Small Masterpieces from Music Hero Stef Burns in Trieste (2014)

Arhiv Arhiv Last updated 11 June 2026

Author: Aleš Podbrežnik

Location: Trieste / Macaki club / Italy
Concert date: 06.02.2014
Attendance: 200
Ticket price: €18.00 / €22.00

Stef Burns is an outstanding California guitarist, born in Oakland on 06.26.1959, who has been living in Bologna, Italy, for many years! In the early nineties he secured a firm spot as lead guitarist in the backing band of Italian pop rock giant Vasco Rossi, with whom he’s been working for years, while over the course of his career he made a name for himself playing with Y&T (the albums “Ten”, “Musically Incorrect”, “Endangered Species”), Alice Cooper (the albums “Hey Stoopid” and “The Last Temptation”), Berlin and Huey Lewis & The News. Stef Burns also appears as a studio guitarist on the albums of many internationally acclaimed artists.

At the end of January 2014, Stef Burns released his new studio album called »Roots & Wings« – RockLine review HERE. It’s an exceptionally high-quality effort, rounded out by eleven original songs in which Burns shows himself as an artist with wide-ranging, multilayered musical horizons, and also proves to be an extremely good vocalist. And since working with the three other musicians who took an active part in making this album created a real, tangible magnetism, Burns decided to expand the artist name on the album to Stef Burns League, which means he has put his expressive musical power as a solo artist on the same level as that of a band.

Compared to most of eerily frozen Slovenia, Trieste served up mild temperatures at the beginning of February. During the day it even reached 15°C (in the sun). On the evening of our visit the thermometer showed a whole 10°C, so a person used to continental conditions didn’t need any coat or jacket at all. Macaki club was exceptionally well attended this time. We skipped the opening act, Italy’s The Traveller, on account of in-depth debates at a music symposium held at the highest professional level in the neighboring joint »at the Chinese place«, where a Villacher Bier costs, believe it or not, a measly 2.00€ (they also have Laško, and it’s true! In half-liter bottles).

Stef Burns walked on stage a little after ten in the evening. On his left he was joined by the excellent bassist and vocalist Robert Tiranti (we saw him on 10.25.2013 with Ken Hensley & Live Fire in Steinfeld, Austria – RockLine report HERE), Juan van Emmerloot sat behind the drums, and on Stef’s right stood keyboardist and guitarist Fabio Valdemarin. Masters of their craft, in other words, the very people Stef recorded his new studio effort »Roots & Wings« with. That album was also the first and main subject of the show, since the band played it in its entirety. From head to toe.

Over an hour and twenty minutes, Stef and his crew showed off a seriously impressive musical know-how, which his boundless musical talent has been maturing over the years. »Roots & Wings« is a remarkable musical picture book of splendid genre blending, and above all the album’s tracks show a refined knack for crafting infectious melodic figures, masterfully balanced with insightful improvised passages. After the rockingly catchy What Doesn’t Kill Us, the band swung the atmosphere somewhere else entirely with Something Beautiful, which, especially in the chorus melody, owes a big thank-you to Stef’s youthful infatuation with the sounds of Electric Light Orchestra (and The Beatles too). Stef and the other three really stretched out in the instrumental numbers, such as the new Paper Cup and Us, which carry a progressive character, and in which you could especially feel a masterful blend of jazz, blues and rock. From the older original material, Stef included the instrumental Wayfunner from his solo studio album »Swamp Tea« (1998), and the song sounded tougher compared to the two new instrumentals, while also serving up an exciting fusion of guitar styles in which you could sense the principle of guitar improvisation of Steve Lukather and Steve Morse. At some turns, this song actually veered toward progressive rock a la The Dixie Dregs, and Kansas too.

Stef Burns and his crew completely enchanted in this show. Tightness, control, feel! All three in abundance! On top of that, great chemistry in the room, a positive vibe! A crowd of barely 200 heads, completely devoted to enjoying the show. Three excellent covers (Gary Moore, The Who, T.Rex) added plenty of fuel to the fire too. In short. Another musical fairytale which, thanks to its remarkable authenticity and unique original forms of expression, flew by in a flash that night at Macaki club.

This was the first concert of Stef Burns’ Italian tour, on which he’s presenting the excellent new studio album »Roots & Wings«. Stef Burns is a man who leaves his soul on stage, though the excellence of his backing crew can’t be overlooked either, since without them the album’s musical message wouldn’t fascinate the way it does on stage! At this concert Burns proved that through his years working with Vasco Rossi and Huey Lewis & The News he has matured into a seasoned artist, armed with a sharp feel for delivering sensual musical aesthetics in polished melodies, which he deftly dresses up with just the right dose of poignant improvised passages. In the summer of 2014, Stef Burns will once again be in Vasco Rossi’s service. Let me just mention that Vasco has already booked four consecutive shows at San Siro stadium in Milan, and the first date is practically sold out already. Stef Burns knows how to navigate it all, from clubs where a few dozen listeners hear him out to stadium megalomania, where you multiply a club’s dozen attendees by a thousand.