Blackwater Conspiracy

This County Tyrone, Northern Ireland act play whiskey-soaked '70s-inspired, blues- and country-inflected classic rock, their name being a reference to the fact that each bandmember was raised, or lived, close to the River Blackwater. They began, in 2006, as a hard-rocking band named Million Dollar Reload, and released two AC/DC-inspired studio albums, the second of which led to Phil Conalane, their gravelly voiced lead singer, being touted in 2012 as a potential replacement for Scott Weiland in the U.S. supergroup Velvet Revolver. After a dispute with Frontiers Records, reputedly over the label's refusal to release the live album As Real as it Gets, they self-released the performance. Then, in August 2015, at Belfast's Empire Music Hall they began a set as Million Dollar Reload and ended it as Blackwater Conspiracy, simultaneously announcing the demise of one act and the birth of another. That night, a self-titled debut EP was released on their own Bulletproof 20/20 Records, a label on which they would issue both 2017's Shootin' the Breeze and 2020's Two Tails & the Dirty Truth of Love & Revolution. Alongside Conalane, guitarist Brian Mallon, bassist Kie McMurray, drummer Fionn O'Haigan, and keyboardist Kevin Brennan were all members of Million Dollar Reload when they morphed into Blackwater Conspiracy. Only Brennan joined at the eleventh hour, as a replacement for high-octane guitarist Andrew Mackle, who left in 2014. Brennan's introduction on keyboards initiated the easy-flowing, laid-back Rolling Stones sound that they would nod to in their reincarnated state. Their change in direction was also partially inspired by feedback from Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke, with whom they toured Europe in 2014. The band's debut EP was produced by Sean Douglas at Rockfield Studios in Wales, in a live room that could accommodate their full-band setup. By December 2015, after another Belfast show, Blackwater Conspiracy were recording again -- this time in Derry's Studio 2. From those sessions, Pete Maher -- known for his work with the Rolling Stones, the Killers, and U2 -- mastered a key song in their canon called "Shoot the Breeze," which would eventually appear on their June 2017 album Shootin' the Breeze. The intervening year was spent preparing the record, but the group also played a prestigious June show at the Dublin Academy, supporting Blackberry Smoke. Following the album's release, Blackwater Conspiracy embarked on a series of shows to promote it, including their debut appearances at Download Festival and Ramblin' Man Fair, as well as a U.K. tour in support of the Texan rock act Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown. 2018 brought the group's first London headline show, as well an extensive U.K. tour with the Kris Barras Band. By the end of the year, sessions had commenced for their second LP, Two Tails & The Dirty Truth of Love & Revolution, and continued well into 2019. The record appeared on Valentine's Day 2020 and, with James Wilson as producer, featured an expanded sound incorporating violins, brass, uilleann pipes, and Irish whistles.
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