Bush and Devora kick off tour in Hampton Beach, NH – April 26, 2023

Bush, the multi-platinum, English alternative rock band, kicked off their 2023 United States tour at the Hampton Beach Ballroom Casino. This tour showcases their latest album, The Art of Survival. Bush brought along Devora, an alternative rock/country artist, promoting her latest EP, God is Dead.

Devora

Starting off the tour this evening was Devora. Devora is an artist that has been described as “gothic Dolly Parton”, an accurate description of the attractive artist. She began by playing the single, “Not Dead Yet”, along with her band. This song has gained a lot of traction on Spotify which made for an excellent selection to get the show started. Devora hails from Arizona and has been credited with pioneering a unique brand of alternative country described as “outlaw pop”. Her fans have embraced this interesting sound and style, and started filling up the venue well before Bush was set to take the stage.

“Body Bag” was another song highlight. This was a catchy pop tune with modern country flair. Although her set was a short 6-songs, she made the most of her time on stage and certainly intrigued new listeners throughout the evening. The set ended strong with “Bonesaw” and “Outlaw”.

Bush

The Hampton Beach Ballroom is a spectacular venue for bands to play, especially in the summer with all the tourism. The night Bush was kicking off their United States tour was a cold April night, at least a month before most tourists start to arrive. This did not stop a single fan from making the journey to Hampton Beach. It was beautiful to see what had to be a sold-out crowd show up on this chilly night.

As the band took the stage and Gavin Rossdale emerged from the fog, the cheering and excitement grew. Bush started their set with a new and powerful hard-rock track, “Identity” off of the latest album, The Art of Survival. Sometimes it can be risky for bands to lead with new music, but this was extremely well received. “Identity” hits harder than the Bush songs of the 1990’s that fans adore, and it worked wonderfully. The growth and range of the band was put on display from the very first song and loyal fans were loving it.

“Machinehead”, one of the band’s most recognized tracks, was the second song of the night. This had an already pumped up crowd going wild for this beloved hit. “Machinehead” comes from the band’s extremely successful debut album, Sixteen Stone. Since that time Bush has put out a total of nine studio albums and they pulled from many of them to create the setlist for this show.

One of the highlights of the night was when Gavin said, “If you’ve seen us before, help me with this song” and went right into “Everything Zen”. You could tell by the energy level and the number of cell phones recording this song, it was one of the most beloved songs of the night. As it was nearing the end of the night, fans cheered loudly to guarantee there would be an encore. Bush treated fans with two encore performances to complete the night. They played two of the top fan favorites, “Glycerine” and “Comedown”.