A Night of Bluesy Rock Bliss: ‘The Answer’ and ‘Kira Mac’ Rock Wolverhampton’s KKs Steel Mill. Gig Review

November 20, 2023 rocknews

Last night, I had the pleasure of photographing the Northern Irish Band “The Answer” and their equally talented support act “Kira Mac” at KKs Steel Mill in Wolverhampton.

This was my first visit to the renowned KKs, and what a treat. The venue boasts a large stage, a big pit area, and the staff were welcoming and friendly.

Kira Mac Band – Fresh, energetic, and thoroughly entertaining.

The first act of the evening was the Kira Mac band, who soon got the crowd engaged with their energetic blues rock set.

Band Members:

Lead Vocals: Kira Mac
Lead Guitar: Alex Novakovic
Bassist: Bret Barns
Drummer: Max Rhead

Kira Mac initially rose to prominence on The Voice, a fact unbeknownst to her fans for quite some time. Since that revelation, she has steadily ascended, securing consistent airtime on Planet Rock right from the outset., and it’s easy to see why.

This British Blues Rock band is fronted by the charismatic Kira Mac (also known as Rhiannon Hill). Her stage presence is undeniable, and the set list is delivered by Kira’s powerful vocals with a sense of excitement and dynamic interaction with the other band members. Bass player Bret Barns was also front and center and was great to photograph. If you haven’t seen this exciting new band before, then you really should; they are back at KKs next May as headliners.

Top songs include:

Save Your Whiskey
Hit Me Again
Dead Man Walking
Scorned
Hellfire & Holy Water
Chaos Is Calling

Their debut Album “Chaos is Calling” is on my playlist and is played often at the moment.

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Check out our interview with Kira from last year.

The Answer – Blues Rock at its best, in my opinion.

I first saw this band at the Stonedead Festival a few months ago, and they were one of my favorite bands of the day. Frontman Cormac Neeson has the ability to grip the audience from the outset; his performance and interaction with the crowd are a joy to witness. This Sundowners Tour celebrates the release of their new Studio Album, which is getting well-deserved great reviews.

The set started off with the song “Blood Brother” after a short technical delay. Even during that delay, frontman Cormac Neeson had the audience engaged with his charismatic personality and Irish humor, even delivering an impromptu Irish Folk song and taking the opportunity to raise a can of Brewdog with the crowd!

Once the technical hitch was rectified, the show got going with “Blood Brothers,” a great intro and one of my favorite songs from the new album. The song immediately made it onto the Planet Rock A-list, and it’s easy to see why. “Under the Skys” is my personal favorite, and the song “Come Follow me” is always a great one for the crowd, with Cormac hiding into the middle of the crowd and getting them all on their knees!

Set List:

Blood Brother
Nowhere Freeway
New Horizons
Under the Skys
Sundowners
Keep Believin
Want You to Love Me
Solas
Spectacular
Wild Heart
Come Follow Me
Living On The Line
Preachin
Always Alright
Deamon Eyes

Neeson, dapper in appearance as usual and sporting his trademark Trilby hat, delivers the material with his raspy bluesy vocals, and his facial expressions and dancing make for some great photographs. Lead guitarist Paul Mahon is an impressive fusion, and his licks and riffs are sublime. Bassist Mick Waters is another great showman who has great stage presence. This is a close-knit band who have supported some of the biggest names in rock, including The Rolling Stones and AC/DC’s Black Ice Tour! Now, that shows how respected these guys are, and it’s well-justified. The new album “Sundowners” is different from their epic album “The Rise” but just as good. I loved the intro songs “Sundowners,” “Want me to Love You,” and “All Together” in particular, but to be fair, all of the songs on this new album are great. It’s made it into my Final Collection and is played often.

The band’s final date of this tour is in a few weeks on Dec 9th, Belfast Limelight. If you get the opportunity, then you really should go and see them live.

Band Members: