Red Reign's melodic power hard rock opens for Nazareth

Red Reign, a band of four melodic power hard rockers from Richmond, Virginia, is coming to Brown County Music Center on May 15.

The band worked with Grammy Award-nominated multi-platinum producer David Ivory (Halestorm, Silvertide, The Roots, Patti Labelle) on their 2021 self-titled EP and again on their full-length "Don’t Look Back" (October 2023).

Famous guitarist George Lynch (Dokken and Lynch Mob) plays on the track "Don't Look Back."

Red Reign opens for Scottish hard rock band Nazareth at the Brown County Music Center. Nazareth caught global attention in the 1970s. Along with successful originals, "Hair of the Dog" (1975), was their first big hit album and included a version of "Love Hurts," to happy acclaim.

Opportunity brings Red Reign, Nazareth in concert together

Red Reign and Nazareth started touring together after Red Reign's booking agent and publicist seized the opportunity.

"We're not heavy metal," said Red Reign drummer and cofounder Sammy Lee. "(Our genre's) a little bit of a misconception. I stole the term 'power rock band' from David Lee Roth, because I love Van Halen." Roth is an American rock singer, with a highly dynamic stage personality. He was the lead vocalist for the hard rock band Van Halen, although they dispersed four years ago.

Red Reign has built a bridge of sound linking the '80s with today. Singer/guitarist Carlton “Bubba” McMichael, guitarist Stevie Shred, bassist Larry Moore and drummer Lee previously performed or toured with popular musicians including Dokken, Extreme, Jackyl, Lita Ford and Tesla.

Red Reign's album "Don’t Look Back" offers 10 tracks. Some of the band's favorites are the single “Don’t Look Back,” with its guest appearance from guitarist Lynch and “Here I Am” and “No Peace, No Love,” which has grabbed more than 120,000 views on YouTube.

“Here I Am” is about mental health. Red Reign wants no one to feel isolated with depression and anxiety. In addition, some of their newest material reflects the misery of COVID-19.

"Like everybody else, COVID really pushed us back," Lee said.

Van Halen attracted Lee's attention when he was 10. "I saw an interview with them on MTV," he said. "They are a power rock band. I added the 'melodic' to what we call our sound (to make it 'melodic power hard rock' music)."

Or you can simply call the Red Reign vibe "Red Reign: American rock and roll," a phrase Lee added to a promotional T-shirt.

What Lee really desires is Van-Halen-like audiences. "I saw a Van Halen concert in 1982 at the Hampton Coliseum (Hampton, Virginia). It seats about 10,000 people. That's want I want."

"If you can go onstage and sell something that people have never heard before and they really like it, that's an addictive drug."

Lee said McMichael does most of the songwriting, much of which is a tribute to multiple genres and eras, particularly Motown, '80s and '70s. Lee and McMichael founded Red Reign, and all four musicians are the original members.

"If we get together in a room and something sounds good we use it," Lee said.

More music on stage: Cosmic Songwriter Festival includes national, area musicians on stage together

What will the audience experience?

“Playing live shows is what we love," said drummer Lee over the phone. "'Don’t Look Back' made it to the Top 100 ADA/WMG Amazon sales."

A couple of things Lee has heard fans say are, "Finally, a new band that is doing music right. It's refreshing to hear good old rock and roll."

The men will play one song from an old EP, then the rest will be from the new "Don't Look Back" LP.

By the way, Red Reign never does covers, only original music.

Don't be deceived, just because the members wear black leather, Lee said. They do have softer sides. The look, however, is important to Lee.

Lee told the band members: "We're not only going to sound like a band, we're going to look like a band. We're going to act like it, look like it, sound like it."

All four members run to the merchandise table to greet their fans after each show. "We love meeting our fans." And that includes Lee hurrying to pack up all his drum equipment.

If you go

WHAT: Red Reign (performing before Nazareth)

WHEN: 7 p.m. May 15

WHERE: Brown County Music Center, 200 Maple Leaf Blvd., Nashville

TICKETS: Start at $25 and can be purchased online at browncountymusiccenter.com

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Red Reign performs melodic power rock ahead of Scots band Nazareth