Interview and Pictures: Adrian Hextall / MindHex Media
When the Maid of Stone Festival needed a shot of pure, unadulterated rock and roll fire to co-headline their Friday night, they knew who to call. Stepping into the breach with the kind of swagger that’s become their signature, Los Angeles quartet Dirty Honey are set to make their explosive debut at the festival, and frontman Marc LaBelle couldn’t be more primed. And in a delightful twist of fate, their arrival is something of a rescue mission.
“I didn’t even know that!” LaBelle exclaims with a laugh when informed they’d heroically stepped in after original headliner Richie Kotzen faced a scheduling conflict. “News to me! But hey, we’re thrilled to be coming. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for having us; we’re really excited.”
Excitement is something Dirty Honey are adept at generating. Having already seared their brand of blues-drenched rock into the UK consciousness on previous tours, including a memorable slot at British Summertime with Guns N’ Roses, they know what a British crowd craves. For LaBelle, that Hyde Park gig was a “really cool full circle sort of moment,” having been there as a star-struck fan watching The Rolling Stones just the year before. “I’m in a box with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Iovine, Brian Johnson from AC/DC’s in front of me… I was like, this is crazy. Like, I don’t belong here. Then the following year, I’m playing on the other side of the park. It was a whirlwind.”
Dirty Honey at Copenhell 2025
While he admits touring the UK and Europe isn’t a “big financial windfall” for an American band – “it’s really expensive to do it, quite frankly” – the allure isn’t monetary. “You’re doing it because the shows are fun,” he states, a sentiment that clearly resonates with their growing fanbase this side of the pond.
“The thirst for rock and roll there [in the UK] is still really alive and healthy,” LaBelle enthuses. “I feel the UK as a whole has this sort of like industrial blue-collar feel… it really reminds me of the old days of what I would think the old days would be like in America, where people were seeing AC/DC and Aerosmith. It’s got everything to do with the people and their taste, and we’re obviously happy that rock and roll’s alive and well over there.” He grins, “It’s music that goes really well with a few pints of beer… sounds good in the pub and it sounds even better on stage.”
Marc is no fan of backing tracks though. Music should be from the heart and the visible instruments on stage. No instrument but you can hear it on the PA? Marc’s not a fan.
“I do get a little pissed off when I start to hear things coming from the PA that aren’t on stage. What draws people into rock and roll is authenticity.”
That authenticity is the gospel according to Dirty Honey. In an era of backing tracks and mimed performances, LaBelle is an old-school purist. “Being authentically live is a really important aspect of our show,” he stresses. “When I start to hear things coming from the PA that aren’t on stage, you’re getting away a little bit from what draws people into rock and roll, which is authenticity.” He cites a recent AC/DC show as a prime example: “Everything is coming out of the PA. It’s live. It’s loud. Maybe they’re not what they were 30 years ago but it’s still fucking awesome.”
This commitment to the real deal was laid bare on their live record, Mayhem & Revelry. Culled from around 60 recorded shows, LaBelle personally sifted through the initial mountain of material. “I remember John [Notto, guitarist] calling me, like, almost in tears being like, ‘Dude, like, we’re up there with my heroes.’ That was a real cool moment.” The result, capturing performances from sweaty clubs to the vastness of Hyde Park, is something LaBelle is “very, very proud of. It’s really representative of who we are as a band and the energy and the nuance of the playing.”
Dirty Honey at Copenhell 2025
Their rapid ascent has seen them share stages with a veritable who’s who of rock royalty, Slash, Guns N’ Roses, The Who, KISS, The Black Crowes. “The first thing that happened was Slash and Myles Kennedy,” LaBelle explains. “Once you kind of do that, that’s a nice door opening for Guns N’ Roses. And then doing Guns N’ Roses opens doors. If you’re good enough for Guns N’ Roses, maybe you’re good enough for The Who or The Black Crowes. The dominoes start to fall. So we have Slash to thank for all the chaos in our lives now.”
Playing with heroes like The Who was another “pinch me moment,” and LaBelle cherishes the grounded nature of such legends. “Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend were like just walking around backstage… blue-collar rock stars that are really cool and friendly and went right up to us and talked to us. That was a very unexpected, welcomed thing.”
This respect for the greats also informs their songwriting. Dirty Honey isn’t afraid to explore different sonic textures, much like their idols. “I really always loved the shape of Aerosmith records where they would put like this big ballad at the very end,” Marc reflects. “We took a stab at a song that came together a little bit magically called ‘You Make It All Right,’ that’s like a ballad. We were like, ‘Is it Dirty Honey?’ And we were like, ‘Well, why don’t we widen the scope of what Dirty Honey is? That’s what all of our favourite bands did.’ The Stones have ‘Faraway Eyes’!”
Looking ahead, beyond their Maid of Stone appearance, new music is firmly on the agenda. LaBelle and bassist Justin Smolian recently tried a novel approach to songwriting, “We went to a State Park here in California and we just went and sat on some rocks and pulled out the guitars and got inspired by what was around us.” But for Marc, the ultimate crucible for new material is the stage. “The most inspiring place for me to write music is usually at soundcheck when you have the PA going and like you can really feel that the song is working on a stage. I am kind of chomping at the bit to get back on stage and do run-throughs of songs that we’ve been working on.”
So, what can the Maid of Stone crowd expect as July rolls around? “New music is imminent,” LaBelle teases, “probably coming, if not by Christmas time this year, early next year. There would probably be a song out, you know, to do the waterfall releases they call it.”
Get ready, Maid of Stone. Dirty Honey are bringing the heat, the riffs, and the raw, unadulterated spirit of rock and roll. They’re not just playing a festival; they’re making a statement. And it’s going to be loud.
maidofstonefestival.com/the-festival
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