John 5 + Dan Byrne – 13th October 2026

Live from The Thekla, Bristol

© Andy Balcam, Balcshootsbands

Dan Byrne is buzzing. It’s a Tuesday night, he’s standing on a stage in the hold of a boat in Bristol’s floating harbour, he’s opening up for a very unique sort of guitar god and … the place is rammed!

Having been battered on my socials by his PR machine, but never having managed to catch one of his shows, I was excited to see if he lived up to the hype and expectation.

I wasn’t disappointed.

The Mersey maestro smashed the Thekla with a hugely uplifting set featuring 7 songs from his recent debut album This Is Where The Show Begins and one from his 2025 EP Beginnings.

This is proper classic rock – big guitars, even bigger choruses, all set to a colossal powerhouse backbeat. The centrepiece though is Byrne’s voice. Effortlessly switching between soulful, bluesy Paul Rodgers purr and Ian Gillan scream Byrne has mastered the art of control – he never overdoes the pyrotechnics but is always impressive.

What’s more he can write a good tune too. From thumping opening Saviour to epic closer Death Of Me Byrne’s songs are lean, absorbing and supremely melodic.

John 5 takes the stage in almost total darkness. I’m not sure if this is an artistic statement or whether the Thekla management haven’t paid their leccy bill but I’m in the front row and I can barely see him. 

Things get a tad brighter in the second song but ‘subdued’ is about as extravagant as the light show gets tonight.

The music, however, burns incredibly bright. ‘5 is alone on the stage apart from his astonishing drummer Logan Miles Nix who clatters and crashes from behind his enormous kit completely hidden from view. All other sounds – bass, rhythm guitars and the occasional synth line – are sampled or looped.

Between them Nix and 5 create a staggering soundscape – all the more remarkable given that 5 achieves this with just a couple of pretty much flat-out EVH 5150s and a handful of Boss pedals.

It’s intense stuff, with Nix tearing around his kit like he’s on day-release from jail and 5 ripping up the fretboard in a dizzying display of dexterity and devilry. John 5 takes all the silly tricks guitar players use to amuse and show off and forges them into melodies and music pieces.

The bulk of the set is taken from brilliant 2025 album Ghost and its adventurous, breathless stuff. 666 Pickers In Hell Ca is seat-of-yer-pants country picking, Que Pasa is as heavy as a heavy thing and The Ghost is everything, everywhere all at once. Indeed it’s hard to convey just how full-on these numbers are.

However, it’s not all frenzied face melting – 5’s delightful instrumental take on Crazy Little Thing Called Love, smooth, jazzy Moon Glow and classic How High The Moon give a glimpse of his breadth and range as a player.

John 5 doesn’t say much but when he does it’s just before the inevitable closing Motley Medley …”I have a big surprise for you tonight… Ladies and gentlemen … Nikki Sixx”! The crowd goes mental! 5 continues “…’s bass tech!”. Ha, yeah, very funny!!

Still … it really is Nikki Sixx’s bass tech, Fred Kowalo, and he plugs in and rocks out with 5 and Nix on a thrilling montage of Motley mayhem.

A great evening albeit one primarily for the guitar geeks.