Chaos Reigns in Camden: Kira Mac Electrifies with Blues-Rock Brilliance

May 25, 2024 rocknews

“You’ve been invaded by northerners so it really is chaos!” Shouted a beaming Kira from the stage of the iconic Camden venue, its twisting, sprawling space rammed full of excited gig-goers.

Formed in 2018 and consisting of – in their own words – a musical collective made up of misfits from different corners of the country, from Stoke to Hull, and who met in Manchester, the band have been making waves ever since and left quite an impression on their 2023 “Downfall” tour. Last summer also saw them introduced to bigger stages at both Steelhouse and Maid of Stone festivals.

Kira herself (real name Rhiannon Kira Hill) is from Stoke-On-Trent, birthplace of Lemmy and Slash, and she brought the same rock and roll attitude to Camden.

Opening with ‘Save Your Whiskey’, the band showed just how accomplished they are as they ploughed through a 19-song set of blues-drenched rock (or is that rock-drenched blues?) that thrilled the hot, sweaty crowd.

Third song ‘Chaos is Calling’ from the 2022 album of the same name, called for some audience participation, with the crowd being split down the middle. On one side were Team Kira and bass player Bret Barnes, and on the other were team Alex Novakovic (Guitar) and Max Rhead (Drums). Each half of the crowd were encouraged to outdo the other when shutting the “HEY” in the chorus. The band had the audience in the palm of their hands, and it was plain soling from here.

Kira changed the mood with ‘This Time’, a number performed solo and acoustically. She drew a few laughs from the audience when she told them that this was dedicated to a friend who lived in Camden and who was told by Kira to “bin a boy off”.

A run of cover versions followed, and saw the band interpret tracks from artists as diverse as Justin Timberlake (‘Say Something’) and Alanis Morissette (‘You Oughta Know’) via Warren Zevon, all the time remaining true to their blues roots.

‘Hit Me Again’ saw us back in familiar territory with the band showing us just what they are capable of. ‘Farewell’ and ‘Climbing’ finished the main set before the band returned for a well deserved encore of ‘Downfall’ and ‘One Way Ticket’.

We were left with a promise of a new album, which will coincide with the next tour – no details or dates, but we can’t wait to see them back.

What a superb night – and a far cry from the first time they played London when they had to pull the show after only selling 6 tickets.

Kira Mac play the Firevolt Festival in Stockport on 8th August.