Watching Over Me

Second visit to the Tivoli in as many days, this time to see Kris Barras Band. As predicted yesterday, there were a lot more people in and no chance of standing at the front. The support act was a band called Dea Matrona - a couple of girls from Belfast who played a very good bluesy set.
We first saw Kris Barras about five years ago when he supported Beth Hart. It was an acoustic set that night but I saw the full electric set a month or so later and was hooked. We’ve seen him a few times since and he just gets better each time.
An interesting character - despite learning to play the guitar aged five and performing in his dad’s band from the age of nine, most of his adult career was spent as an MMA fighter. He did return to music after retiring from fighting but, sadly, before he started to make a name for himself, his father passed away after a short illness. It is a regret that his dad never saw his success, but he wrote the song “Watching Over Me” as a tribute to him. When I first heard him play it, my own father had just died so I definitely related to the lyrics. Last night he made the number an extended highlight of the set featuring some blistering solos.
Definitely a band on the up and one worth seeing if you get a chance.