Pennsylvania native Richie Kotzen returned to Pittsburgh in support of his newly released album Nomad (BMG) on Monday evening. He was joined by Mark Daly and The Ravens, who are no strangers to the venue, and local act Supermonkey.
Frontman Mark Daly returned to Jergels from Cork, Ireland with “The Ravens,” a band comprised of James Brown and Cillian Plummer on guitar, Jack Ross from Scotland on bass, and Danny Laverde from Ohio on drums. Their last visit was in support of Kotzen’s bandmate Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs) and his all-star band Mr. Big who sold the room back in January. Just one of many stops as the band continues to make their way around the globe on the “big finish” tour.
Their set focused on new material found on their new album Devil’s Arms from One Opportunity Records, which was produced by Grammy-nominated Brian Virtue. Additionally, the band included a new high-energy cut that we recorded live here so that you all get get a taste of what Mark Daly and The Ravens are all about.
They concluded with Mark Daly adding a left-handed acoustic guitar to the mix, perhaps to foreshadow their shows later in the week…
Beginning tonight,Mark Daly and The Ravens will be performing a unique three-show acoustic showcase at the Iridium Jazz & Blues Club in New York city this week as they continue their tour in support of Richie Kotzen. Fans in Manhattan will be treated to rare unplugged performances before the band continues on to more fully electric gigs with Kotzen, whose tour dates continue through November with shows in Boston, Nashville and Dallas yet to come!
Guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Richie Kotzen is also on the road in support of his most recent solo studio album. The artist has recently premiered the official music video for “Nomad”, the title track of the highly acclaimed release which first delivered the singles “Cheap Shots” and “On The Table” prior to its September release on BMG. Written, recorded and produced by Kotzen, the new album Nomad features eight new tracks in all, which highlight the artists influences that vary from hard rock, soul, funk, jazz fusion and rhythm and blues to deliver his unique signature sound.
We read that the title track was a song that Kotzen originally wrote and recorded after releasing his album ’50 For 50′ that had been put on back burner for many years as he waited for the opportunity to showcase it properly.
For this tour, Richie Kotzen is joined by drummer Kyle Hughes who on the track “These Doors” on the new release and long-time bassist Dylan Wilson. Their set got everyone who didn’t have a close vantage point up from the bar and in front of the stage, and included favorites like “Help Me,” “Doing What the Devil Says to Do,” and “Bad Situation,” as well as cuts from the new album like its first single “On The Table” and “Dogs” from the ’50 for 50′ release.
Kotzen even teased that he could play all 50 songs which celebrated his 50th birthday for us that evening, and I think most of the crowd would have been more than happy to sit in for an evening of such epic proportion (if the floor had table seating)…instead we got a lengthy encore in response to crowd pleas, during which, the band didn’t even leave the stage following a showcase of about a dozen songs that left most spectators lost in the music.
Coverage by Editor and founder Kara Marie Uhrlen on 10/10/2024. All event photos © Kara Uhrlen and The Pure Rock Shop. If you enjoyed this, check out our coverage of Richie Kotzen’s jam with Nuno Bettencourt and Joe Satriani on the Monsters of Rock Cruise here, our coverage of Mark Daly and The Ravens from January with Mr. Big at Jergels here, and our coverage from The Winery Dogs at The Palace in Greensburg here.
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