As this year comes to a close next month, Black Queen Speaks is just taking off! BQS had the amazing opportunity to play with some of rock’s biggest bands in 2012 at some of Houston’s coolest venues. These opportunities to play with nationally recognized acts started when BQS was asked to open for the American rock supergroup The Gracious Few in January 2011, featuring guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey from the band Live, along with lead vocalist Kevin Martin and guitarist Sean Hennesy from the band Candlebox at Warehouse Live.
We kicked things off in March at House of Blues (HOB) opening for the Bret Michaels Band, which was a great return to the hair metal that made the '80s so rad. Also this spring, BQS played alongside Evan’s Blue at the Hard Rock Café, which was an awesome show for anyone lucky enough to be there.
In June, BQS partnered up with Mancuso Harley-Davidson Central and played their Thursday Live Music Night outside in the Texas heat with hundreds of bikers ready to rock to some great music. We will be back at it with Mancuso later next spring when they get their Live Music Nights fired up again, so plan to come out for Harleys, hot dogs and even hotter women! Also this past summer, Black Queen Speaks shared the bill with The Cult at House of Blues, which was quickly turning into our second home here in Houston.
Moving into the fall, BQS played with Houston’s own The 71’s at Fitzgerald’s during their CD release party, which was a great chance to showcase some of our city’s top talent. Around this same time, we played at the House of Brews event at HOB, helping to promote the awesome microbrew labels in our area. Then, in September, Black Queen Speaks played their biggest show yet, opening for Slash with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators and Foxy Shazam at the House of Blues. BQS was one of only 20 bands across the country hand-picked by the guitar god himself to share the bill. This might be the greatest honor yet for us as a band, and we were happy to put on one of our greatest shows yet!
Coming off the high of Slash in September, BQS took off for India, where we headlined one of the largest rock music festivals in the country, Synchronicity Fest. The experience was amazing, especially rocking out for the thousands of screaming fans and the unique opportunity to play with other international bands on the rise. Definitely a trip that will not be forgotten.
Just recently, Black Queen Speaks was back at the House of Blues again, opening for another great band of the '80s metal scene: Great White. We saw a lot of our old fans from Mancuso and converted a shit ton of new ones.
Despite all our amazing shows and growing success during this past year, BQS is even more excited about everything to come in the 2013. Just for starters, look for us at Houston’s Beer Fest in June, Exposed Music Festival in the summer and plenty of great shows between now and then around the city.