KRIS BARRAS is not someone who is afraid of a challenge. As a former mixed martial artist, the singer and guitarist has fought in front of 8000 people, he has lived in Las Vegas, he has dealt with bankruptcy, he has suffered a personal and profound loss, he has unleashed the fury of Southern blues on stages across Europe, and has been voted as one of the best blues guitarists in the world.
He picked up the guitar and learned martial arts as a child. After playing in bands during his adolescence, he became disillusioned. By his early 20s, offers for rewarding fights were coming-in regularly. So music took a backseat.
His incredible drive is at the heart of his new album, “The Divine And Dirty”. It’s his first album with Provogue/Mascot Label Group. The album title refers to the good and the bad within us all, the album sums up everything that Barras has gone through to get to this point in his life.
It was his father, who gave the young man, Kris, his first guitar at the age of six and introduced him to some great bands and artists: Rolling Stones, Deep Purple and especially, Gary Moore. At nine, he was playing on stage with his father’s cover band.
“Gary Moore was my first hero,” says Kris. “He was my dad’s favourite and that fed down to me. He was the best guitarist in the world, and my first introduction to the blues. Everything else came after him.”
He retired from the cage in 2014, feeling that he had achieved everything he was ever going to. The sport had consumed his life for so long, and he had made so many sacrifices along the way.
“Fighting was an adrenaline thing,” he says of his MMA career. “I got a massive buzz doing it – it was incredible. You’re under incredible amounts of pressure. You put a foot wrong, you don’t just lose, you can lose your teeth. But I thrive on pressure, whether that’s fighting or music.”
The album, produced by Josiah J Manning at Momentum Studios, Plymouth, bleeds ambition through every pore.
The relase follows an amazing year for Barras who embarked on his first European tour, “It was overwhelming to discover just how much they love the Blues in mainland Europe,” he says. “We did just under 5000 miles in two weeks. RAWA Blues was awesome, such a great crowd and it was an honour to be one of the main stage acts. It’s the biggest show I’ve ever done…”
Check out this amazing new talent now…
Check the live dates [below] near you…
Link: https://www.facebook.com/krisbarrasband/
DATES
23 March – The Wharf, Tavistock
24 March – The Palladium, Bideford
27 March – The Comrades Club, Coulsdon
28 March – Ypres Tavern, Sittingbourne
29 March – The Iron Road, Evesham
30 March – Yardbirds Club, Grimsby
31 March – Aatma, Manchester
04 April – Haven Club, Oxford
05 April – The Face Bar, Reading
06 April – The Warehouse, Harrogate
07 April – The Supporter’s Club, West Hartlepool
08 April – Fuel, Cardiff
12 April – Regent Theatre, Ipswich w/BETH HART
13 April – The Musician, Leicester
14 April – De La Warr Pavillion, Bexhill-On-Sea w/BETH HART
15 April – Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham w/BETH HART
18 April – New Theatre, Oxford w/BETH HART
19 April – Leas Hall, Folkstone w/BETH HART
21 April – St David Hall, Cardiff w/BETH HART
24 April – Corn Exchange, Cambridge w/BETH HART
26 April – Opera House, Blackpool w/BETH HART
27 April – City Hall, Hull w/BETH HART
30 April – Hexagon, Reading w/BETH HART
01 May – Guild Hall, Portsmouth w/BETH HART
18 May – The Abertillery Blues Rock Festival, Abertillery
15 June – LoveRocks Festival, Ferndown
01 July – Ramblin’ Man Fair, Maistone
22 July – Upton, Worcester
RAW RAMP 