Dirty Honey has been on one helluva crusade to save rock and roll in their short time together. To say that the results have been impressive would be an understatement. The band became the first unsigned band to go all the way to #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart with their very first single, “When I’m Gone.”  The band also saw its debut full-length album score the #2 spot on the Current Hard Rock Albums chart, #4 on the Current Independent Albums chart, and #5 on the Current Rock Albums chart.  All without the support of a major label. 

Their live shows are full of old school rock and swaggah with a dash of funk. A Dirty Honey show will leave you out of breath and sweaty. It’s like having sex, but with your clothes on. Lead vocalist Mark LaBelle has a captivating quality to his vocal delivery that commands your attention. Speaking of attention, the guys have been getting just that from music fans and established artists as well. The Black Crowes invited the guys out on their “Shake You Money Maker 2021 Tour.” With Dirty Honey, they deliver a headlining performance even though they are listed in the opening slot. We had a chance to catch the guys in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 11 at the Coastal Credit Union Music Park. It can be a tough spot to be an opener on a tour like this, but these guys seize that opportunity unlike any band that I’ve seen in a very long time. 

They took to the stage to their tune “Gypsy” with the sun glaring in their faces and a steady stream of people still entering the venue. One cool thing that I noticed around the small but energetic crowd that was already there was the number of Dirty Honey t-shirts in the audience. Lead vocalist LaBelle even made mention of it during their performance. The band didn’t waste time between songs as they continued to hit the audience with one after another. “Break You” was followed by “The Morning” and then a smokin’ cover of Aerosmith’s “Last Child” which we saw them perform a few months back on Amazon Original from the RCA Studios Session. The live version has a bad-ass raw feeling to it and the guys absolutely killed it! “The Wire” and their latest single “California Dreamin” were there as well as “The Last Time” which saw LaBelle jump into the pit and walk along the railing on the front row surprising the fans. “When I’m Gone” and “Rollin’ 7s” closed out the show and the guys received a thunderous standing ovation. These guys are truly the real deal! They came out there with their logo backdrop, their instruments and some damn solid musicianship. They also have a quality to them that some people call the X-factor. It’s something that you can’t teach, they either have it or they don’t. The greats in music history have had it and it made them stand head and shoulders above everyone else. These boys most certainly have it.

I was in the audience watching the show after taking pictures in the pit for the first three songs and I noticed something very interesting but not that shocking. There were plenty of Dirty Honey t-shirts in the audience, so the band had some support there. The crowd grew quite a bit by the end of their set with everyone around that amphitheater clapping and cheering along. That standing ovation wasn’t done out of politeness. Those guys won this Black Crowes crowd over and in a major way. I went by the merch booth after their set and CDs, signed vinyl and Dirty Honey t-shirts were selling like crazy! As with every stop of this tour, they won over so many people! These folks went from “Dirty who?” to “I love me some Dirty f’n Honey!”

By I’m Music Magazine Owner/Editor Johnny Price