Shaman’s Harvest "bringing hot sweaty rock 'n' roll to the British Isles”

Josh Hamler, one of two originals in the band, is looking forward to a series of dates including March 29 at The Arch in Brighton.

“We've been trying to get across for a long time and it just didn't happen and so we decided to do it ourselves. We have toured the US for the better part of 25 years and it just seemed like a natural progression for us.

“We started in 1996 as a bunch of rambunctious youngsters in high school and we started cutting our teeth playing pubs and so on. That's how we learnt to grind out what we do and that's been the artistic drive for us for almost 30 years now. And it just seems like yesterday. I think if I dwelt on how long we have been doing this, we wouldn't still be doing it! But for me and our lead singer, Nathan Hunt, the two original members of the band, to still be doing this after 29 or 30 years is just incredible. We are kindred spirits in music. We're both artists in our own right and we've got a great team.

“We were influenced by all the legends from Jimi Hendrix to Van Morrison to Thin Lizzy to The Beatles and The Stones. Let's not forget The Stones. Mick and the guys are top notch. I love that history of UK in rock 'n' roll, and for us finally to come over and tap into that energy and that history is just great. We really have been trying for years so it is great that it's finally happening so we're hoping for a righteous good time! All I know is that we're bringing hot sweaty rock 'n' roll to the British Isles.

“We have just released a single called Rock 'n' Roll Queen, and 2025 is going to be the year of new music for us. We're going to release a few singles throughout the year, towards an album later. The industry is all about singles right now and we just thought why wait until the album is ready. Let's get releasing some singles and then let's close it out with the drop of the entire album. We have still got to make half of it. It is written and ready to go. We just need to get into the studios and once we're back stateside in April that's what we are going to do.

“We really love being in the studio. That's where you can be the most creative. We love performing night after night after night. That's equally awesome but you can feel a bit of a robot whereas in the studio you can really feel like artists and really be creative.

“I love doing albums and the old way of putting things out but if you get stuck in the old ways then you get left behind and we're holding on for dear life! We are just really excited that we get to make music still but we've also got to fit into today’s society and so that's why we're doing the singles. But it is odd. We used to be in an owners’ society where you would buy your record and then go home with it and listen to it but now it seems that we're in a subscribers’ society where you subscribe to things instead!”