Devil's Gate Music
Related Articles
The Foundry, Torquay
Friday 16th October 2026
Review and Photos – Rob Wilkins
It isn’t often you get to see an artist you have enjoyed and followed for over a decade play their last ever gig! More often than not, that decision comes after illness, band break up, or other pressures. So having the opportunity to witness Kris Barras play his last gig in his hometown, after making that decision in advance, was something I really didn’t want to miss.
Clearly many others felt the same way as the line for doors snaked well down the street past the various opus’s and takeaways. We were soon inside this somewhat unique venue, finding a good vantage spot overlooking the stage (The Foundry almost like performing in the round with a balcony level overlooking the audience on the floor and stretching behind the stage, which must present a wall of faces to those performing).
Opening the night were Tennessee alt rockers 10 Years. Tours such as this normally feature young or up-and-coming bands, so I was surprised to see that they have been going for 27 years and have 1.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify! Somewhat more than the headliner!
From the off, their pedigree was clear as they launched into “Novacaine”.
For a photographer, it was a challenging set as the lighting engineer appeared to have gone AWOL and the sound engineer wasn’t a huge fan of Jesse Hasek’s vocals as they were far too low down in the mix. They threw themselves at the Torbay crowd, and as the set progressed, each song was met with a bigger reaction as they excelled in their job of raising the energy for the headliner.
Their biggest reaction came for “Wasteland” along with a cover of “Heart Shaped Box” that confirmed their grungey origins. “The Optimist” closed the set and was met with another great reaction that saw them leaving with smiles.
After a short break, we were more than ready for Kris Barras’ swan song and, with a stage empty of any amps/stacks whatsoever, the band took to the stage to a wave of emotion.
Here in Torquay we were lucky enough to get a big of a supergroup. Danny DeLa Cruz had been filling in for Josiah Manning, who had been absent to be with his new family. Tonight, though, he rejoined Kris onstage along with Danny, giving us a formidable wall of sound from three such highly skilled guitarists.
“Who Needs Enemies?” And “Unbreakable” kicked things off. At one point, Kris’s career had been in doubt due to a vocal injury, but his vocals are the best I have heard them tonight, and at times he leaves the guitar to his fellow six-string wielders and allows those vocals to be the focus.
The set careers through “Dead Horses”, “Unspoken” and “Monsters We Made” before Kris takes some time out to interact with the rammed crowd in front of him. We then get treated to “Savages”, “These Voices” and “Devil You Know” (where Josiah shows his ability to solo as Kris takes the mic), before the part of the show where I anticipated Kris showing all the emotion that must have been present in his mind when he described the feelings behind the next song, “Watching Over Me”. Instead, he channelled every one of those feelings into a solo that showed his incredible feel for the blues (maybe somewhat lost in the heavier direction the band took). Looking at the crowd, many were genuinely in tears, yet the man himself remained stoic, wringing out something that reminds me of Gary Moore’s “Still Got the Blues” in its utter beauty and skill.
“Light It Up” re-energises the crowd with a singalong, and then Kris gives the stage to Danny DeLa Cruz for “Jamma Lamma Ding Dong” – an extended solo that shows the ability of one of the best young guitarists in the UK. Watching Kris himself applaud so enthusiastically showed just how much he sees in Danny’s talent. The real emotion from the stage came from Josiah, as he passionately thanked Kris for all that he has done for him before the final rush of “Beautiful Lie” and “Riot of One” leads into the anthemic “My Parade”.
Of course, there has to be an encore, and it has to be “Hail Mary”. I was wondering whether Kris would return to the past where he used to play the solo with his teeth and behind his back to show off his skills one last time, but it is a relatively subdued performance to bow out on.
I found myself wondering at the end, as the lights went up, how he must feel, hitting that last note. His feelings were kept very close to his chest, only really surfacing when hitting the really emotional solos in the set and even then being channelled through his fingers rather than his words or reactions.
I hope this is a hiatus rather than a goodbye. That in time he finds the energy to return. Losing his skill and talent leaves a void. But if that isn’t to be the case. A thank you from me for over ten years of ever-evolving but always thoroughly enjoyable music and playing.
