Review by Peter Coates

ERIC GALES – A TRIBUTE TO LJK
(Artone Label Group / Provogue)
Release: 24^th Oct 2025
Digital Release: 29^th August 2025

Once again produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith, A Tribute to LJK finds Eric Gales delivering a tribute to his fabled older brother Manuel, also known as Little Jimmy King, to try and keep his memory alive and real, through a bunch of LJK’s original songs. Manuel had a great career in his short time here, with Albert King and Little Jimmy King & the Memphis Soul Survivors.

Review and live photos by Peter Coates

FM – BROTHERHOOD

Released 5^th Sept 2025

Frontiers Records

Having been a fan of this UK melodic rock band from the very start, when Chris and Steve Overland brothers launched their band WILDLIFE, which after two albums then flipped into FM, with the ex-Samson  rhythm section of Pete Jupp (Drums) and Merv Goldsworthy (Bass) joining Chris and Steve O, picking up keyboard whizz Didge Digital along the way, and premiering in the UK at the Marquee in 1985.

Golden Guitar and CMC Award Winner Christie Lamb follows the release of her ARIA #1 and Golden Guitar Top Five Highest Selling Album Truth, with her sequential new album Dare.

Review and photos by Peter Coates – https://www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

As the PR blurb states – Rules are to be broken. Expectations are there to be defined, and glass ceilings are there to be shattered. 

Having spent the past decade carving out her own unique space in the male-dominated world of blues-rock, Texas guitarist Ally Venable’s combative sixth album, Money & Power, demands more of both – for herself, for women around the world, and for anyone else who thought they weren’t worthy of a seat at the table.

“I hope these songs allow people to see into my life in a vulnerable way and hold a strong perspective that empowers women and breaks the glass ceiling.”

Review by Peter Coates

One of the most formidable guitarists of her generation, Samantha Fish deals in her own unmatched brand of bravado, bringing both mind-blowing power and extraordinary emotionality to everything she creates.

Review and live photos by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

WALTER TROUT – BROKEN 
PROVOGUE RECORDS / MASCOT LABEL GROUP
Release Date – 1^st March 2024

All of us are broken. But no-one is beyond repair. It’s a philosophy that Walter Trout has lived by during seven volatile decades at the heart of America’s society and blues-rock scene. Even now, with the world more fractured than ever – by politics, economics, social media and culture wars – the fabled US bluesman’s latest album, Broken, chronicles the bitter schisms of modern life but refuses to succumb to them.

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

BEX MARSHALL – FORTUNA

Released – 1^st March 2024
Dixie Frog Records

The long-awaited studio album from Bex Marshall, Fortuna, is a ten-track blues tapestry that bulges to the edges with addictive hooks and story lines. Bex is a writer of notability, she pushes the boundaries of blues and weaves the genre in and out of blues, funk, rock, and Americana.

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

JACK J HUTCHINSON
BATTLES
Release – 6^th Feb 2024

London-based guitarist / vocalist Jack J Hutchinson has continued to develop his hard-hitting blues-laden hard rock style over the past 5 years, and has followed up the epic The Hammer Falls record from 2021 with an altogether classier collection – just as heavy, and with riffs to burn, but seemingly a little more polished around the rougher edges.

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

PALACE OF THE KING
FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES

Released – 14^th December
Reckless Records

Australian hard rockers, Palace Of The King, have marked the end of a triumphant decade filled with multiple European tours as headliners and guests with the mighty Airbourne, three visits to the USA, and relentless touring across Australia as headliners and alongside iconic acts such as Rose Tattoo, The Angels, The Screaming Jets, Baby Animals, The Tea Party, Endless Boogie, Kingswood, The Quireboys, and many more.