Not long after the dust settled on this show, headliners Alter Bridge announced two intimate, regional shows for later this year as warm-ups for their inaugural Blackbird Festival, which will take place at Cardiff Castle on Saturday, 27th June. One of the shows is in Belfast, while the other takes place in Dunfermline, to be found in the Kingdom of Fife on the east coast of Scotland.

What’s interesting about the choice of Dunfermline is that Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, and as the saying about the famous concert hall named after him goes in New York: “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?…”Practice, practice, practice!” And that’s how the most unfashionably fashionable band, Alter Bridge, are still able to perform in these arenas in the third decade of their existence. Nothing flash, or hyped, or here-today-gone-tomorrow, no, sir, Alter Bridge got here by the old-fashioned route of “Practice, practice, practice!”

Coming at the near-end of a mammoth seven-week, 31-date EU &UK tour, which had the band performing in 18 different countries, anyone expecting Alter Bridge, along with special guests Daughtry and Sevendust, to phone it in as one foot was already on the plane home, would be deserving of a slap. If anything, the finishing line being in sight seems to have given all three acts an added impetus, as they each put on a show to remember.

For Grammy award-nominated veterans Sevendust, fuelled by the incredible vocals of Lajon Witherspoon, it has been a while since they graced these shores—December 2018, to be precise. Sadly, they were forced to cancel a similar run to this with Alter Bridge and Shinedown back in 2019, when hugely enjoyable to watch drummer Morgan Rose was hospitalized a few days before the tour was set to start. Thankfully, Rose bounced back, and here once again on UK soil are Sevendust, one of those bands that have always been criminally underrated.

Perhaps wary that they haven’t performed over here for so long, the short set is mostly made up with trips through the Sevendust archives, with only one track aired from the forthcoming banger of a new album, ‘One’. Opening track ‘Black’ still sounds as fresh, and as huuuge today as it first did almost 30 years ago, and Witherspoon looking resplendent in his Prince/Symbol t-shirt is in commanding form. The stage is a buzz of activity as guitarists Clint Lowery and John Connolly, along with bassist Vinnie Hornsby, make it their mission to cover every inch of the vast stage. As for Morgan Rose, not only is it fantastic to see him again, but it’s fantastic to actually see him rather than the usual shenanigans of the drummer being cloaked in darkness.

Witherspoon is his usual warm and congenial self as he powers the band through early highlights such as ‘Denial’ and ‘Enemy’, all the while cajoling some audience participation out of those smart enough to get into the venue before 7 pm. Solitary new track ‘Is This the Real You?’ kicks like a mule, while the ranks of the band swell to three guitarists when the band’s manager Tim Tournier (fans of Myles Kennedy’s solo work will recognise him) joins for the closing stages of the set to reprise his role from when Clint Lowery missed the early stages of this run due to family commitments and health reasons. ‘Praise’ has always been damn heavy, but with an added guitarist, it is mighty, as is ‘Crucified’. Ending with a monstrous version of ‘Face to Face’ that sees all five outfield players jamming/headbanging in a communal circle during the breakdown, Sevendust came, they saw, they conquered. Headline shows are a must.

Perhaps it’s because of the American Idol connection, but Chris Daughtry performing live is an altogether heavier proposition than most casual listeners might have come to expect. Three years after a successful 2023 UK tour, which saw Daughtry perform at the iconic Royal Albert Hall in London, it’s easy to forget that Daughtry are a multi-platinum-selling band with masses of experience over the 20 years since Chris Daughtry came fourth on the fifth season of American Idol. Daughtry also have a strong, passionate fan-base, and they are certainly making themselves heard tonight.

The warmth and energy from Sevendust’s set (where Lajon Witherspoon wanted to cover everyone with a “blanket of love”) is swapped for a somewhat clinical set from Daughtry. The banks of harsh blue and red lights don’t help, but in places, it is quite a cold set. Bassist Marty O’Brien and long-term guitarist Brian Craddock are static for the opening few numbers, and it’s not until halfway through the second song, a thumping run-through of ‘The Bottom’, that Craddock gets a brief moment on the riser, in the spotlight. The pair eventually starts to use the stage more, with Craddock joining Chris Daughtry centrestage during ‘The Day I Die’, and later on during a set-stealing romp through Journey’s ‘Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)’, both O’Brien and Craddock swap sides, with a fistbump in passing.

It’s always a risk when a band is formed around a name. A risk of not being a “band” in the truest sense, and at times, the other guys seem hesitant onstage. The Daughtry fanbase couldn’t care less, though, and whoop and holler throughout the 12-track set. ‘It’s Not Over’ and ‘Home’ from the gazillion-selling debut album are greeted with huge screams, especially on the latter when Chris Daughtry performs solo with just an acoustic guitar for company. It’s not just a nostalgia trip, though, with the more recent pairing of the heavy-as-balls ‘The Dam’ and set closer ‘Artificial’ running the Journey cover a close second. A professional set that has the legions of Daughtry fans purring with delight.

After a brief flurry of smaller gigs set around the 2023 summer festival season, Alter Bridge are back on arena duties. And the quartet comes bearing gifts in the guise of the stonking new self-titled album. And it’s said stonking new self-titled album that AB turns to for the full-on set opener, ‘Silent Divide’. No fanfare or long drawn-out intro. No Myles Kennedy taking to the stage last, to squeeze out the cliches. Just four friends going about their business, with several thousand faces watching on. ‘Silent Divide’ is a strong opener. Especially with the short, sharp slaps on the breakdown. Myles Kennedy is up first on the guitar solo front, with Mark Tremonti taking the second. Light and darkness in abundance, with Tremonti’s heavier, more shredding solo being the darkness. Lots of smiles from both.

Following a newer moment with two gems is a masterstroke, and ‘Addicted to Pain’ followed by ‘Cry of Achilles’ highlights the depth of the Alter Bridge jukebox, as both would not look out of place in the encore. Those on the barrier would have noticed during ‘Addicted to Pain’ that Tremonti’s guitar is adorned with a small pic of Dimebag Darrell – RE-SPECT! Having, in essence, two charismatic frontmen in Kennedy and Tremonti often means that the work of the “other two” is overshadowed, but ‘Addicted to Pain’ is just one of many moments that highlight how in sync the backbone of the band – Brian Marshall on bass, and drummer Scott Phillips – are. Anyone needing a lesson in how an engine room works needs to check out these guys. Marshall’s bass rumble on ‘Cry of Achilles’ is as tooth-rattling as ever.

The flow of the set is perfect. With each new song being wrapped around a few AB nuggets. ‘Playing Aces’ is a great addition to the setlist, as is fellow new track ‘Tested and Able’ (which turns things on its head by having Mark Tremonti sing lead vocals on the verses, while Kennedy takes the choruses). Keeping them company are moments such as ‘Fortress’, which has been dusted off for this tour, the Mark Tremonti-led ‘Burn It Down’, and countless classics like ‘Open Your Eyes’, which has Kennedy pausing midsong to ask the crowd, “Are you ready?” before letting them take over.

The big-hitters are plentiful. ‘Watch Over You’ doesn’t feature Myles Kennedy being chased by a bee as it did many years ago in this venue, and the song that still means so much to so many still can fill many eyes with water. ‘Rise Today’ soars high with a chorus that needs to be bellowed out from a clifftop as the waves come crashing in; ‘Metalingus’ is such good fun, and no doubt will never stop being fun; while ‘Blackbird’ remains THE defining Alter Bridge moment. If your neckhairs don’t stand to attention during the line “Let the wind carry you home/Blackbird, fly away/May you never be broken again” then are you still alive? The dual guitar solo is, of course, the money shot. But it’s the way that it’s performed that lingers the most. Tremonti moves to the back of the stage to give Kennedy the spotlight, and after dazzling with his guitar prowess, Kennedy (the James Stewart of heavy music?) retreats as Tremonti steps forward to let fly. The respect that the pair has for each other is right there for all to see.

The night could have ended there, and no one would have minded, but Alter Bridge have one more trick up their sleeve with a rabble-rousing version of ‘Isolation’ to send the AB faithful home.

Come June, all roads lead to Cardiff for what is shaping up to be one of the gigs of the Summer. Before that, though, there is the small matter of that Dunfermline gig where Alter Bridge will play warm-up to the main act, which comes straight after the show, when the venue will drop a big screen for a game of football, when the nation that actually did invent the game takes on the mighty Brazil in the World Cup.

Tickets for Blackbird Festival can be purchased HERE