Review: Dirty Honey Rocks Mobile

Who: Dirty Honey

Where: Soul Kitchen, Mobile, Alabama

When: June 12, 2021

Dirty Honey is on the road for a three-week club tour before joining The Black Crowes in July for the “Shake Your Money Maker 2021 Tour”. The tour has the band playing in 16 cities during the month of June. It started on June 3^rd in Tempe, Arizona and concludes on June 24th in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A June 12^th stop brought the band to the Soul Kitchen in Mobile, Alabama.

Some bands take years to develop a following but for Dirty Honey success has come quickly. The L.A. based blues rock band was formed in 2017 by Marc LaBelle (vocals), John Notto (guitars), Justin Smolian (bass), and Corey Coverstone (drums). Within two years the band was opening for acts such as the Who, Guns N Roses, Slash, Skillet and Alterbridge. Their first EP, Dirty Honey, released in 2019 produced the Billboard Mainstream Rock #1 song “When I’m Gone” and the #3 song “Rolling 7s”.

Dirty Honey plays Soul Kitchen in Mobile

It’s been over a year since the band has played live shows due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During the shutdown they were able to record their debut album, Dirty Honey, in 2020 which was released in April of this year. This tour is the first opportunity for the band to play these songs in front of a live audience. “We’re all so excited to play shows again, share some music with the world, see some fans, and find out how well we can play our new music,” says LaBelle. “And that we’re going on tour with The Black Crowes is just beyond amazing… we really can’t wait.”

On this night in Mobile, Alabama, Dirty Honey was the headliner with Joyous Wolf opening. The band was met by roaring cheers from a full house as they walked onto the stage. They oozed rock aura right away with their physical appearance. Labelle was wearing his Nick Fouquet wide brim felt hat and tweed jacket, while Notto and Smolina were dressed in black leather jackets and sunglasses.

We live in a society of extremes with music being no different. Most artists are seem to be either on the pop/hip hop side of the musical spectrum or on the hard/metal side. Dirty Honey lies in the middle with its brand of classic blues-based rock and that’s what they brought right from the start. The band jumped right into it with “Gypsy” with LaBelle’s voice bringing reminiscences of Robert Plant or Steven Tyler. Stripped down, bare bones rock-n-roll was the theme of the night. Sound not laden with special effects, but instead filled with skilled guitar work by Notto and earth shattering vocals by LaBelle.

The band continued their set with songs from their debut EP and album. LaBelle consistently displayed pitch soaring vocals while Notto cranked out guitar solo after solo on his Les Paul. Coverstone kept the band in time with his drum playing while Smolian’s bass playing kept the groove going. The band’s enthusiasm throughout the night showed how glad they were to be back performing live and fans reciprocated with enthusiasm of their own. The show closed with the crowd singing along to the hits “When I’m Gone” and “Rolling 7s”.

This was the second time that I have seen Dirty Honey live. They are a dynamic band in the vein of Aerosmith, AC/DC and Guns-n-Roses. If you are fan of either of these bands, then Dirty Honey is definitely a band you will want to see. There is still plenty of time to see the band. They are continuing their club tour through the rest of this month before joining The Black Crowes tour in July.

Set List