Devon-based hard rock heavyweights Kris Barras Band have announced their first UK tour in almost two years in October 2026. 2026 marks a strong comeback for KBB, with their new album “Monsters We Made” dropping on August 14th, 2026, via Earache Records.
KBB are joined on the Monsters We Made tour by special guests 10 Years. The Knoxville, Tennessee natives’ trademark melodic alternative metal has dominated US rock radio for decades. Last seen in the UK with Three Days Grace in 2022, 10 Years are currently touring the US with Mammoth, before heading to Europe with Black Stone Cherry and then the UK with Kris Barras Band.
On the touring announcement news, Kris says:
“We are absolutely honoured to have 10 Years out with us on this run, great band, amazing songs, you are all in for a treat”.
UK Tour Dates 2026:
Wed 7th Oct – Southampton, the 1865
Thu 8th Oct – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
Fri 9th Oct – Glasgow, the Garage
Sat 10th Oct – Hull, Welly
Sun 11th Oct – Cambridge, Mash
Tue 13th Oct – London, the Garage
Wed 14th Oct – Manchester, Club Academy
Thu 15th Oct – Wolverhampton, KK’s Steelmill
Fri 16th Oct – Torquay, the Foundry
All album pre-orders made before midnight on Tuesday 12th May will be accompanied by an exclusive early pre-sale link to access tickets ahead of the crowd. Pre-sale links will land in inboxes on Wednesday 13th May and anyone who’s already pre-ordered the album will be sent one automatically. Grab yours now here.
General on-sale will be available Friday 15th May @ 10am (BST).
One of modern hard rock’s most exciting breakouts in recent years, Kris Barras Band’s 2024 album “Halo Effect” reached UK top 5 spot alongside Beyoncé and Linkin Park whilst topping the official UK Rock/Metal, Independent and Download charts! KBB are known for their hard-hitting riffs, captivating choruses and fuse-lighting technical solos.
By Kris’s own admission, however, it perhaps landed as an over-adjustment with his core fans, as he absorbed the influence of modern metal and a resurgent nu-metal scene. “Monsters We Made” is his answer to all of that. “We wanted big singalongs, big riffs, big solos”, he says. “The kind of hard rock music that belongs in arenas; dense, complex and able to energise the biggest crowds”. With guitarist/keyboardist Josiah Manning on production duties, the Devon outfit – completed by bassist Frazer Kerslake and drummer Billy Hammett – have proven more than equal to those ambitions. The self-assuredness is evident across all eleven tracks, with a band unashamed of an anthemic chorus, generous with virtuosic guitar solos and knowing when to let a heavy groove do the work. For evidence, listen to the colossal opening title track which tackles the idea of being your own worst enemy and features what Kris rightly calls “one of the best choruses I’ve ever written” or the epic ballad “Otherside”, which plucks at heartstrings and orchestral strings alike.
After an almost-unbelievable career change from pro-MMA fighter of ten years to professional musician, Barras cut his teeth in the international blues rock scene culminating in a frontman spot with supergroup Supersonic Blues Machine (featuring ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons). In the meantime, Kris Barras Band gravitated to a heavier – yet melodic – sound that has sold-out tours with Black Stone Cherry, The Darkness and Thunder at the likes of the Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Arena and Download Festival.
Earlier this year, KBB toured all corners of Europe with Adrian Smith (of Iron Maiden fame) and Ritchie Kotzen (of Poison, Mr Big and Winery Dogs) in their superb Smith/Kotzen project. The opportunity of a lifetime turned into an almost-career ending nightmare when having pushed through a tour-illness, Kris did almost-irreparable harm to his vocal chords. On doctor’s orders he had to leave the tour early, and true to the mindset of a professional fighter, Kris says “with intensive rehab I’m all healed up and singing better than ever”.
Line-up:
Kris Barras – Vocals, guitars
Josiah J. Manning – Guitars
Billy Hammett – Drums
Frazer Kerslake – Bass
Weblinks:
www.krisbarrasband.com
www.facebook.com/krisbarrasband
