Brave Rival Sets Camden Ablaze with Electrifying ‘Fight or Flight’ Album Launch

September 19, 2024 rocknews

There may have been an Autumnal chill in the air outside, but Camden’s Legendary Dingwalls was hot tonight as UK blues-rock powerhouse Brave Rival packed it out to launch their superb new album ‘Fight or Flight’.

Regular readers of Rock News will know that we have been following this band closely lately with a review of the album and an interview with the band, and we were excited to see the album brought to life in this intimate venue.

Deborah Bonham

First up though, there was rock royalty in the house as Deborah Bonham (sister of John) and her band took to the stage to warm the crowd up. Bonham has been making music for decades and her performance this evening showed what a pro she is as she and the band tore through a fantastically bluesy set that showed off her powerful voice and the virtuosity of her band – not least guitarist Peter Bullick. What a way to start the night!

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Brave Rival

The reviews – ours included – of ‘Fight or Flight-, the new album from Brave Rival, have been overwhelmingly positive. It built on their debut full-length studio release ‘Life’s Machine’ and has cemented the band’s status as a powerful force in the blues-rock scene. They have been finalists in the UK Blues Awards for the past three years, and the heaving crowd were as eager as us to hear it played live.

Hitting the stage with ‘Blame the Voices’, Billy, Donna, Lindsey, Chloe and Ed received a rapturous welcome, and the energy of the crowd did not let up throughout their 16-song set which also featured tracks from ‘Life’s Machine’, including ‘Heart Attack’, ‘Guilty Love’ and ‘You Know My Name’. It didn’t seem to matter, though, if the songs were new or well-trodden – the t-shirt wearing faithfuls knew the words and accompanied the band enthusiastically. This was acknowledged from the stage as an emotional Chloe stated that they were grateful for the support and to be launching the album in Camden Town.

Towards the end of the set, the band were joined on stage by harmonica player Will Wilde for a superb rendition of ’Stand Up’, and by the time ‘Fairy Tale’, ‘Heavy’ and closing number ‘Sink or Swim’ came around, the evening seemed to have vanished in the blink of an eye.

As well as the usual t-shirts, the band were selling sets of tarot cards, each one inspired by a song from the album, on the merch stand and we couldn’t resist a set of these beautiful works of art.

“From humble beginnings come great things” said Lindsey From the stage. Too true, and what a way to launch your album.

Brave Rival are now on an extensive tour of the UK that will see them in to the New Year. Catch them if you can!