Nashville’s Ace Monroe was in Raleigh, North Carolina on May 16, 2024 at Bowstring Pizza and Brewyard. It was an outdoor show at about 7:00 in the evening so the sun was still (somewhat) blazin.’ The guys hit the stage and started to garner the attention of quite a few who were there to watch their Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup playoffs on tv. The band was opening up for Tyler Bryant and The Shakedown on a handful of dates. To me, this is the perfect combination based on their musical styles. As with Bryant, Ace Monroe is more about substance than style. These guys bring an old school, 70’s vibe rock and roll to the stage but with a dash of 80’s “non-hairbands” such as Tesla. Their set is blistering hot full of sick riffage from the dual guitar attack of Josh Alfano and Jack Kaiser and a killer vocal delivery/stage presence from frontman Robbie Dylan. The guys also threw in a few covers during their set including an interesting mix of choices going with Cheap Trick, Sam and Dave and their familiar closer of The Rolling Stones. Yet another band that you really need to go see live because they will have you singing their praises, if you’re not already, for a long time to come.

Review & pix by I’m Music Magazine Owner/Editor Johnny Price