Rock Regeneration

May29

Stone Angels / Mikey Ball and The Company / Shae Ray-Deane

on May 29th, 2025 at 14:38

Lighthouse Poole

Hangover Hill Presents Live & Unheard

Live and Unheard May 2025 had a real buzz of excitement this month and that was reflected in the ticket sales. The Sherling Studio foyer was busy and the queue for the bar slightly longer than usual. The doors opened to a surge of keen gig goers, ready for what the bands had to offer. Presented by Matt Black and Mel Payn (so much easier to spell) of Hangover Hill records, and hosted this week by Matt himself; Live and Unheard turned out to be the one that if you didn’t go, you’d be sorry you missed it!

I first met Shae Ray Deane at the OMA’s back in January where he was nominated in the best under 18 category, so to see him perform was a real treat. For someone this young you could have forgiven him some nerves had he shown any. In this MTV unplugged-esque studio, the audience is up close (you can see them) but from the minute he walked on and took off his shoes, he was confident, talked to the audience with ease and made it all look effortless.

Shae Ray-Deane 1–2–3–4–5–6

In a style made popular by Ed Sheeran, Shae quickly showed himself to be a master of the loop pedal, it soon became apparent why the shoes had to come off. So many layers to record and buttons to press! He started with a song called “Obsession” which came in two parts. Next came “Love Yourself Always” which had a very strong 60’s vibe, showing the versatility of his sound. Think Teen Angel and songs of the like but with a fresh approach, harmonious self-recorded backing vocals and some great guitar picking all on the loop. “Isn’t it Strange” which is on Spotify, almost felt like a call and response with himself in some parts, mirrored by the way he moved from side to side around the microphone. This was followed by “Empty Words for now”, his self-described brilliant attempt at rapping.

“When She Said I’ll Stay” was dedicated to a young lady in the room and as he said, it spoke for itself. All too soon we were at the 6th promised last song. We were being treated to a never heard before song called “White Noise” which was a build-up of a few layers of vocal, percussion drumbeats and guitar riffs until they all became the ‘white noise’ behind the main vocal which was strong and rich. Like many of the songs played, the repetitive nature of the loop made it quite hypnotic and its end whilst not sudden, felt like it came to soon. It’s a cliché to say it but I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Shae.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Mikey in various settings recently, a recent battle of the band’s final with Kingsfoil, playing solo at Teddy Rocks and now in a band where he and his band’s creativity are up front and on show. We were promised high energy and from the minute they stepped out, we were blown away with an explosion of fabulous noise. With a line-up of drums and four guitars we were promised Rock, and we got it. Starting with “Burning All Night” which sounded like a rallying call to us to join in, a strong rhythmic beat got the set going. It asks did you find what you wanted…. and from the first song onwards, I think we did.

Between getting us to sing along and throwing out sweets to the crowd, some minor tech issues with drums and broken strings, the show went on and we were treated to the first song of the last album “The Morning”, followed by “Bury My Love” – one of two songs they have released this year. This one was anthem-like with a strong persistent drum beat throughout. The audience were invited to clap along which just added to the beat of the song. “King of the Lonely Throne” was announced as the big romantic piece and soon had me swaying to the Prince-style lead guitar, cutting through the angst-ridden lyrics.

Mikey Ball And The Company 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9

Sadly, we got to the last song all too soon. After audience participation between the left and right, “One More Night” had a beat reminiscent of a heartbeat; had a classic key change mid-song, a great solo by Chris on lead guitar before the rest of the band jumped back in and finished the set. It did leave us feeling like we’d like to steal one more night with this band.

Reminding me of bands from my formative years, Mikey’s vocal has hints of so many; Bryan Adams through to Springsteen, his voice is strong and gruff and blends perfectly with the strong guitar solos and backing. It was an energetic ride, a bass player that didn’t stop moving all night and with triple guitaring like the early Iron Maiden sets. Loads of banter and fun as the band have a great chemistry together, I think they enjoyed it as much as we did.

After a short break we were introduced to Stone Angels and the Rock got heavier, this four-piece band from Brighton took us to the next level. Influenced by the Rock bands of the 60’s and 70’s, they draw on many different styles but at their core are a hard-hitting Rock band. They are made up of Niall Kersey on lead vocal and guitar, James Innis on lead guitar, Sam Sayers on Bass and Loz Ford on drums.

On the start of “Lines in the Sand” James was already on the move around the stage, if you turn up with a red glitter guitar and light up shoes, you have to be able to back that up and he did. With moves straight out of the Angus Young guitar manual, he pulled most of the classic rock poses throughout the night to back up his sharp playing. That’s not to say the rest of the band were static, not so; with them all physically giving it their all, drummer included and I noticed he sang every word to himself back there whilst his shoe-less feet worked the pedals. Niall remained relatively still whilst delivering the lyrics, but joined in the motion when the guitars took over. From “Lines…” we went straight into “Where the Crows Fly”.

Stone Angels 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9

“Gambler” followed. A fast paced, machine gun drum-heavy beat which I’ve since learnt is inspired by Loz’s career as a professional gambler. Mid-set, “Halfway to Nowhere” gave us a slower pace and a chance to catch our breath before the highly charged “Devils Child”. We then went back in time to “Can You?”, the first song they put out on their previous album, “Give in to Temptation” . Culminating in the question, have you forgotten me? Not likely.

Back to the new album, they then switched into the slower beat of “Western Dream”, a song posing the questions about the desirability of living in the Western world, with the inspirational message that if we love one another and we rock, we can do this! “Too true. Last Goodbyes” drew us into a slower pace again before a big finish finale of “Fantasy”. Straight into multiple guitar riffs backed by fast paced drumming, this ended a fabulous night of original music. This band have spent time on their second album and the quality of the songs shines through. A beautiful mix of Heavy Rock, balanced with some less heavy, more melodious tracks. As has been said elsewhere, Niall’s vocal is matched perfectly to the musicianship of this band.

The point was made tonight that it’s much harder for bands singing original songs to get any traction in our current music industry, let alone make money from it. Events like “Live and Unheard” support those bands and bring new music to those of us lucky enough to get there every month. If you’ve ever thought of trying it and didn’t, come. It makes a difference.

Now Live and Unheard is dishing up another evening of delight with Phil Ireland, Reid Hillwood and Gumjuaka. Get your tickets early as this musical event is becoming a date in more people’s diaries each month that passes. Buy your tickets early so you don’t miss out, they can be purchased here.

Set Lists
Stone Angels
Lines in The Sand
Where the Crows Fly
Gambler
Hold On
Devils Grip
Supercharged
Halfway to Nowhere
Devils Child
Can you?
Western Dreams
Over the Edge
Last Goodbyes
Fantasy

Mikey Ball and the Company
Burning All Night
Misunderstood
Runnin’
The Morning
Bury My Love
Pressure
Long Gone Love
Back Again
King of the Lonely Throne
One More Night

Shae Ray-Deane
Obsession
Love Yourself
Isn’t it Strange
Empty Words for Now
When She Said I’ll Stay
White noise

Videos