Review: Smith/Kotzen – Black Light/White Noise Tour, Support – Kris Barras
Rock City, Nottingham (February 12th, 2026)
Photographer / Reviewer – Dan Mann
A soggy Thursday night, but with two excellent bands to see it should be peachy? Well, a combination of road works, slow drivers etc meant that unfortunately I only caught the end of Kris Barras‘ set. I’ve seen / photographed Kris Barras & Co on numerous occasions, and if there’s one common denominator, it’s you always get a full on, entertaining set. I defy anyone not to, at the very least, tap their foot throughout their set.
Still, at least I caught a couple of songs, which certainly lightened my mood!
Kris Barras
Onto the main course. I’ve seen Richie Kotzen & Adrian Smith either, in the case of Richie, solo, or with The Winery Dogs, and Adrian with of course Iron Maiden (my better half who was with me had seen him quite a few times with Urchin), but had never managed, until tonight, to see them perform together as of course Smith/Kotzen!
Did I enjoy their set? Duh…damn right I did. A real joy to finally hear the songs live, with some new material thrown in for good measure. It was very much a relaxed approach on stage, well lets face it, neither Richie nor Adrian have anything to prove. Richie‘s other half, Julia Lage (Vixen) was on bass duties, and a youthful Bruno Valerde on drums supplying the ‘engine room’, complimenting, rather than overshadowing anything.
Finishing off the set with a firm favorite of mine (and my wife’s) ‘Wasted Years‘, which was in every sense, the icing on the cake. A fantastic evening of music for the soul, giving an especially welcome lift during the current constantly wet & grey weather.
Setlist:
Life Unchained
Black Light
Wraith
Glory Road
Hate & Love
Blindsided
Taking My Chances
Outlaw
Darkside
Got A Hold
White Noise Scars
Running
Solar Fire
Encore
You Can’t Save Me
Wasted Years
©All photographs are copyright of Dan Mann – RPR Photography. They may not be altered or used without express permission.