Emerald Moon is an impressive French retro rock band with unashamed 70’s antecedents, sprinkled with elements of Classic Rock,  rock-blues and harmony guitar arrangements which owe much to Thin Lizzy and even Wishbone Ash.

They also employ a funky undertow and are fronted by a powerhouse vocalist Vanessa Di Mauro, who is  a ball of energy with a versatile vocal range, an effortless vibrato with perfect English diction in her phrasing  and a stage presence which never let’s the crowd’s attention wander.

Flanked by the twin guitars of the Les Paul wielding Fabrice Dutour (who writes most of the material, with Vanessa providing the lyrics) and the Gibson playing Michaal Benjelloun, the band with a wild flurry of hair and occasional choreography is the glorious sum of its parts.

They explore a perfect equilibrium of shimmering guitar arrangements and inventive percussive patterns which leave just enough space for Di Mauro’s vocal improvisation and stage antics.

It’s a musical unity anchored by the muscular rhythm section of drummer Laurent Falso and bassist Anthony Prudent who together provide sheer drive and real feel.

The band appears to share the same contemporized 70’s vibe as Sweden’s Blues Pills and The Netherland’s Leif De Leeuw Band, but with the addition sparkle of Vanessa’s peerless vocals.

Tonight is their first appearance at Le Marquee in deepest Dordogne, and they exude a quiet-into-loud confidence, as they hit their audience cold, with a tension building crescendo which evolves into a slide-led hard rocking ‘When There’s A Will, There’s A Way’, with a faint Allman Brothers influence.

Di Mauro adds a Susan Tedeschi feel to her vocal over accompanying 3-part harmonies, on a hard rocking melodic song that serves as the template for the evening

While their music can comfortably be described as being riff-driven 70’s hard rock, the following ‘What You’re Told’ could easily be mistaken for a lesser known Thin Lizzy song, with salient harmony guitars, self empowered lyrics, a subtle breakdown and an undulating groove.

‘Bad Moon’ follows; being a slide injected riff-led rocker on which Di Mauro’s towering vocal glues together a pulverising band performance, fleshed out by a wah-wah flavoured solo by Benjelloun, on a track that sounds like a mix of Heart’s Ann Wilson and Pat Benatar.

Di Mauro’s passionate shapes and expressive hand gestures make an essential connection with the crowd and levers us into a ripping cover of Zeppelin’s ‘Ramble On’.

They showcase it as a dynamic bass-led piece with a subtle drum pattern and a lightness of touch, before she grabs her mic with both hands for the explosive hook which she fills with real venom, while Benjelloun again solo’s confidently.

The song confirms the band’s intuitive understanding of both the 70’s genre as a whole, and classic tracks like this in particular, with the added bonus that it fits mellifluously into their own mostly self penned set.

Emerald Moon conjure up 70’s style familiarity with their organic arrangements which let the songs breathe and provide the catalyst for Di Mauto’s belligerent vocal attack.

‘On & On’ for example, reminds us again of Thin Lizzy, but they pursue a more melodic direction with ‘call and response’ vocals on the hook, with added dual guitar lines and a crisp solo from Dutour which draws applause from the crowd at the front.

They are equally good when she brings things down a little on a tightly wrapped blues of ‘Worry’, which features the full majesty of Di Mauro’s animated vocal and stage craft.

She illuminates the song with short impressive vocal bursts, as she crouches down at the front holding her mic tightly again to bring emphasis to the emotion of the song, in the manner of contemporaries like Beth Hart and Dana Fuchs.

The perfunctory finish generates a slight pause which is quickly filled by a big roar from the main body of the room

The Michaal Benjaloun penned ‘Devil Woman’ overcomes a clichéd title with a cool drum pattern intro, before a Deep Purple style energy rush on a stop-time punchy rocker, with a  3 part harmony chorus.

Given the band’s harmony guitar work, a sterling cover of Lizzy’s ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ is no real surprise and is a great way to restate their retro influences in front of an increasingly excited crowd.

The stodgy riff-driven ‘Cruel To Be Kind’ is different again, being underscored by Falso’s muscular drums and a ripping solo from Dutour, leading to some sinewy conversational guitar interplay.

The crowd notably grows in volume as the song builds to a climax with Vanessa  breathtakingly holding a top note to lead the band into the perfect outro.

And as if to illustrate their collective grasp of dynamics, the band slip into a brace of acoustic numbers including the captivating ‘Hummingbird (Waiting For You)’ which finds Benjelloun on mandolin and fellow guitarist Dutour on acoustic.

And just when you wonder where they will go next, they pull out a gem of song called ‘Show Me Your Colours ’, which is a sumptuous groove complete with Anthony Prudent’s fusion-into-funk slap bass intro.

At this stage it feels as if the set is subtly revealing more about the band’s capabilities, but they still manage to surprise us with a rocking version of The Faces ‘Stay With Me’, which is raucous, raw and the perfect vehicle for both singer and band as they rock the club’s foundations.

They still have time to showcase their second single ‘Rock n’ Roll Soul’, a number built on fractured, chunky, funky opening, which they repeat either side of a subtle tempo shift  on the hook.

Di Mauro racks up the intensity with repeated “rock n’ roll” prefix to the chorus line, while Benjelloun adds a soaring solo, as the number works towards another harmony guitar break and repeated hook.

They finish with a flourish, on the current album title track ‘The Sky’s Is the Limit’, which admirable serves as a mission statement for a great band.

They return for a deserved double encore of the flinty ‘Heartbreaker’ and a pulverising ‘Nutbush City Limits’, which finds Vanessa at her most animated and soulful.

Tonight, Emerald Moon don’t so much recycle musical history as pay homage to a durable era with their own brand of evocative songs, unbridled “Emerald” energy, spirited musical excellence and Vanessa Di Mauro’s voice which rips through the songs like a tornado, as the band successful shoots for the moon.

Retro rock never sounded so good!

Review & photos by Pete Feenstra

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Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

Upcoming sessions:

April 12

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast 15 February 2026.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). First broadcast on 17 February 2026

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Power Plays w/c 2 March 2026

DODGY – It’s Not The End (Flip Flop Records)
THE SKBs – Hour Glass (indie)
LAKE – Boy On A Mission (indie)
KING FALCON Holding Out (indie)
HOKKA Heart Said No (Nuclear Blast Records)
STARBENDERS The Beast Goes On (Sumerian Records)
EDDIE AND THE WOLVES See Me Fall (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 2 March 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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