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Brave Rival are the South East’s brand-new rip-roaring rock and blues Machine. Hailing from Portsmouth, the UK Blues Award Nominated band features the powerful and beautiful twin vocals of Chloe Josephine and Lindsey Bonnick. On lead guitar, providing dramatic guitar solos and crunching rock riffs is Ed “The Shred” Clarke. And holding it all together is the rhythmic backbone, the self-proclaimed engine room of Billy Dedman (bass) and Donna Peters (drums).

Drawing influence from the likes of John Mayer, Aretha Franklin, Heart, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and Tedeschi Trucks, Brave Rival offer a style and sound that you’ve always known, and yet never heard before.

Since their inception in the summer of 2019, Brave Rival have gone from strength to strength, featuring in Raw Ramp Magazine as one of the 'Top 20 Bands To Watch In 2020' and nominated for 'Breakthrough Act 2019' by Get Ready To Rock Radio.

At the turn of the decade, hot off the heels from supporting blues rock giants such as Stevie Nimmo and The Billy Walton Band, Brave Rival captured their raw energy live by recording their headline set to a gracious sold-out audience at Hook’s famous Echo Hotel Music Club. This fabulous set of early material was quickly released to critical acclaim as their first Live Album ‘Brave Rival Live at the Echo Hotel Music Club’. Keeping the momentum going, a Kickstarter was launched for their first studio album with the target easily reached by their loyal fanbase with time to spare. It was then time to repay that loyalty with a studio album. Little did they know however, that the world was about to change forever.

With the pandemic putting the brakes on recording plans, Brave Rival spent much of the UK Lockdowns writing new material via the power of Zoom calls and Google drive. The abundance of material produced served them well for the eventual recording of their debut album in the summer of 2021. Recorded at The Mayfair Studio in the picturesque Surrey countryside with producer/seducer Tarrant Shepherd at their side, Brave Rival’s highly anticipated debut album “Life’s Machine” arrived on May 6th 2022 to critical acclaim. Emerging Rocks Bands Magazine said it best when they described the album as “Boss blues energy from start to finish”. Similarly, Powerplay Magazine finished their ten out of ten review by saying that “Brave Rival have unleashed one lean, mean and well oiled machine!”

Tipped as one of Joe Bonamassa’s “favourite discoveries this year” the future is looking incredibly bright for this young up and coming band. A successful set on the introducing stage at the 2022 Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival in Skegness saw them win the competition, securing a deserved place on the main stage in 2023. The relentless gigging and hard work in 2021 has also paid off for the band with a UK Blues Award Nomination for Best Emerging Blues Band.

Brave Rival are a band on a meteoric rise, firing on all cylinders and are about to take the world by storm. Their unique combination of beautifully harmonic, soulful vocals, epic guitar solos, pounding drums and powerful bass serves up an infectious sound that is not to be missed.


Iron Maiden Founder and Bassist, Steve Harris and David Smith grew up and lived a short distance from each other in East London - Steve in Steele Road E11 and David in Downsell Road E15 and importantly both went to the same School (Leyton County High School for Boys).

Steve and David became good friends and when they left school (in 1973), with both a passion for West Ham United FC and prog and rock music, they decided to form a band. David then helped Steve choose his first bass (a Fender Telecaster Bass copy and then a Danelectro ‘Longhorn’ bass like Rinus Gerritsen (the bassist in Golden Earring).

Determined to be a hard rocking band, they soon found the fantastic drummer Paull Sears (who was a friend of a bloke David worked with) and vocalist Bob Verschoyle (another school friend of Steve) to join the fledgling outfit.

They formed Influence in the autumn of 1973 and rehearsed (famously in Steve’s Nan’s Living Room and at Allan Gordon Studios in Leyton) and played to family for a few months before performing at a gig/talent contest in Poplar (organised by Dave Lights) and then their first paying gig at the Cart and Horses (in April 1974). Influence became Gypsy’s Kiss in mid 1974 adding Tim Nash as a second guitarist.

They had paying gigs mostly at the iconic Cart & Horses and the Bridge House, Canning Town, where Paul Mario Day first saw them play. Gypsy’s Kiss came to its natural end in the middle of 1975, although they still remain good friends.

David was asked to reform GK many times over the years so Maiden fans could finally hear ‘Influence’ & ‘Heat Crazed Vole’ played live and finally agreed to play Burrfest in March 2018 as a one off (including Bob Verschoyle on vocals). It went so well that they played two more gigs in 2018 (with the current line up). Overwhelmed by support from the Maiden Fan Community, they decided to do it all over again. They have gigged extensively since and have released a single and EP in 2019 and 2020 and their debut album ‘74’ released in 2021 along with a UK Tour.

The current line up is David Smith (Vocals and Guitars), Jonathan Morley (Guitars and BVs), Fraser Marr (Guitars), Ross Hunter (Keys and BVs), Robin Gatcum (Bass) and Stuart Emms (Drums).


Taking up the guitar as a teen, Troy quickly absorbed his musical influences of the early blues pioneers and the energy of the 70s and 80s rock icons. The turning point came when he discovered open tunings and slide guitar.

I immediately felt like I’d come home the moment I put a bottleneck on my finger and started playing slide, it instantly felt completely natural to me. This style of playing helped me find my true voice on the instrument.”

His talents quickly realised, he received endorsements from Ernie Ball Strings, Airline Guitars and even has his own signature glass blown slide made by world renowned slide manufacturer Diamond Bottlenecks whose roster includes the who’s who of slide guitar luminaries including the likes of Mark Knopfler.

Carving out a name for himself by relentlessly touring and blazing a trail across the main stage festival circuits in the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, and Russia, and sharing the stage with the likes of Robert Plant and Dr Feelgood, Troy has worked tirelessly to build a strong following of diehard fans who gravitate towards his passionately honest, fiery performances and visceral guitar playing.

In 2022, Troy released the album The Wings of Salvation and completed four full UK tours garnering an overwhelming response from music critics, reviewers, and fans alike. He has toured with Robert Jon & The Wreck, the Quireboys, The Sweet, and When Rivers Meet. In October the same year, he embarked on a 12-date UK tour supporting DARE.

Leading up to his 23 September 2022, release of his studio album The Wings of Salvation, Troy released three singles and accompanying music videos for “Come On,” “Gasoline,” and “Sweet Carolina,” all of which have attracted heavy radio airplay and have been featured on Joe Bonamassa’s popular Spotify playlists Cutting Edge Blues, Epic Guitar Solos, and Ultimate Blues Rock.

In November 2022, Redfern won Hard Rock Hell’s “Blues Artist of the Year” Award.

On Friday December 2nd, 2022, Troy performed at Planet Rockstock. Later in the same month, The Wings of Salvation featured in Rock and Blues Muse’s Top 25 Albums of 2022.

Troy released a brand-new single entitled “The Fever” on 11 January 2023. The single was added to Planet Rock’s playlist, making this Troy’s fourth single Planet Rock has playlisted, following hot on the heels of “Ghosts,” “Come On,” and “Sweet Carolina.”  Troy followed this with a co-headline UK tour with Canadian roots rockers, the Commoners.

In October 2023, Troy released “Getaway,” the second single taken from his forthcoming album Invocation. This was the fifth single added to Planet Rock’s playlist. Troy followed the release of the single by playing various summer festivals including Steelhouse, Maid of Stone, and headlined RAWA Festival in Poland.

In November, Troy toured the UK with guitarist Philip Sayce and played Planet Rock Radio’s Planet Rockstock Festival, followed by Planet Rock’s Blues Power “Live” concert at Dingwall’s in Camden Town, North London on December 7th.

On January 4, 2024, Troy released the single “The Strange” taken from his new album Invocation released 17 May 2024. The single was “Track of the Week” on Planet Rock’s Blues Power Show. “The Strange” and ‘Van Helsing’ also won Tracks of the Week on Classic Rock’s Louder Sound website.


Carrying glowing endorsements and reviews from Dave Ling (Classic Rock) – “Immensely promising quartet playing a confident, summery, sometimes funk-fuelled style that will leave you grinning from ear to ear” and Rob Evans (Powerplay Rock & Metal) – “The best independent album I’ve heard this year”, This House We Built are already on rock solid foundations on which to build a successful career in the music scene.

The real bricks and mortar of the band are a heady mix of bands from England’s Scarborough Strip (think Sunset Strip but with less debauchery, more chips and an untapped resource of talent since five Little Angels flew big in 88’). Players Scott Wardell (vocals guitar), Andy Jackson (guitars vocals), Chris Mayes (drums vocals) and Wayne Dowkes White (bass) finally came together just prior to the world shutting down in 2020. Rather than dwell on not being able to bring their collective talents to the stage, they started the socially distanced writing sessions that bought the plot for the house they were about to build. Each man brought a different musical path to the band, and you can hear them all as the album unfolds. Eclectic influences ranging from classic rock, funk, emo, nu-metal and melodic rock are mixed perfectly across the ten songs and brick by harmony laden brick they build a unique sound that transcends all of the aforementioned genres.

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