds and as one of the most distinctive tone players in modern blues. His set is consistently excellent and included classics from his vast library like “Boom Bapa Boom” and the instrumental “Frame for the Blues” before closing with his brother’s “Texas Flood” and his original “The Crawl”.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd made his 3^rd appearance at Blues From The Top to close out an excellent single day lineup. Shepherd and his band are currently touring in celebration of the 30^th anniversary of his debut album Ledbetter Heights, released in 1995 when Kenny was an 18-year-old prodigy. He shared during the opening monologue that time limits didn’t allow for them to fully feature the album, but they did play the 1^st single “Déjà Voodoo” from the album that put him number one on the Billboard charts 30 years ago. The title track “Ledbetter Heights” and “Born with a Broken Heart” would also be part of a set list that was highlighted by the stirring guitar instrumental “While We Cry” striking an emotional chord. A surprising cover of Joe Walsh’s “Turn to Stone” really limbered up some creaky old knees and hips in the crowd. We all expected and were not disappointed to close out with “Blue on Black” as the day ended in a heady musical euphoria.

Sunday brought a smaller crowd and lower expectations following the previous day’s stellar performances. Those would be quickly dispelled as another first timer Vanessa Collier, mesmerized fans with her virtuoso saxophone mastery and vocals as many were still settling in for the day. Collier is a 2026 Blues Music Awards triple nominee and four-time winner, and it was clearly evident why. She has been playing the saxophone since she was 9 years old, and those lungs needed all that conditioning at 9,100 feet above sea level. Her lead guitarist, Arthur Neilson, who had been playing with Shemeka Copeland for nearly 28 years was also outstanding. Set highlights included “What Makes You Beautiful,” a song written for her three younger sisters, “Sweatin’ Like a Pig, Singin’ Like an Angel,” and a great rendition of “When Love Comes to Town” by U2 and BB King. Collier further endeared herself by lingering for most of the day signing merchandise, taking selfies and conversing with fans.

Or maybe she just wanted to check out the longest running band in history. The Blind Boys of Alabama have been an active band since 1939! The 6-time Grammy winners are one of the most respected vocal groups in American roots music. As one would expect, none of the original members are still with us. The existing lineup of Ricky McKinnie (lead vocalist), who actually met the band when he was five, the aforementioned Joey Williams (music director, lead guitarist, and singer), Sterling Glass (vocals) and J.W. Smith (vocals) carry on the tradition of mixing gospel, blues, and soul with a classic quartet sound. The set list included smooth renditions of “Amazing Grace” (arranged to the tune of “The House of the Rising Sun”) and “Spirit in the Sky” along with originals “I’m a Soldier in the Army of the Lord” and “Praying Time”. In a truly inspiring and intimate moment, McKinnie, who lost his sight due to glaucoma at age 23 was escorted off the stage and into the crowd singing along the way. After he returned to the stage, no one was sitting. Instead, the crowd was as active as ever jumping with arms extended in the air for the finale.

Next up would be something of a blues rock and swamp groove supergroup. Southern Hospitality features guitarists J.P. Soars and Damon Fowler, alongside keyboardist Victor Wainwright, all of whom have individual accomplishments as recording and touring artists. In an electric set, Soars and Fowler traded off sizzling leads with Wainwright jumping in to torture his keyboards. About halfway through the set, Fowler humorously informed the crowd, “none of this is rehearsed”.   Their latest album Yard Sale came out in December 2024, and their set featured songs from the album including “Don’t Feel Like Going There Today”, “Gone Fishin” and “Together Again”. Prior to the song, Victor Wainwright shared how a story about getting his first piano inspired the title track for the album, “Yard Sale”.  Another thrill ride of a performance!

The legends from East LA, Los Lobos would close things out. The band played quite an eclectic set, mixing staples like Ritchie Valens “Come On Let’s Go”, “I Got Loaded” covered earlier by The Wood Brothers and Garcia and Weir’s “Bertha” with original material like “Kiko and the Lavender Moon”. “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”, “Oyo Como Va” and a nice rendition of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” took a crowd that leaned older down memory lane. The finale was sparkling mash-up of “La Bamba” with a segway into The Young Rascals 1966 hit “Good Lovin” before inspiring the crowd to join back into the chorus of “La Bamba”.  And that was it. It felt like a collective exhale from what had been a slow build into breakneck speed of musical enjoyment.

Next year will offer the 25^th Blues From The Top, and this is one fan (of many) returning!

The post Blues, Sunshine & Soul: Blues From The Top Brought the Magic Again appeared first on Blues Rock Review.

The roots of Truck Violence’s post-punk rage stretch thousands of kilometers from Montreal to the west, deep beneath the frozen tundra, to a small hamlet in central Canada named after the Lac la Biche that attracted fur traders and early pioneers. Vocalist Karsyn Henderson and guitarist Paul Lecours are pioneers in their own right, first meeting as middle school kids living on the periphery of a physical and emotional state that could be cold and unforgiving. On their second album, The weathervane is my body, the band sonically represents these perpetually frigid lands of despair. The sludgy, folk-tinged tracks illustrate a slow, slab-like movement of time, the forging of a valley through the movement of glaciers, the cold eye of a French immigrant sighting a wolf through the barrel of a shotgun. 

Florida’s swamps and bogs inspired the sweaty, nihilistic death metal of Morbid Angel and Deicide, and Norway’s deepened, wind-eroded fjords drove kids to the darkened regions of cerebral forests, hiding behind the black and white corpse paint of black metal. Likewise, if you found yourself in the middle of nowhere in North America, it may as well be amongst the bogs and fens where Lecours and Henderson grew up. A small village a few hundred kilometers north of Edmonton, the Canadian hamlet was an auspicious place to come to age as a teenager. Couple this with being exposed to Slipknot at the perfect age of thirteen and your dad’s old Celtic Frost albums, in a community that didn’t offer much more than fishing for walleye off the banks of a lake, and you’d find yourself in some deep, dark, lonely places.

It’s in these lonely places, however, that partnerships are often formed. Couple this relationship with an unforgiving climate, a basement with some instruments, laptops and the Internet, and five or six hours to spare a day, and you may find that this kind of physical isolation can result in a cacophony that resonates well beyond the boreal forests of central Canada.

Henderson and Lecours joined me from the dorm room of an agricultural college in Denmark as they prepared to perform on stage at the Roskilde festival. Over the course of an hour, we talked about the origins of the band and the birth of Truck Violence lore; the trials and tribulations of touring by train in Europe; and how no matter what you do, you can’t escape the past.

…

…

How’s the tour going? 

Karsyn Henderson (vocals): It’s been pretty crazy, and the shows have been sick. We had no idea what to expect. Our bookers, or whoever, were like, “It’s going to be tough, but it’ll be manageable.” But then every day of travel was agony. We had twelve bags for four people:  double guitars, double bass, snare, cymbals, duffel bags, guitar heads, pedal boards, everything. We’re coming in and out of these quaint European trains, hauling ass and raising hell, trying to stuff bags into different crevices and find seats and shit.

At one point we had some bags accidentally near a fire extinguisher, and the cops came onto the train and literally stopped it until we moved our stuff. 

Paul Lecours (guitar): Yeah, they don’t fuck around on trains here. 

Karsyn Henderson: They really don’t. And then undercover cops came and checked our passports afterward. We clearly stuck out like sore thumbs on this chill train from wherever to wherever. 

We also had this weird thing when we were in Bristol. Our drummer’s passport got stolen by a homeless guy, straight out of his bag. They found the homeless guy outside, and either he was too fucked up, or he was just fucking with us, because he was like, “No, I think it’s behind a dumpster somewhere.” 

So for three hours everyone was just looking behind dumpsters, and…

Paul Lecours: Eventually, we actually found it stashed behind a dumpster at the venue. We gave him ten pounds to lead us around. We found it, and we went to Outbreak on two hours of sleep. 

So that was fun.

Karsyn Henderson: But the actual shows have been fantastic. 

Is this your first tour of Europe? Did you do one for the first album as well?

Karsyn Henderson: We didn’t do a tour for Violence, but a year after Violence came out, once it started getting picked up in the press a bit more, we could actually string dates together in Europe. We came out twice. 

But I think this is our first real tour, if you know what I mean, where we’re actually playing to people who know the music a bit more, so it’s a completely different experience. Trying to win over an audience of people who just happened to wander into the room versus people who actually want to see the band is a completely different experience.

You’re a relatively young band. How old were you two when you met? Did you ever expect the music you’d be making would one day give you this kind of “rock and roll” experience?

Paul Lecours: We met when we were thirteen. 

Karsyn Henderson: He moved from Ontario to Alberta, and it was a big deal at the time because our class was so small. We were only seven kids, or so. So when a new kid joins a seven-person class, it’s like, “holy shit, the world has just expanded!” 

But no, we never thought it would happen. Honestly, when we were teenagers and swinging for the trees, and wanting to move to Montreal, we set a benchmark to reconvene on the issue in five years and see how we were doing. We figured if we could get a hundred people to listen to us, or get a hundred people into a bar in Montreal to see us play, that would be a sign we should keep going.

Obviously, we’ve surpassed those expectations. We’ve gone around the moon a couple of times compared to that. So no, I didn’t expect this at all. 

Everything is kind of magical and a bit silly sometimes, particularly when it’s contextualized from where we came from in Alberta. The first shows we played were at a French cultural center, to what was essentially a bunch of grandparents of the kids who went to our school. I put on corpse paint and tight skinny jeans when we were thirteen, and we played to a drum track. It was just Paul and me and another guitarist on stage, playing original music.

Paul Lecours: Super loud, you know what I mean? So from that to this, the gap is enormous and obvious.

What is it about those extreme edges of music that attracted a kid out in Alberta?

Karsyn Henderson: I really didn’t fit in a lot when I was a young kid. Especially because I went to school farther away from all the other kids, and my family life was really unstable. My parents were divorced, and my dad was pretty fucked up when I was a kid. That was atypical, and in the town I grew up in, those family bonds are really important for blending in with other kids. I had friends whose parents wouldn’t let them come see me because they found out about my family situation. So I needed to find a new way to feel like I belonged, and also let out some of that archetypal angst you start getting when you feel alienated or disaffected.

My friend showed me Slipknot when I was a kid, which is the perfect band for that feeling at that age. My dad listened to heavy music, too. He gave me a Celtic Frost record when I was younger. Anyway, I went down that whole rabbit hole and started listening to progressively heavier and heavier music, and I really wanted to start a band. 

Then Paul came along. He knew some rock and roll, and we were like, “Okay, rock and roll, but we’re going to show you some metal.” And we got him into it.

Paul Lecours: Yeah, before I moved there I was listening to ZZ Top and AC/DC. When I did a school visit before joining, a teacher mentioned there were a couple of kids there who were interested in metal. So I started googling metal songs and found Avenged Sevenfold or something like that, and I got morphed into it. I forced myself to listen to metal to actually like it. It took a while, but eventually I did.

You occupy a niche that not a lot of other bands are in. How did that sound develop, from when you left Alberta for Montreal? Was it deliberate, or just the combination of you four guys coming together?

Karsyn Henderson: A lot of the ambition began in Alberta, I’d say, because we had fuck-all to do, and Paul and I were basically each other’s only friend. I think we developed a really strong bond early on. We were playing in my basement, or wherever we could, five hours a day, five days a week, as much as possible. We were super experimental too. We had the internet, but we didn’t have anyone else around us experimenting with music in any way, so we kind of learned to do that together. We recorded samples of birds and water and waves, plugging things in through our car, bringing overheads to random places, or going out into the woods.

We developed a strong desire to be ambitious, to reach for the unreachable, because we were so obsessed with being technically and conceptually perfect. When we started our first death metal band, we wanted to be, for whatever reason, an indie death metal band.

We wanted the harshness of death metal combined with the emotional register we thought indie would lend us, which was probably overly ambitious for 16-year-olds. But we really wanted to do it, and we practiced so hard to be able to, and wrote so much music, and that desire never died. So when we get to Truck Violence now, it’s like we’re repeating that synthesis, just with more noise rock, hardcore, and folk. We’ve fine-tuned the subject matter.

What you’re saying about going out and doing these field recordings in Alberta connects to the use of folk instruments in your music, along with an awareness of time. In terms of how the songs come together on Weathervane, what’s that process like? Can you put me in that space? 

Karsyn Henderson: Yeah, it’s all in the space. All the poetry I write is written beforehand. I write poetry compulsively, so I have a backlog of poems ready at any time. And luckily for me, Paul and I have such a strong connection that whenever he’s writing a guitar riff, it often already coincides with what I’m writing lyrically, and the images and feelings created by the sound can work together, even though they’re obviously different mediums. 

The bass and guitar take the forefront in the beginning, and then we compose songs as a group, testing things out and going from part to part in a linear direction. We don’t usually come in with pre-prescribed song structures. It’s all very loose. Then Paul does the production. All the layers you hear, whether that’s the slide guitar, the banjo, the backing vocals, is done after the fact. Paul mixed, mastered, and recorded the entire album, so his hand in the production side of things is a heavy one, to say the least.

Do you enjoy that process as much as writing the songs?

Paul Lecours: Yeah, I love adding things to music. Honestly, it’s a love-hate relationship. I like mixing and mastering it, but when you’re listening to your songs over and over, you just hate it, and it takes at least a year before you can hear the song again, instead of just the mistakes you think are there. 

But I love it. It’s so fun to mess around with mics, record stuff, get cool sounds, put it in a DAW. For a lot of the guitar leads, and some of the acoustic stuff, the whole band will do it, but for a lot of the guitar leads, it’s just me in my room, laying down lead after lead. But it’s really fun. I like doing it. 

I’d never do it for anyone else, though. I’d hate to mix for another band, but for my own band, it’s good.

Would you ever consider an outside producer?

Paul Lecours: I like doing it myself. But as for someone completely random, it would bring a very different dynamic to the music. Maybe it would be cool, but it’s not something I’ve really thought about, to be honest. It would be such a massive switch-up. 

Karsyn Henderson: Everything we’ve ever done has been Paul recording and handling that side of things, the grind work, basically. Paul is a fucking grinder. It’s insane. He handles all the tech stuff, too.

We played Roadburn this year, and we were super nervous. It was the biggest show we’d ever played, and the bass jack broke on stage during our first set. Paul straight-up took out a soldering iron and resoldered the bass jack on stage, live. We thought we’d have to cancel the show, and Jonathan from the Flenser had just signed us. We were meeting him for the first time, and he was backstage watching us. 

I looked at him and thought, “We’re making the worst first impression ever: getting on stage at the biggest show we’ve ever played, and we’re just going to cancel it because we don’t have the gear ready to go.” 

But Paul fucking soldered it on stage, and they gave us the go-ahead to play the full set. I think that’s a really representative moment of how Paul can just put his nose to the ground, get to work, and do all the dirty shit all the time. 

I’m really fascinated by how heavy music, in particular, is connected to place. There’s a lot of lore connected to Truck Violence and your connection to the middle of nowhere in Alberta. Is this something you consciously connect to? 

Karsyn Henderson: I mean, to some extent it has to be, right? You can’t escape your context. There’s an element of fortune involved in where you come from, and thus what subject matter is available to you. So, is my music entirely about Alberta? No, of course not. But it is a massive cultural influence on the way I think about things, or the way I observe things. These eyes I’m seeing with are informed by feelings and concepts I probably inherited from where I’m from, now more intangible and subconscious. So yeah, it’s inescapable, but it isn’t the whole of it, if you know what I mean.

I think the previous album was more centered on ingesting and metabolizing what it meant to come from that place, because we were so young, and I was still coming to terms with where I was from. You think they’re basic things, but you return to the basics constantly. That album was very obviously about that. 

Weathervane is a lot more conceptual, and I think it touches on things that are both outside and inside of Alberta, because when we’re talking about the body, which is what the album centers around, my idea of what a body is will be heavily informed by what a body was when I grew up, of course. And the prescriptions I make are often the ones I’m most familiar with.

Of course, you can’t escape your context at all, but it’s not the whole of it.

Context is everything, for sure. I’ll let you head over to the venue so you can kick some ass. Hopefully, you won’t have to solder the bass again.

Karsyn Henderson: Hopefully.

…

The weathervane is my body is available now via The Flenser.

Brazilian alternative metal band Master Dy will release its new single, “Your Favorite Monster”, on July 17, followed by two special live performances in Bahia where the song will be presented to audiences for the very first time.

The band’s northeastern debut begins on July 18 at Conquista Metal Fest in Vitória da Conquista, one of the region’s growing metal events, before continuing on July 19 at CASA141 in Salvador where the band will headline the show.

Blending dark atmospheres, modern metal intensity and emotionally charged songwriting, “Your Favorite Monster” explores the fascination people develop with the very demons they try to escape. The track represents another step forward in the band’s evolution and arrives during one of the most important moments of its career.

To mark the occasion, Master Dy will also capture footage throughout the trip and performances for the song’s upcoming official music video, documenting the band’s first journey through Bahia and the audience’s first encounter with the new single.

Following chart success in Brazil and Portugal and a steadily growing international audience, Master Dy continues to expand its reach with a release designed for both longtime supporters and new listeners.

“Your Favorite Monster” will be available worldwide on July 17 across all major streaming platforms.

The music will be available here:

https://open.spotify.com/album/2jcIYhV9TaVaC9qy7PXWcW

 Follow the Band:

https://www.instagram.com/masterdyofficial

https://www.facebook.com/masterdyofficial 

https://www.youtube.com/@MasterDyBand 

Over the past few months there’s been a struggle over control of Levon Helm Studios, the studio space and live music venue in Woodstock, New York. The late Levon Helm, legendary drummer and singer for the Band, founded the studio in the ’70s, and he began holding his Midnight Ramble shows in 2004. After his 2012 death, his singer-songwriter daughter Amy Helm has been essentially running the venue and performing at the Rambles. In May, the venue’s board removed Amy and installed longtime shareholder Brian Parillo, a friend of Helm, as CEO of the space.

The post Levon Helm Studios Director Says Amy Helm Mismanaged Company, Sandra Helm Speaks Out appeared first on Stereogum.

Nicht jedes starke Bild entsteht vor der Bühne.

Der Rock ’n Roll Photography Workshop geht 2026 in die fünfte Runde. Gemeinsam mit dem vielfach ausgezeichneten Fotojournalisten Pep Bonet bekommen sechs Fotograf:innen die Chance, Wacken Open Air aus einer Perspektive zu dokumentieren, die nur wenige erleben.

Das Motto in diesem Jahr:

HARDER

Gesucht werden keine reinen Bandfotograf:innen. Gesucht werden Menschen, die Geschichten sehen. Die Crew hinter den Kulissen. Fans im Matsch. Ehrenamtliche. Freundschaften.  Momente, die Wacken ausmachen.

Euch erwarten:

• Kostenfreie Teilnahme am Workshop
• Festival-Ticket
• Unterkunft während des Workshops
• Crew-Catering
• Shuttle ab Hamburg Hauptbahnhof oder Flughafen
• Voller Fotozugang inklusive Akkreditierung

Wenn eure Bilder mehr erzählen als nur den nächsten Circle Pit, dann zeigt sie uns.

Die Bewerbungsphase läuft jetzt!

Hier gibt es alle Infos zum Workshop!
 

Der Beitrag Rock ’n Roll Photography Workshop 2026 – Jetzt bewerben! erschien zuerst auf Live, laut, legendär!.

Bloodstock Bound: Joakem

As Bloodstock gets closer, we delve deep into the line up to find out more about some of the bands playing the New Blood and EMP stages at this years event.

Today we chat with Joakem

Please introduce yourselves.

Joakem is the brainchild of vocalist, keyboardist, and composer Stelios Ioakim. The band was formed in 2018 alongside the release of our debut album Mind Matter. Since then, we’ve been performing both locally and internationally, playing headline shows and supporting some legendary names in the industry.

How would you describe your sound?

Depends who’s asking. If it’s my mom’s aunt, I’ll just say “rock” and hope she knows what I mean. If it’s a music enthusiast (especially a prog snob like myself) then I’d say Progressive Metal.

How did you land your spot on the Bloodstock bill?

Last year, we reached the finals of the first ever Metal 2 The Masses competition held in Cyprus, but we didn’t manage to qualify for Bloodstock. We decided it was time to step up our stage setup and overall live presence and apparently it worked because this time we secured a spot at Bloodstock.

What does playing at Bloodstock mean to you?

With the release of our new singles and our upcoming second album, this feels like the perfect time to showcase our music and introduce the new era of Joakem’s sound to the UK audience. It’s definitely a big milestone for us.

For people who’ve never seen you live, what can they expect at Bloodstock?

We’ll be performing a mix of older material and our freshly released songs. Expect proggy heaviness, powerful grooves, and melodic hooks that will stick with you long after the show.

What day are you performing?

Sunday

What other bands are you looking forward to watching at Bloodstock this year?

There are loads of bands on the lineup that I’m excited to see live, but my top two would probably be Lamb of God – for the fifth time – since Randy Blythe had a huge influence on my extreme vocals, and Leprous because, well, PROG!

See you at Bloodstock in a few weeks!

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Bloodstock Bound: Joakem appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Over the years and the hundreds of concerts that I have seen and reviewed, there have been few shows where I think wow! Where do I start with this? Possibly the one show I never reviewed, but thought how on earth would I sum this one up was Pink Floyd’s The Wall. So where am I going? Well, quite simply, having watched the second night at Wembley Stadium for My Chemical Romance, I find myself thinking exactly the same.

My Chemical Romance

Wembley Stadium, London – 10 July 2026

Words: Adrian Stonley

Photography: Matty Vogel

Many times, reviewers will state that something is fantastic, outstanding, the best thing ever. But that really does apply to this show. It really is something quite spectacular and really leaves you buzzing and wanting more.

It is split into two sets, the first part of the show revisiting 2006’s The Black Parade, and the second in the round on a separate stage in the middle of the stadium playing a greatest hits of the other albums.

The Black Parade is not so much the band playing the album, but an entire theatrical experience. Though the show follows the album as written and tells the story of the patient and his end of life following a cancer diagnosis, there is also a theatrical subtext around this show, based on the imaginary totalitarian country of Draag. 

With actors playing parts before the show starts, it is clearly setting up something that is going to be grandiose and spectacular.

Certainly, the easiest way to get everyone standing for the show is to ask the audience to stand for the national anthem of Draag, a classical piece simply titled Over Fields, and of course, they do.

Once the opening notes of The End ring out and the band hit the stage, there is no sitting down. It is all or nothing now, and the band are on fire, as is the stage on many occasions due to perfectly timed pyro. 

This is a glorious rendition of The Black Parade, with the songs taking on a life of their own, which is at times clearly enhanced by the actors and the stunts that revolve around the band.

I have no intention of running through every song played. The Black Parade is complete and in the order per the album, although this part of the set lasts for nearly ninety minutes. 

The songs are direct, powerful and meaningful. The anthems anthemic.

There is plenty of audience participation, and in particular, the semi-title track of Welcome To The Black Parade has everyone in the audience yelling out the lyrics at the top of their voice. It is even more impressive in the live environment than it is on record.

With the theatricality competing with the musicality, the audience is asked at the end of the song to vote to decide the fate of some ‘criminals’ who are to face the firing squad.

With the soldiers and individuals arranged around the second stage, the vote is cast, and unsurprisingly, with a fusillade of pyro and smoke effects, the execution takes place.

Mama is quite simply something else. This is a song that quite simply has the hairs on my arms standing up as it starts in a waltz style. With the addition of strings and two opera singers, Lucy Joy Altus and Charlotte Kelso, entering the stage, this piece is simply taken to another level.

Teenagers has the whole crowd bouncing and shrieking out with glee the chorus line of “Teenagers scare the living shit out of me.”

The first half ends with a reprise of The End and sees a clown character, Columbina, enter the stage with a knife and the intention of dispatching lead singer, Gerard Way. Perhaps this element of the show provides a serious nod to Alice Cooper as the knife strikes and the blood sprays.

With Gerard lying on stage, a taped rendition of blood is played out whilst Columbina cavorts around the stage before stripping off the outfit to show a suicide belt, which then explodes. Tasteful, probably not, but certainly a spectacular end to the first part of the show. 

Realistically, most fans would happily have left at this point. The buzz around the stadium was something else. But within five minutes, all eyes are on the second smaller stage ‘in the round’, as cellist Clarice Jensen takes to the stage to play her solo piece From A To B.

As the band duly arrive the familiar chords of I’m Not Okay from the Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge album ring out, and the audience goes wild, arms waving and fists punching.

Now we are simply into a heads-down rock ‘n’ roll show. Gone are the theatrics, the pyro and fireworks. Now this is My Chemical Romance stripped back on a small stage and showing that they can rock out with the very best.

Na Na Na Na sees the audience jumping so enthusiastically, I am sure it must have registered on the Richter scale.

With a number of special dedications arising, the tunes come thick and fast. Summertime, The Ghost Of You and a live debut of Zero Percent has the audience eating out of their sweating palms.

S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W is dedicated to long-time band friend Lauren Valencia, before long-time favourite Helena sees the audience ecstasy rise a further level. 

Demolition Lovers is played for the first time on the tour and closes the night out as the fireworks fly into the night sky.

What an end to an outstanding show. Twenty-six songs, and two and a half hours of prime, highest-quality entertainment. You just could not ask for more, unless, of course, you can get a ticket for Sunday night.

If so, do it.

In a move that has left the global metal community in absolute shock, Dave Mustaine has officially confirmed that Megadeth will cover Metallica’s legendary track “Ride the Lightning” for their upcoming final studio album. This announcement, made earlier today, marks the ultimate reconciliation and a historic full-circle moment for one of thrash metal’s most enduring sagas.

Mustaine, who was a founding member of Metallica and co-wrote the title track of their 1984 masterpiece, shared a powerful teaser on social media. “It’s time to close the circle,” Mustaine stated. “This song has always been a part of my DNA, and recording it with Megadeth is our way of honoring the roots of this genre and the journey we’ve all been on.”

A Farewell to Remember

The cover will be featured as a special bonus track on Megadeth’s 17th and final studio record, which is set to be accompanied by a massive worldwide farewell tour. Fans have long speculated about a final collaboration or tribute between the two giants of the Big Four, but a full-blown studio cover of a song Mustaine helped create is beyond what anyone expected.

Industry insiders are already calling this the most significant moment in thrash metal history since the Big Four shows of 2010. As the band prepares to take their final bow, “Ride the Lightning” serves as a bridge between the past and the future, proving that the legacy of these titans is truly immortal.

Megadeth Final Chapter:

• Pre-order & Tour Info: Official Megadeth Site
• Thrash Metal History: MTVIEW Blog

In 2023, Jess Williamson released Time Ain’t Accidental, which earned a spot on our list of the best country albums of that year. Now, the Texas-born singer-songwriter is announcing its followup, A Mile South Of Heaven, out this fall. She’s sharing the lead single “Goodbye To All That” today, and it’s an emotional, pedal steel-filled tune inspired by Joan Didion.

The post Jess Williamson Announces New Album <em>A Mile South Of Heaven</em>: Hear “Goodbye To All That” appeared first on Stereogum.