L.A. band Dirty Honey made a stop in Lincoln at the Bourbon Theatre Tuesday night (12/3) and proved that good old fashioned rock and roll is here to stay!
Taking a cue from classic acts like Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin, Dirty Honey puts a new spin on the retro sound that so many of us have grown to love.
It’s such a breathe of fresh air to see a young rock band making their way to the top of the charts. I was so disheartened to see Drake topped Spotify’s list as the most listened to artist for the decade. No offense to Drake and his multitude of top-ten hits, but as soon as you hear “DJ Khalid!!” you know “Here comes another vanilla pop song.”
Rock music has seen a dip in the last few years, but like all trends, music happens in cycles. I feel like 2020 is primed for a rock resurgence and Dirty Honey is part of an elite group of bands ready to make some waves.
As soon as Dirty Honey stepped on stage, the smoke filled room was filled with electricity. You know the feeling, the hair stands up on the back of your neck, your heart pounds as the guitar and bass kicks in, and you know what you’re hearing is real, genuine American rock and roll. I guarantee you won’t get this at an arena-level hip hop show where the artist is playing to a track.
Dirty Honey is the epitome of an American rock band: four good looking dudes with long hair and swagger for days. Dressed in a corduroy jacket and 70s top hat, lead singer Marc LaBelle could give Steven Tyler a run for his money. Not to mention, bassist Justin Smolian could play Slash in a Guns N’ Roses biopic.
Though the band only played nine songs, they did an awesome job stretching out the set with wicked solo jams from guitarist John Notto, drummer Corey Coverstone, and Justin on bass.
So far, Dirty Honey has released one self-titled E.P. They played all six songs from their E.P. in addition to two new songs and an absolutely killer cover of “Last Child” by Aerosmith. After a while, Marc took off his jacket to reveal an Aerosmith shirt. There’s almost a direct lineage when it comes to Dirty Honey’s sound. These guys just got off tour with Guns N’ Roses, but if Aerosmith ever needs an opener, they should give Dirty Honey a call!
The band saved their two biggest hits for last. They first played the song that put them in the spotlight “When I’m Gone” and closed the set with their newest single “Rolling 7s.” Dirty Honey left the crowd on their feet begging for more. The band had given all they had to give, song-wise anyway, but luckily for the fans, Dirty Honey stuck around for for a long while to take photos and sign autographs, as they should. It’s so important for young bands to put in the time and meet with the fans to really build their audience.
I don’t normally hang around for photos, but this band feels special. I had such an awesome time I just had to snap a pic with Marc and Justin. While I was chatting with Marc I let him know that this is just the beginning. I have no doubt you’ll be seeing Dirty Honey everywhere in 2020.
Make sure to check out Dirty Honey’s E.P. available now.
Before Dirty Honey, two local bands took the stage, FREAKABOUT from Lincoln and Evandale from Omaha.
I was able to catch Evandale over the summer at the Waiting Room. They put on a great show then, but there was something in the air Tuesday that had the band turned up to 11! I was seriously impressed and so proud of my local dudes.
Not only did they get the crowd moving early, they played two new songs “Ghost of You” and “Away from You.” Evandale asked the crowd which one they thought should be their new single. The crowd seemed to cheer louder for “Away from You,” but I’m leaning toward “Ghost of You.” It sounded like some kind of Dokken song with an updated metal-core twist. I had a killer time watching Evandale tear it up and I can’t wait to catch them again.
I can’t end without giving a shoutout to Lincoln’s FREAKABOUT. Just like the last time I caught them, Cortney and the gang rattled the walls with their blues-tinged fuzz rock. Everyone in the band was firing on all cylinders giving the crowd a soundtrack of dirty rock bangers!
Dirty Honey lead singer Marc was impressed with both Evandale and FREAKABOUT, as he should’ve been. It was an incredible night of rock and roll in the Midwest and I’m incredibly grateful I was there to capture it.
Huge thanks to Dirty Honey’s publicist FR PR for setting up photo access!
Photo galleries can be found below.
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Dirty Honey Gallery
Evandale
