“Every time I play in Wales, it’s fucking raining,” laughs Kris Barras. Tonight, his band headline a four-act bill with Stone Broken, Dan Byrne and The Hot Damn! at this famous Chepstow venue.
Kris Barras Band
Chepstow Castle, Chepstow – 15 August 2024
Words And Photography: Paul Hutchings
Chepstow Castle dates to 1067 and stands proud above the River Wye that straddles the Wales / England border. The market town annually hosts the Castell Rocs events, which run over four weekends in August.
For the harder rockers, this year, it is the Kris Barras Band who take the accolade of sold-out signs with 24 hours to go. In 48 hours, another stellar bill featuring headliners H.E.A.T. will roll into the town.
The deluge of Welsh rain that prompts Barras’ comments and which pours from the sky in the hours before the event is not enough to dissuade the hardy souls queuing towards the dramatic gates that stand as a reminder of the history of this early Norman stronghold. Barras has some hardy fans.
The rain has eased to a very light drizzle by the time Barras and his band hit the stage. He has worked his way to this moment, as he explains later in the set during the emotional speech about his father during Watching Over Me, with his most recent album, Halo Effect, having taken a top five spot in the UK charts.
It has not been an overnight sensation. Barras and band have got here, and to other headline sets at UK festivals, through hard work and dedication.
They have been relentless in their touring, and it shows. This is a slick and professional performance. Barras switches from singer to guitarist throughout the set, jumping off stage during the opener Hourglass to slap hands with the front rows who are slightly damp.
This is a neat touch that brings instant engagement and reward for those who have been there for a few hours. He does this again later in the set. He is content to sing whilst leaving the music to Josiah J. Manning, bassist Frazer Kerslake and drummer Billy Hammett.
When he is on stage with his guitar, Kris Barras is ripping out thrilling lead guitar work or happily punching the riffs whilst Manning takes centre stage. It is Kerslake who is the most energetic, a man possessed who continually hops and skips around the stage with an energy you would die for at this time in the evening.
The set is paced superbly, with the fist-pumping openers followed by the likes of Savages and Who Needs Enemies, the crowd in full voice. The set is tempered by the piano segment mid-set which sees Manning take the keys, as Kerslake and Hammett fade into the background. This leaves Barras to do the solo work with Manning’s heartfelt work as backing.
We get Landslide and the previously mentioned Watching Over Me, showing a different side to the muscular frontman and allowing the crowd time to catch their breath.
Not that Barras allows this for long, as the band slip into an up-tempo run towards My Parade and the set closer, Hail Mary. It is a powerful demonstration of the rewards that can be reaped with hard graft, and as the band take their curtain call, there is possibly a tear in Barras’ face as he leaves the stage to a deserved ovation.
