Rhi Hill and Kira Mac return to KK’s Steelmill for another night of musical mayhem. Supporting them tonight we have local band & relative newbies, Europa Reign, then Brum-based collective, Straight for the Sun.

Europa Reign are first to hit the stage as the crowd start to filter into the venue. It was nice to see one friendly face on stage, taking the form of one Jonathan Winter aka Johnny Snow on bass; a face I’ve not seen for a few years.

The band are fronted by Andy Owen sporting a kilt, leather waistcoat and Europa Reign sporran (for those fashionistas amongst you). This was the bands sixth gig, the previous five all being down the road at the Giffard Arms so this is a step-up in terms of audience capacity and, potentially, audience abuse. The twin guitar attack is edgy, the melodies get incorporated into the songs quite nicely. Edging towards the heavy side of rock the band played their short set at full tilt and left the audience with no doubts about their abilities nor quality sound. I’d bet good money on this lot making many more appearances, both locally and nationally. One to watch for.

Setlist:

Villainous

Rust

Marionette

Shush!

Broken Heart

Treachery

A very short break led us on to Straight for the Sun, a Birmingham-based five-piece band. Another band playing heavier material; they describe themselves as ‘alt-metal’ so not and out-and-out heavy metal band, they play with a number of musical influences. Just like Europe Reign these are one of the new breed of Midlands-born rock bands and, also like Europe Reign, they play loud, fast and with plenty of conviction. No album as such just yet, an older EP and several singles being released over the years. Tonight’s setlist comprised some of those singles and a couple of tracks off the EP. The eight-song set fizzed along with many being known by the audience. Musically, they’re pretty good; vocally, they’re very good. They could do with an album!

Setlist:

Pulling Teeth

Remember Me

Scapegoat

Sirens

Over It

Unbound

Fall Away

Walk

Headliner time as Rhiannon Kira Hill makes another appearance on this stage with her band, Kira Mac. The band have undergone some changes in personnel since I last saw them so I was interested to hear how those changes have affected the sound of the band.

The band, tonight, is: Rhi Hill (vocals), Joe Worrall (guitar), Vernon Lee Whitmore (bass) and Loz Riley (drums).

The band kick off with ‘Climbing’ a song released on last years’ ‘LIve in Europe’ album, and it’s obvious straightaway that they are moving away from the country rock that they’re known for to a more mainstream, coherent rock sound.

Songs were split fairly evenly between the bands’ 2022 album ‘Chaos is Calling’ and the ‘Live in Europe’ release of 2024 and still with the previous line-up. Overall, the latter songs were more rock oriented than the ‘Chaos is Calling’ songs but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re better . . . just different, as the band has evolved and moved in a new direction. A direction that, I think, is much more suited to them as a band. A few songs haven’t yet appeared on any firm release but the band have promised a new album in 2026 with their new sound front and centre.

Rhi Hill swears a lot, apologised to her dad for swearing a lot then went on to swear a lot more. She’s a proper chatterbox when she gets going and the songs were interspersed with various stories . . and saying ‘fuck’ a lot!

The crowd loved her, and the whole band, who never stand still – apart from Loz, the drummer, stranded behind his Perspex sound cage and presumably nailed to his stool.

The band went through 12 songs before the four-song encore before which they never left the stage! The band have evolved, moved on from the personnel changes and have emerged a better sounding rock entity, one which WILL evolve further as they push themselves onwards and upwards.

Setlist:

Climbing

Dead Man Walking

No Way Out

Chaos is Calling

One Way Ticket

Monster

Hit Me Again

Scorned

Save Your Whiskey

Play the Game

Come Back Better

Haunt Me

Encore (without leaving the stage):

Demons

Go 4 Blood

Try

Farewell

The crowd disperse, but only as far as the merch table where the band were happy to sign goodies. A very good night of rock music was had and Kira Mac will go far as they continue to push themselves. Stay tuned in folks!

My thanks to TM & techie Matt Culpepper for the passes.

Photo’s and words: Reg Richardson