Who are you?
Chloe – “We are Brave Rival. A 5 piece rock band from Portsmouth. We are unique in that we feature two strong front women, a queen on the drum throne, a rip roaring shredder on lead guitar and a hairy beast on the bass. Together we make loud powerful blues infused rock music with epic harmonies and huge riffs!”
Roll Call?
Lindsey – “We have three women and two men. Chloe is our sassy soul sister with pipes like Aretha. She is the ying to my yang as I also sing and front the band alongside her. We have been singing together for 11 years now and we just love it. It feels like magic every time we sing together. Donna plays the drums with passion and precision like no other and the first person to really spark my song-writing passion. Ed ‘The Shred’ Clarke handles lead guitar duties with ferocity and finesse. And finally, holding it all together, our Billy Dedman grooves like a bad-ass on the bass guitar filling in that bottom end.”
Hailing from?
Billy – “We’re from Portsmouth on the south coast of England. Historically a sailors town and once considered the world’s greatest naval port. We’re proud to be part of a vibrant live music scene here, having taken part in the annual Icebreaker festival and Victorious, with Chloe being born and raised in Portsmouth too. Being on the south coast doesn’t stop us getting about though, even if Aberdeen is basically the furthest we can go in this United Kingdom of ours, we will travel it! No distance is too great or small.”
Journey so far?
Donna – “The band originally started as an acoustic folk trio with myself on guitar and Chloe and Lindsey singing. After writing and playing at open mics around Portsmouth, it became obvious that the songs deserved a bigger sound, and so the Brave Rival journey began. It really boosted my confidence as a writer to give this band a proper go and to start it as a guitarist was something I never thought I’d be able to do. I love playing guitar but I had to get back behind my drum throne – it’s my happy place. Our original band line up featured Billy on bass, a keyboardist, a slide guitar player and a saxophonist all based in Portsmouth. All great players but we just hadn’t got the right recipe yet. Eventually the line up settled when Ed joined us in the summer of 2019 playing his first gig with us at Victorious Festival.”
Chloe – “The perfect line up was found and we have not looked back since. In 2020 & 2021 we navigated through the pandemic to write and record our debut album which we then toured up and down the country when the world opened back up again. We performed numerous headline shows as well as supporting some amazing artists like Elles Bailey, Dan Patlansky, Kingfish, Cardinal Black and FM. Not to mention numerous festivals and most recently our first European Tour in March 2024. What a fun and busy time it’s been!”
Influences/sound?
Ed – “So many to draw from. We are influenced and referenced by 70s rock titans like Zeppelin, Heart and Fleetwood Mac but diving deeper, we each bring our own flavour. Chloe loves soul music channelling Aretha in her vocal style with Carole King’s song-writing flair. Lindsey draws vocal influence from Karen Carpenter and Susan Tedeschi but also worships Bon Jovi and metal. I grew up at the altar of Slash and Guns and Roses but I also love artists like John Mayer and Chris Buck of Cardinal Black. I really enjoy melodic solos that have light and shade, which these artists inspire me with. Billy is a huge Zeppelin nerd but will also be found blasting punk like Amyl and the Sniffers. Donna loves the 80s and her musical taste is very vast including Gary Moore, Heart, Bon Jovi and Sheryl Crow. These are all bands and artists that you wouldn’t necessarily put together but their DNA flows through everything we do, giving us the unique sound we have.”
Biggest gig/proudest moment to date?
Lindsey – “Our biggest headline show to date was our end of year Christmas show at the Wedgewood rooms in our hometown of Portsmouth last year. It was the culmination of a year of non-stop gigging so it felt special. It was a really proud moment for us to look out at a room full of people there to see us. We had to pinch ourselves multiple times. We built this!”
Chloe – “We also played some amazing festivals last year with Maid of Stone being a particularly amazing highlight. We took our first steps abroad with a festival in Norway which was an incredible experience. Looking out of the balcony overlooking the sea after our set was something I’ll never forget. The inner child in me felt in awe of what we had achieved. Some of the proudest moments aren’t necessarily the gigs, it can just be seeing the connection between our wonderful fans at shows or online that we lovingly call Bravians. We now have over 100 patrons which we are really proud of because it means that all of these Bravians believe in us as much as we do. We are getting closer and closer to becoming full time and it’s down to this growing loyal fanbase that it is achievable. Huge pride right there.”
What does the future hold for you?
Billy – “WEMBLEY! Haha you gotta dream big right? In the near future however, we will be releasing our second studio album, Fight of Flight on 16th August 2024. We spent most of last year writing songs for this album and we cannot wait to take this album on the road this autumn. We are planning a big UK tour to promote it. It feels like we have an army of Bravians behind us on this album because we ran a fundraiser to make this album and we had a basic album goal and a dream album goal and our fans helped us raise enough funds to create our dream album. We recorded 15 songs (3 will be bonus songs released later down the line) and we had the chance to put strings on some songs which I’m not ashamed to admit, reduced me to tears on first listen.”
Lindsey – “Be sure to keep an eye on our website and socials for more details! We’ll also be releasing music videos and brand-new merchandise designed by the brilliant Alice Armstrong and myself. In between gigs, we’ve already started writing material for album three because we feel closer than ever as a team. We’re in full creative flow and we’re ready to give this year all we have got! I bloody love this band.”
Brave Rivals latest single ‘Five Years On’ (released May 3rd) is first track to be released from the new album; a riff-tastic country/blues rock jam about feeling on top of the world. Celebrating the 5-year anniversary of the band, this driving rock classic encompasses their name – brave and we are ready to take on the next 5 years! The single will be accompanied by a music video filmed at the band’s biggest headline show to date, the Wedgewood Rooms last Christmas!
Interview by Viki Ridley
Photo Credit: Rob Blackham
