Red Reign with Sunday Show 5/11/2020

A band that bridges the sounds of yesterday and today and can compete with the current active rock radio climate is not a common occurrence in this day and age. A fitting description for Red Reign – as heard throughout their self-titled EP, and as evidenced on stage (with opening slots for the likes of Tesla).
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Formed in Richmond, Virginia, Red Reign singer/guitarist Carlton “Bubba” McMichael and drummer Sammy Lee started the group, after leaving a cover band to pursue all original music. A month after putting the plan together, bassist Larry Moore was added to the band, and guitarist Stevie Shred was added to complete the band.
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“Over the last few years, the band has made giant strides in the music industry,” explains the band. “In the last few years we released a new EP, grown a much bigger fan base and playing more shows in new markets. We have taken many steps to put the band in the right situation to market to a much bigger music audience.”
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Red Reign’s self-titled EP features such standouts as the song “Red Reign,” which is described as “A song with attitude. It’s about a person in a relationship that has been beaten down and one day realizes that they finally had enough, gets pissed off and unleashes their anger. The song in aggressive and will keep rock fans interested from the first note to the last one.”
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Another standout track on the EP is “Toxic,” which is described as “A song about a relationship that starts out great, but as time goes on, things turn darker and darker – to where it is poisonous to continue, but they still love each other.”

An additional important element of the Red Reign’s sound is what renowned producer David Ivory (Halestorm, Silvertide, The Roots) brought to the sessions. “David was very instrumental in developing the band and the songs. He told us he thought the original versions were good but that they weren’t arranged all that well, so he set to helping us re-arrange them, chop them, add this or that. He took the songs and just made them more streamlined. We just added some parts and subtracted some parts and it was wonderful. The final product was so much better than we could have hoped.”
But as mentioned earlier, Red Reign’s sound does not focus solely on one specific era. “The band does have some 80’s influence in our songs but we feel we took that sound, updated it and made it more contemporary. This has gone over extremely well with music fans. All types of music lovers can find what they like in each one of our songs.”
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“And playing live shows is THE most important factor for this band. We are a live band. The energy that is fed off the crowd makes every show exciting and new. After the show, we like to go out and meet the fans. This is our way to connect on a more personal level and keeps music fans interested in the band.”
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And it sounds like this is only the beginning for Red Reign. “We will continue to play live show/tours. Also, we are working on new songs for future recordings. We will continue to get our music out to as many fans as we can, ie: radio, satellite radio, internet rock stations, and all streaming and download music sites.”