On Monday, July 21, 2025, the LAV - Lisboa ao Vivo was the stage for the North American band Dirty HoneyThe Portuguese band The Bateleurs helped to liven up the evening. It was a magical and spectacular evening and we were there to report on everything that happened. Our thanks to House of Fun.
The Bateleurs
Those who were there on time at 9pm certainly didn't regret it, the Portuguese band The Bateleurs entered the stage and didn't leave a soul at LAV without a reaction. With Sandrine Orsini's haunting vocals and a band of the highest caliber, it was easy for the band to tame the crowd that arrived and more and more gathered in front of the stage.
Their vintage energy and authentic blues-rock sound is extremely captivating, largely due to the quality of the musicians present and Sandrine's vocal ability, which is simply brutal. The band are preparing to release their next album, due out in mid-November. Until then keep your ears peeled for what they're doing, you won't regret it.
DIRTY HONEY
Considered one of the strongest revelations in rock today, Dirty Honey brought their 2023 studio album Can't Find The Brakes and their live album Mayhem and Revelry Live released at the beginning of 2025 to the stage, and from the very first chords you could feel the band's energy and connection with the audience that already occupied a large part of the LAV.
The first riffs of "California Dreamin'" were enough to transform the room into an authentic ritual of energy and liberation. Dirty Honey gave a firm, cohesive performance with no dead moments. Frontman Marc LaBelle commands the show with a natural charisma and a voice that never fails to be powerful, just the right amount of dirty and full of feeling, very reminiscent of a meeting between Robert Plant and the fictional band Stillwater (from the movie Almoust Famous). John Notto's guitar playing was one of the highlights of the night, with solos full of guts and riffs capable of setting any rock fan on fire, he was a show apart, and we have to mention the perfect cooking of bassist Justin Smolian and the band's newest member, drummer Jaydon Bean.
The line-up mixed tracks from their latest album Can't Find The Brakes, such as "Won't Take Me Alive" and "Dirty Mind", with classics from their early releases such as "Rolling 7s", "Heartbreaker" and the unforgettable "Another Last Time", which was sung at the top of its lungs by the audience in an intense and emotional communion. Another highlight was the hit "When I'm Gone", which recently gained prominence in the blockbuster movie Minecraft, winning over younger fans.
The great thing is that the band doesn't need a big production, no pyrotechnics or exaggerated visual spectacles, just talented musicians doing what they do best, although simple, it was effective in serving exactly what the band's proposal demands: authenticity and rock "n" roll. And the audience recognized this with enthusiasm, applause and a collective energy that certainly transformed LAV. Few Mondays are as powerful as this one, and those who saw it certainly left feeling fulfilled and with a lot of positivity to face the rest of the week.
Artists: Dirty Honey
English 
Portuguese