Rick Ventura, the legendary guitarist of Riot, is set to bring his band Riot Act across the pond for a brief series of shows in England, serving as a warm-up to the British Steel Festival in France on 7 October 2023. The first show, with Kaine as support on all dates, kicks off this weekend at The Music Room, Ipswich.
Ventura and his band will perform the Riot album Fire Down Under in full, along with other Riot classics. Fire Down Under is considered the ultimate Riot album, having made the Billboard 200 on its original release.
Rick Ventura was a member of the classic Riot line-up that recorded the legendary albums Narita (1979), Fire Down Under (1981), Restless Breed (1982), and Born In America (1983). Ventura also appeared on the Riot Live (1989) live album.
This marks the band’s inaugural headline tour in England. Riot Act released their debut double album, Closer To The Flame (Global Rock Records), in 2022, which features both original material and re-recordings of Riot classics.
“Riot Act is a band of some pedigree,” Rage from Kaine told MetalTalk, “and this will be a rare opportunity for classic rock/Metal fans to see Rick perform the Fire Down Under album in full, as well as all the other legendary Riot tunes from the 1980s.
“Having toured with them last year, I can confirm that they are an amazing live band, performing both their songs and those Rick did with Riot. To have these guys come from New York to these intimate, local venues is a real honour, and I look forward to sharing the stage with them each night.”
The band joined Lillian Axe on their UK Tour in 2022 to promote the album alongside the English Heavy Metal band Kaine. “We met the Riot Act guys while touring together, supporting Lillian Axe last year,” Rage said. “When their manager dropped me a line about putting a short run of dates in England together for them ahead of British Steel Festival in France, I jumped at the chance.
“Riot Act will be playing Fire Down Under in full on this run! I booked venues/towns I knew well to ensure we would have a good turnout for the shows. We (Kaine) have been funding, promoting, and organising the events, so it has been a lot of work and investment.
“We’re looking to getting out there and finally playing.”
To find out how the tour came about, read more here.
Tickets are available from here.
