Stone Broken – live at the Booking Hall, Dover, July 20 2024

 

Hailing from Walsall, England, Stone Broken are a rock band comprised of Rich Moss on Vocals and Guitar, Robyn Haycock on drums and backing vocals, Kieran Conroy on bass and Chris Davies on lead guitar. The quartet was formed in 2013 when Moss and Haycock were joined by former Black Diamond Bullet duo Conroy and Davies. To date they have released three studio albums, All in Time (2016), Ain’t Always Easy (2018) and Revelation (2022) which followed their opening EP The Crow Flies (2014).

 

The band are currently on a brief 3 date tour having played Southend and moving on to Southampton. The band will be playing Freevolt festival in August having played festivals, Ramblin’ Man Fair and Download in the past. I first encountered the band on the rising stage at Ramblin’ man in 2016 having been drawn in by Moss’ distinct vocals and the bands more classical rock sound.    

 

The Booking Hall in Dover is a 280-capacity venue located in a former train station near the port of Dover, Kent. It is a great venue that showcases both local and national talent as well as its staple of cover bands. Its existence came into question recently when the owner planned to sell the building and has been saved by a mixture of fundraising and significant support from the Music Venue Trust. Artists such as Steve Harris of Iron Maiden and British Lion have lent their support to help the venue remain open.

 

Following the support band, Black Roze, Stone Broken took to the stage in the sweltering heat of one of the hottest days of the year. Entering one at a time the band built the anticipation and suspense before launching into their opening track Revelation, the title track of their most recent album. The band received a warm welcome from the assembled crowd, and it was clear that the band was well regarded having played a number of gigs at this venue and other local venues since their inception.

 

The band then followed straight into their second track Stay All Night, the final song from their first studio album. The powerful drumming supplied by Haycock underpinned the track and gave a real toe tapping and head bobbing feel before the guitar solo from Davies featuring sweep picking added additional energy.

 

Launching into chord heavy Heartbeat Away there was a real Nickleback feel to the performance (a comparison that is often made). In addition to the strong musicality, the lighting was well managed giving bright accents on key transitions in the music that added to the atmosphere.

 

After a few more track the band introduced their new single Remedy that was released the day before. The track’s lyrics clearly stem from mental health issues that Moss has suffered from, an issue that he addresses with the crowd later after the performance of Stronger. Not an easy subject and he is to be praised for strength in addressing the issue. Remedy is a fantastic addition to their catalogue and the track will definitely be added to my playlist. In a brief interlude Moss recounts their American tour with Chris Jericho’s Fozzy and finding out that their song Let Me See It All was top of the US strip club charts, not a claim that most can make.

 

Following the completion of Over The Line, all the band exited the stage leaving Moss alone to perform and acoustic version of Wait For You. This powerful ballad used by couples on their wedding day, was a crowd pleaser and the raw emotion in the room was tangible. The rest of the band rejoined part way through to finish the song before rapturous applause from those assembled.

 

The group finished with their 3rd most streamed track, Not Your Enemy, with the crowd singing along in good voice.

 

 

 

SETLIST:

Revelation, Stay All Night, Heartbeat Away, Doesn’t Matter, Black Sunrise, Let Me, Go, Remedy,

Make It Out Alive, Let Me See It All, Over The Line, Wait For You, Stronger,

Worth Fighting For, The Devil You Know, Not Your Enemy

 

 

https://x.com/StoneBroken