Four years ago, as the live scene slowly returned to normal after the pandemic, my interest was piqued by a festival called Firestorm on the very outskirts of Greater Manchester, featuring several of my favourite bands. It seemed too good to be true, but not only did the festival proceed to plan, but I fell in love with the intimate, laid back atmosphere and the beauty of the surroundings, a farm at the foot of a country park.

Luckily others have been of the same view, so festival organisers John ‘Stret’ and Bev Stretford have been gradually growing and evolving the retitled Firevolt ever since. The best festivals swap lineups around and avoid too many repeats, but few could complain that for the fifth edition of Firevolt in 2026 they decided to invite back a number of bands that had graced previous festivals to effectively make it a ‘Best Of’. Last year’s bill wasn’t enough for my taste to justify the travel and hotel costs of a 200 mile trip from London, but with so many of my favourite bands currently on the circuit in the line up, I eagerly joined the celebrations this time.

This time I realised just how much it has evolved over time to match the best atmospheres of the festivals I used to love doing in the United States. The music attracts people here in the first place and is always the bread and butter, but the sense of community is what makes it special.

Day 1- Friday 7^th August

Mason Hill, Ricky Warwick and the Fighting Hearts, The New Roses, Darren Wharton’s Renegade, Ward XVI, Fireheart, Doomsday Outlaw, Takeaway Thieves, Shape of Water

Since my last visit two years ago the layout has changed- a covered Big Top that for some reason was never well attended has given way to an outdoor stage, ‘The Bludsucker’ (a nod to Stret’s love of Deep Purple). A grass bank down one side gives a spectacular panoramic view, but the disadvantage of a sloping site is that there are limited positions to get an unobstructed view of a low stage- I found a corner and barely deviated from it all weekend.

It was there that Firevolt 26 kicked off with Shape of Water. The three piece had been promoted from the third stage for rising bands that was there last year and seem to have a lively social media presence.

 

Various circumstances had conspired against them and guitarist Luca De Falco bravely soldiered on with his leg encased in a plastic boot, but they conjured an interesting and at times alternative sound on the likes of ‘Salt and Mercury’ and ‘She Never Sleeps Alone’, while I was reminded a few times of Muse, especially when bassist and main singer Rox Capriotti broke into a falsetto.

He also played piano including on the intro to ‘Everybody’s Gone’ which had the cadences of a celtic jig. The more traditionally heavier ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ ended an interesting set to give the festival off to a good, if surprisingly left field, start.

One of the characteristics of Firevolt is how a diverse range of styles and genres under the rock and metal umbrella is thrown together so the first band on the Trooper stage in the barn area were entirely different, in Takeaway Thieves. Theirs was straight down the line sleazy rock, somewhere between Guns’n’Roses and AC/DC (the latter in particular on opener ’13 Feathers’).

 

The Blackpool-based band, led by Peter McLoughlin, who was nattily dressed in waistcoat, scarves everywhere and a red pair of trousers, were new to me, but already seemed to have a large fanbase present. They lapped up the likes of ‘Kickin’ My Heart Around’, ‘Gotta Get Back’, ‘Big Mistake’ and ‘Hotcat’ and there was even a mini circle pit at one point!

‘Find My Way Home’ was more melodic and ‘Gypsy’ seemed particularly well received. Their stage craft was first class even if the set which closed with ‘Spider’, ‘Crazy Horse’, ‘Soothe Me’ and ‘Lose It’ was hardly the most original. They followed in the path of other Firevolt alumni such as Hell’s Addiction and Ransom with enjoyable good time music.

Doomsday Outlaw were a very welcome addition to the bill especially as they have been relatively quiet- indeed the last time I saw them was at this festival two years ago. Since then they seem to have added a keyboard player as their sound continues to become more rounded.

Singer Phil Poole seemed in a happy place, not least as his partner and young daughters were proudly watching on. After opener ‘Hard Times’, encouragingly there were a couple of new songs which included ‘Gimme Love’, sitting alongside oldies like ‘One More Sip’.

‘Turn Me Loose’ had a barroom feel while ‘Bring the Pain’ rattled on at a fast pace with the Hammond organ prominent. A nostalgia rush had already been generated by Phil’s ‘Relax’ t-shirt and Indy Chanda’s nineties England football shirt, and it was topped off by an unexpected but good cover of ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’. Though lead guitarist Alez D in particular had a few sound issues, their own songs in Phil’s heartfelt ballad about his father ‘If This Is the End’ and ‘Runaway’ ended an impressive set that made me look forward to the album and further tours.

Next up there was my first opportunity to catch Fireheart who are a supergroup of sorts-  indeed singer Russ Grimmett (Sons of Liberty), rhythm guitarist and gurner in chief Kev Baker (The Hot One Two) and Bret Barnes on bass (Kira Mac) are all ex-members of Firevolt alumni bands. A buzz is building around them even though they have only released an EP and a few singles to date.

 

‘Wild Hearts, Wild Nights’ combined heaviness with melody and ‘Inner Remedy’ and ‘I Don’t Need a Best Friend’ kept up the pace. However, having found the sound too quiet at the Bludsucker Stage, here it was deafeningly loud, and I found myself like Goldilocks testing the Three Bears porridge in search of a happy medium. Nevertheless ‘I’m Not Dreaming’ was superb with a Foo Fighters-like sound.

What unites the band members was that they have all struggled with mental health and self-esteem in their various ways, and it is wonderful that they can all wear their musical heart on their sleeve about this, especially as men are the worst at bottling this up and not reaching out. Russ’ intro made a big play of this prior to a song with a message in ‘(Good Is) Good Enough’ with a singalong to the chorus.

‘Write Me a Letter’ and ‘Staring at the Sun’ which already seems to be a fan anthem judging by the way arms were swaying ended an impressive set- hopefully the Kickstarter campaign they mentioned was proving very successful means this interest turns into a full album very soon.

Ironically our next act reflect a time when society was less enlightened about mental health- in that Ward XVI’s spectacular show is based in the titular setting of a Victorian asylum for the criminally insane. While a guitarist, bassist and drummer hold things down, with quite a heavy and modern approach, attention focuses on a revolving trio of singers and dancers who act in character, beginning with two of them behind bars being guarded by a sadistic nurse.

 

Props and routines then varied, from band members wheedling across the stage in an imaginary ‘insane train’ like the cast of a pre-school TV programme to themes familiar to lovers of the schlock horror of Alice Cooper and the likes – chainsaws and coffins (the latter on ‘What’s In the Box’)- to a lively routine around the theme of the ‘Macabaret’. One of the dancers got right up in the face of a young lad in front of me in scary fashion, but I suspect he may have been thrilled by the encounter.

‘Cry of the Siren’ and ‘We are Legion’ with its chant ‘we are legion, we are one, we are the collective’ ended a quite unique set. I found my belated first sighting of them a very entertaining piece of musical theatre- the acid test would be whether the music could keep me similarly entranced the second time round.

 

Next up was the start of an unusual double shift over the weekend, and one of my most looked forward to moments in Darren Wharton’s Renegade. For one, Thin Lizzy rank in the very top echelon of my all-time favourite bands. Additionally, I have always been a huge fan of Dare and Darren uses all his bandmates, plus one former member to make up a twin guitar line-up, for this sister project to celebrate the legacy of the band he played with in the early eighties and subsequent reunions.

Indeed it was particularly praiseworthy to open with a song from his era in the band in ‘Angel of Death’, even momentarily playing a keytar before a series of much-loved Lizzy classics- ‘Jailbreak’, ‘Are You Ready’ and ‘Emerald’- sent the crowd wild. The only grumble was that those twin guitars that particularly enliven the latter seemed a little buried in the mix and beneath Nigel Clutterbuck’s bass.

 

While not sounding particularly close to Philip Lynott the strength of Darren’s voice would have surprised those only familiar with his whispered tones in Dare. Introduced as the song he first auditioned for Lizzy, the solos of ‘Chinatown’ are always a good guitar vehicle for   Vinny Burns and Andy Moore and the latter shredded on ‘Cold Sweat’, where it was nice to hear Darren pay tribute to John Sykes as a member of the Lizzy family.

After ‘Massacre’, the atmosphere built and the guitar work just got better and better on ‘Suicide’ and ‘Cowboy Song’, but even better was to come. Darren invited on stage Ricky Warwick – from the final Lizzy lineup that morphed into Black Star Riders – and the two duetted on ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ in their complementary vocal styles, the atmosphere simply joyous, both on and off the stage.

‘Follow that!’ was my thought but a brilliant ‘Black Rose’ dedicated to Gary Moore and with Andy and Vinny outstanding on guitar did just that. Sadly time constraints meant some mainstays like ‘Rosalie’ and ‘Don’t Believe a Word’ went unplayed: ah well, hopefully I can catch a full length set some time to see those as well as more from Darren’s time with the band.

Wisely, Firevolt in the main sticks to the thriving British Isles scene to source bands and control costs but there are always a few exceptions and in this case one such was The New Roses, from Germany, but sounding very American, and lovers of the UK, having played several festivals including Stonedead and most recently Maid of Stone.

 

As there, they opened with a couple from last album ‘Attracted To Danger’, the title track   with the first of the many massive choruses in the set and ‘Bring the Thunder’, before the ‘who-oahs’ and ‘heys’ of ‘Forever Never Comes’ and a cover of ‘Rocking in the Free World’ with something of a jam accompanied by their synchronised stage moves.

‘it’s a Long Way’ was a relatively ordinary song by their standards but led into a guitar solo from the flamboyant Flying V wielding Norman Bites, while ‘This Heart’ even had a little of a country rock feel in the verses before a rousing chorus featuring Timmy Rough’s typically raspy vocals.

 

During ‘Glory Road’ he was high fiving and shaking hands with everybody in the front row then the rest of the set was one catchy anthem after another- ‘Every Wild Heart’, ‘Thirsty’ complete with singalong, ‘The Usual Suspects’ and a closer ‘Down by the River’- can there be a more evocative rhyming couplet than ‘who-oah, with a six pack and the radio….hey hey, it was back in the day’? Their set did not quite have the special atmosphere of the Maid of Stone one but hopefully won yet more friends.

It’s been a Ricky Warwick summer for me with The Almighty playing two of their rare shows at Eddfest and Maid of Stone, and now he was the headliner on the Trooper stage with his Fighting Hearts.

 

In a set that was inevitably going to focus on his solo work, he opened with ‘Rise and Grind’ but was not afraid to dip into the back catalogue of his other bands, early on having a few Almighty fans pogoing with ‘Jonestown Mind’. His band, including floppy-haired former Sisters of Mercy guitarist Ben Christo, seemed a little more melodic and a case in point was the almost power pop of ‘Celebrate Sinking’, followed by a brand new song ‘Seek Zen Destroy’ (sic).

After a trip back with the Almighty’s ‘Do You Understand’ and ‘When the Night Comes Down’, not my favourite Black Star Riders song, ‘Fire and Vengeance’, the title track of their new album, featured a twin lead intro worthy of the latter. I was discovering there was more to him than I always assumed from the swearing, gum chewing tough guy image. I loved ‘Angels of Desolation’ and was also impressed by ‘Don’t Leave Me in the Dark’- preceded by an amusing anecdote about Lita Ford who played on the record, but sadly not here- and ‘Schwaben Redoubt’, a Pogues- like piece of gaelic punk-folk.

 

‘When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (and Guy Mitchell Sang the Blues)’ was a grower and though ‘You’re My Rock’n’ Roll’ more basic, the titular ‘Fighting Hearts’ was another rousing effort, and it led into the highlight of the gig. With the future of Black Star Riders open to question, a reminder of their great days came in ‘Kingdom of the Lost’ and ‘Finest Hour’ which got a fair few of us bouncing and waving hands.

By way of contrast and a surprise, a headbangingly note perfect version of Motorhead’s ‘Iron Fist’ preceded one more classic Almighty riff in the inevitable ‘Free and Easy’. It was an excellent set showing the more varied repertoire that I wasn’t really aware of before, and I have become a fan of his, which I could never imagine myself saying in the nineties.

 

Back outdoors on the Bludsucker stage, the night’s main headliner was the emotional return of Mason Hill. The young Scots wowed the first ever festival and in 2023 were promoted to headline the Big Top stage. After a memorable performance and with a second album on the way they seemed to have the world at their feet as the UK’s answer to Alter Bridge, but days later singer Scott Taylor was diagnosed with a heart condition and had to leave the band.

There then followed a lengthy and momentum threatening hiatus while they regrouped and identified a new lead singer. Fortunately, after finding one in Tom Ward, and a limited number of comeback gigs, new music has started to drop with the album ‘World So Wonderful’ out in the autumn.

 

This was my first time seeing the new line up for myself, though friends had given me mixed reports about the new direction the band had chosen to go in. Interestingly, the intro tape was that of one of the old favourites ‘D.N.A’, which then formed part of a familiar opening pair with ‘We Pray’. There were some more modern beats here and there, but the songs were still recognisably the same and one of the new ones ‘Twisted’ held up well.

However, other newies including ‘Hurricane’ and  ‘Tainted Wings’ just did not appeal to me at all, with a darker and heavier approach also embracing modern electronica. There was nothing wrong with Tom’s vocals, but I just did not like the songs. Additionally his stage craft is still developing and the presentation seemed a little disjointed, members cutting across each other somewhat to address the crowd, not helped by them seeming a little preoccupied with equipment issues from time to time.

 

The moments of the set I still enjoyed were the older ones including ‘Find My Way’ and in particular, ‘Broken Son’, with ‘who-oahs’ from the crowd  ringing out after the song and ‘Hold On’ reminders of how much I used to love them. Sadly my favourite of all ‘Where I Belong’ has now been cut back to just the superb solo from the now short-haired James Bird.

Even allowing for familiarity bias, the contrast though was jarring between those and further new songs that I struggled to embrace, including ‘Resonate’ and another enlivened by some spectacular flames. It had me thinking maybe it is time for Mason Hill and my more traditional leanings to part company under the old ‘musical differences’ excuse, despite an autumn tour being announced from the stage. They deserve to succeed though for resilience alone, and if I was to bow out, it was on a high, part of a crowd bouncing as one to their anthem of defiance ‘Against the Wall’.

 

Day 2- Saturday 8^th August

Massive Wagons, Wednesday 13, Dare, These Wicked Rivers, Muddibrooke, LN, Thieves Of Liberty, McHale’s Permanent Brew, Crowley

 

Opening up the second day were Crowley from the North-East and styling themselves as ‘occult rock’, hardly surprising given their name. Songs like ‘Silver Star’ were slow of pace but actually very listenable. Star of the show is Lidya Balaban – previously seen as part of the Ozzy tribute at Stonedead last year- with a powerful voice that belies a slight frame and a very strong stage presence, with the other band members rather in her shadow.

Unfortunately some equipment problems led to the action being paused a couple of times and with only half an hour to play with anyway, they had only just hit their stride including playing their new single ‘Queen of the May’, when it was time to end with ‘Pyre’, which built in epic fashion to a fast climax. It must have been very frustrating for them, though as Lidya had a dig at her bandmates I was not sure if this was straight talking Geordie humour or whether there was an edge to it.

 

The Firevolt organisers have developed a growing reputation as talent spotters, scouting other festivals in the North for bands that might go down well, and one such was McHale’s Permanent Brew, especially welcome as the blues-rock genre which was somewhat underrepresented this year. They were a new name to me but have released two albums already with a third on the way.

Their laid back approach was very different, the middle-aged five piece who included a keyboard player having a very relaxed feel to their songs which took their time to come to the boil. They are led by two brothers, with the gravel voice of singer and acoustic guitarist Paul complementing some brilliant bluesy work, not to mention grimacing and shape pulling, from brother Frank on a battered guitar.

After some laid back openers in ‘Don’t Look Down’, ‘Fair Way Baby Blue’ and ‘Cafe Bar a GoGo’, Frank’s slide enlivened ‘Crazy’ and the boogie of ‘She Loves Me Too’ from the forthcoming new album. There was an absolute piece of class in the lengthy, languid ‘Spread Love’, with a superb guitar solo. Though a slowed up, almost Floyd-like cover of ‘All Along the Watchtower’ which closed the set didn’t really work for me, nevertheless they were one of my new discoveries of the weekend.

Thieves of Liberty came back for a third appearance at Firevolt, having originally been a battle of the bands winner. They are from the North-East, yet seem to have developed a local stronghold here judging by one of the largest and most enthusiastic crowds at the Bludsucker stage all weekend.

They opened with ‘Too Much’ and ‘Calypso’ with a naggingly familiar riff, then ‘Sweet As Today’ had some strong hooks and was clearly a fan favourite, while new song ‘Hush’ was very instant. Since I last saw them their line up has expanded to a six piece, they have dressed down, and the sound seemed to have moved into a more metallic direction than I remembered from before, particularly on ‘Until the End’.

In contrast ‘Casual Tragedy’ boasted not only some seventies sounding melodies and harmonies but a twin guitar solo from Kieran Wilson and the mulleted Liam Lindsley so was right up my alley. With more new yet to be released songs including ‘Lovely Day’ and ‘In Utero’ the gig was building to a climax but nothing prepared me for ‘Rabbit Hole’.

 

Some Teletubbies rushed in from the wings with inflatable guitars into a mix of people in fancy dress ranging from bishops to Donald Trump, then both lead guitarists dived deep into this fray to jam as the song was extended Airbourne-style. Then I looked around and Kieran was playing guitar from the top of the hill. As Morecambe and Wise’s ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ rang out, the music had been impressive enough, but the confidence and showmanship was what really marked them out as something special.

Back at the Trooper stage a very different troop of some more North-Easterners were making memories. LN’s pagan/viking metal has attracted a lot of attention within a short space of time for a band with only a few singles behind them and in a packed crowd several had band t-shirts with ‘peasants’ at the back or were wielding swords and sticks.

The band were all in full face paint, make up and peasants rags – but watching them it was clear they are no gimmick but also very musically accomplished, even if at times a bit brutal for my own tastes. Singer LN (Ellen) Hirst has a versatile voice which can go from clean vocals (such as on ‘Fenrir’) to growling ones, and is a feisty and self-confident character keen to promote inclusion.

She brought out a head on a stick called ‘Donny the Draugar’ and after asking the crowd how many pagans there were, she did likewise for Christians and to a solitary response cackled ‘this next song’s not for you then’ as ‘Summon’ featured her growling ‘Lucifer’. ‘Shield Wall’, with a twin guitar confirming those musical chops, and fans facing off in a Viking version of a circle pit, albeit a good natured one, ended an eye catching set.

Back at the Bludsucker stage Muddibrooke, who seamlessly fielded a late stand-in on drums in Josh, let the music speak for itself and singer Brooke (Harriet McDonnell) proudly recounted how a new album produced by Thunder’s Luke Morley would be on the way shortly. ‘ADHD’ had a punky attitude to it, while there was a mix of other songs both old (‘Float’, ‘Devil’ and ‘Fake It’) and new such as ‘Fool Heart’ and ‘One Life’.

A lengthy ‘Liverpool Guy’ saw Brooke break into her falsetto, while on one new song ‘Get Away’ they boldly worked the crowd hard with an attempted singalong then they closed with a cover of the old sixties feminist anthem ‘You Don’t Own Me’. As a band who admit their love of nineties grunge, their sound is somewhat alternative for my tastes and wasn’t quite my scene, and yet a fellow fan who I’ve exchanged a lot of feedback with at this and previous Firevolts instantly said the set was one of the best of the weekend.

Not only was the crowd packed for These Wicked Rivers, but the Trooper stage was too- as their unique stage set of lampshades and rugs continues to grow to encompass a whole antiques shop worth of objects including vintage radiograms and a grandfather clock.

 

The Derby based rockers opened with a couple of old favourites in ‘Force of Nature’, people shouting out the ‘who-oahs’ and one of their most commercial numbers in ‘Black Gold’, but after a long gap are gearing up for a third album ‘Fire and Folklore’ and we got a dusting of new songs, beginning with ‘Ain’t No Smoke’ which had a strong Cry of Love feel.

Then, after ‘Evergreen’, a total change of pace with another new number in ‘Sing Another Song’, almost old-school country and largely led by singer John Halliwell- winning best dressed of the weekend with his double-breasted pinstripe suit – with guitarist Arran Day only coming in halfway through.

 

The new songs in the set, which also included ‘Rise’, suggest they are broadening their musical palette: however the heavier and sludgier old stuff was still present and correct with the likes of ‘Testify’, its big riff led off by harmonica playing from keyboardist Rich Wilson and people singing along to ‘Shine On’, relegated from its usual opening position.

There was time for one final newie in the one they previewed last year in ‘Lead a Horse’ with its vintage southern Allmans/Marshall Tucker feel, then their undoubted classic in ‘Don’t Pray for Me’ which over six minutes saw Arran on his 12 string go from a quiet opening to an epic solo, pulling some iconic poses, before a snatch of ‘Hey Hey My My’ ended the song.

 

The members of Dare made their second appearance in successive days, this time on the Bludsucker stage. As a long-time fan I made my way down the front but there seemed to be a trend over the weekend, that many of the newer, or more ‘visual’ bands were attracting bigger crowds than those with a longer pedigree or with a more subtle approach.

 

Nevertheless their set was the usual reliable excellence, starting with a couple from most recent album ‘Road to Eden’ in a rocking ‘Born On the Storm’ and ‘Cradle to the Grave’ where Darren Wharton got the crowd going, then moving backwards in time with ‘Home’ and the gaelic-flavoured ‘Until’, both showing off his marvellously breathy vocals that give the band their unique character.

After the ‘Road to Eden’ title track with Vinny Burns shining on guitar, the pace began to grow with a trip back to their heavier second album with ‘Wings of Fire’, then there was a stonking atmosphere for a repeat of the classic 1-2 that opens the ‘Out of the Silence’ debut as people, many of whom were familiar from the melodic rock scene, punched the air to ‘Abandon’ and ‘Into the Fire’.

They were followed by two more from that album in ‘The Raindance’, a more atmospheric piece but Vinny’s solos superbly sensitive and, looking back 24 hours, Darren’s tribute to Philip Lynott, ‘King of Spades’.  It looked like they were running out of time, but they slipped in another from ‘Blood from Stone’ in ‘We Don’t Need a Reason’ (was it just me or was Vinny’s solo a straight repeat of ‘Emerald’?), before the usual closer of the celtic strains of ‘Return the Heart’.

It may have been returning back to their old Greater Manchester stomping ground, but Dare seemed in a particularly good mood, the indicator being quite how often Darren had his arms around Vinny or bassist Nigel Clutterbuck. Reasons not to be cheerful? Only one- that the setlist has barely changed since their last appearance here three years ago: hopefully by next time there will be a revamp.

As mentioned earlier, Firevolt mixes up its varied line up, so we then got the biggest leap imaginable from one style to another when Dare were followed by Wednesday 13, headlining the Trooper Stage and the one import from America. The former Murderdolls singer is one who uses his own (pseudonym) as the name of the band and was introduced by the DJ as ‘Duke of Spook’.

Both in their horror-style make-up and jet black hair, musically, and lyrically (Wednesday explained to the uninitiated their songs were about death, dying and the dead) they were somewhere between Alice Cooper- particularly his ‘Brutal Planet’ period- and Rob Zombie.

From the appearance of people at the front it seems a lot of fans had come especially for them and they were not to be disappointed. They were new to me and far from my usual musical persuasion, and yet I found myself thoroughly entertained, joining in on the regular exhortations to raise horns or hands. They were musically credible too, tight and with some splendid guitar work, and I have to say an inspired pick.

The rake thin figure of Wednesday was a suitably menacing figure as he spat out ‘When the Devil Commands’, ‘Too Fast For Blood’ and ‘I Want You…Dead’. It was all done though with knowing humour, and I was laughing out loud when he introduced a song entitled ‘Look What the Bats Dragged in’. ‘Summertime Suicide’ harked back to his days in Murderdolls and during ‘Good Day To Be a Bad Guy’ the atmosphere was particularly lively.

Though a costume change preceded ‘In Misery’ and ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’, they actually used fewer props than some other bands such as Ward XVI and LN, but Wednesday did come on with a pumpkin during ‘Haunt Me’ and threw ‘sweeties’ into the crowd. After a drum solo, ‘Nowhere’ was another to please those who go back to Murderdolls and the foul-mouthed punk thrash of ‘197666’ goes even further back to his original band Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13, apparently.

Both ‘I Walked With a Zombie’ and ‘Bad Things’ were built for singalongs, but there was one more remarkable moment to come: with the offending words flashed both on a banner and an umbrella he was wielding, he got us all to join in on ‘I Love to Say F—’ and in some audience participation raise our middle fingers rather than the more usual devil horns. I just hope any young children, of whom there were a fair few at this family friendly festival, were safely tucked up in their camp beds by then!

 

But in a totally Firevolt moment, to celebrate Wednesday’s 50^th birthday Bev Stretford came on stage to present him with a birthday cake and a box of Manchester made produce including a packet of Jaffa Cakes, at which point the Duke of Spook was reduced to being a sentimental old softie.

Over the weekend, I think I saw more Massive Wagons t-shirts than any other band, so it was fitting they headlined the Bludsucker stage on Saturday night, like Mason Hill doing so exactly three years after headlining the Big Top tent. Plus, alongside Those Damn Crows, they have probably been the biggest and most successful standard bearers for the New Wave of Classic Rock which will always be the bread and butter of a festival like this.

 

Since then they have released further albums and singles so there was a wealth of material for the band and hyperactive singer Baz Mills to get their teeth into from the start- beginning with ‘Everywhere We Go’, ‘Fun While It Lasted’, and ‘Missing On TV’, while in a set of remarkably few guitar solos of any length, ‘Please Stay Calm’ had the best one from Stevie Holl.  After ‘Cool Like a Fox’, ‘F*** the Haters’ had me and others perfecting the middle finger skills we had just practiced with Wednesday 13.

Rather than take an easy ‘best of’ route, they were focusing on more recent material, and I was surprised the likes of ‘Back to the Stack’ and ‘Tokyo’ were omitted. Instead we had their new single ‘Story Of My Demise’, ‘Night Skies’, unexpectedly sensitive and a reminder that behind the madcap image the band have been another who champion mental heath and well being, and ‘The Good Die Young’ with its ‘we will die on this hill’ refrain.

 

It wasn’t going as well as it could- the sound felt a little muddy, the lighting dim and the sense of excitement and fun of the best Wagons gigs (Stonedead immediately post-pandemic being one such) didn’t seem to be quite there. Fortunately though things eventually came to the boil with ‘Generation Prime’, segueing cheekily into Peter Andre’s ‘Mysterious Girl’ and a couple of oldies that hadn’t been in the set for a while in ‘Pressure’ and ‘The Curry Song’, Baz leading the crowd in a call and response ‘you say keema, I say naan, you say Rogan, I say Josh’ that is quite unique in rock.

After ‘House of Noise’, ‘Banging In Your Stereo’ finally succeeded in getting the whole of the crowd to jump around and bounce as one- and there was one equally participatory encore: ‘fittingly ‘In It Together’ with the crowd swaying arms to the closing ‘who-oo-ahs’. After a slightly underwhelming first half to their set, the Wagons had pulled it around.

Day 3- Sunday 9^th August

The Wildhearts, FM, Cats In Space, Virginmarys, A’priori, Jack J Hutchinson, Pyroclast, Haxan, Mad Haven

After two great days so far, sadly the festival was already nearly over so I tried to be mindful and live in the moment on the third day. Better still, it was clear of the sound gremlins that had previously reared their head at times. It opened on the Bludsucker stage with Welsh trio Mad Haven whose taped intro of party hardy classics told you of their musical influences. They have been around for some while (I saw them just before the pandemic in London with Romeo’s Daughter) and opened impressively with ‘Undecided’.

 

‘Are You Ready To Rock?’ was actually quite enjoyable but lead singer and guitarist Tom Rogowski subtly disowned it saying it had been written when they were 14 and they were going to play some more recent and mature material, beginning with ‘Wasted On You’. ‘Liar’ featured a singalong, and ‘Can’t Let Go’ was the nearest to a ballad.

It’s quite unusual to see one of the more melodic bands in a power trio format with no keyboard player or second guitarist, but ‘Guilty’ and ‘Take Control’ still had a very full sound, making for a very good start to the day.

 

Haxan blew away any cobwebs from anyone suffering from nights of excess as they opened up the Trooper stage even if the all-woman trio looked a little dwarfed by the very wide stage. They opened with ‘Death of Me’ before their most accessible number, ‘Killing Time’.

‘Collide’ even developed into a Maiden-like gallop with bassist Harriet Wadeson pulling her best shapes while guitarist Sam Bolderson poured heart and soul into her vocals on ‘Black Sheep’ in gutsy fashion. However after ‘Sirens’, ‘Thirteenth Hour’ and ‘Burn Alive’ which was a bit of an epic, a set that had flown by was over after just 30 minutes as time needed to be carved out for an earlier Sunday finish.

 

There was a late line up change in the runup to the festival with Deville unable to play and Pyroclast stepping in at short notice, providing a welcome blast of true metal to the festival (though Bloodstock on the same weekend was probably cornering that market).

The Scots had a dynamic stage presence, with a pair of long-haired guitarists Baz Fitzsimmons and Chris Horne soloing together and kilted singer Mark Reid a strong voice on songs like ‘Break the Tide’.  They were also tackling social issues such as climate change- on ‘Hellbound Planet’, bearing a real resemblance to ‘Painkiller’ era Priest, and homelessness on ‘W.A.I.L’.

For a short notice replacement, they were an impressive pick, even if the songs were starting to sound a little samey by the time of ‘Slaughterhouse, ‘The Darkest of Times’ and their eponymous ‘Pyroclast’. Sadly they ran out of time as tantalisingly said they were about to do a cover of ‘Wasted Years’- that would have been interesting.

 

Next up was a familiar figure at Firevolt in Jack J Hutchinson. After playing here in his own right he has over the last few years hosted a ‘Jam with Jack’ session before the main bands where literally any aspiring musician present, young and old, can play with him. His own sound has evolved from being a blues rock guitar hero to a much more rounded songwriter with a decent voice, shown to good effect on openers ‘Constellations’ and ‘Don’t Let the F***ers Get You Down’, before a bluesier ‘Road to Hell’, with a southern-style intro, showed off the talent of his power trio line up.

He was his usual affable self, praising some of the stars of the jam sessions and could be forgiven a bit of name dropping (‘I was talking Epiphone guitars with Steve Cropper’). ‘Soul Believer’ was a new song, and ‘Days Are Gone’ excellent, but eclipsed by his moving tribute to his Dad, the epic ‘I Will Follow You’. A couple of more concise melodic rockers in ‘Overdrive’ and the earworm riffs of ‘Call Of the Wild’ topped off a quietly impressive set.

 

Another band with a low national profile so far but bringing a huge number of fans here, based on another t-shirt straw poll, were A’Priori. The Blackpool trio have been here twice before and have an unusual line up with no bass player.

‘Turn It Up’ opened things up with a rousing anthem, and ‘Fear’ included a synth solo from keyboardist Mark Wilson, then ‘Made For Hell’ was followed by another that invited a singalong in ‘Nah Nah Nah Nah’. Frontman Tony Lang was that increasingly rare combination, both a very powerful guitarist and with a good voice even reminding me at times of Myles Kennedy.

Among the likes of ‘Live Today’ and ‘Wasted Years’ (no, not that one) the songs that really stood out for me were ‘Black Church’, with some massive dark riffs, and ‘Voodoo Love’s particularly strong chorus, before they ended with ‘Shotgun Blues’ and ‘Making Love To the Devil’. I was highly impressed, not least as I couldn’t remember them being quite this good before.

This was my second experience of the Virginmarys in three weeks after Maid of Stone, but this time the band from nearby Macclesfield were closer to home. Once again singer/guitarist Ally Dikaty and drummer Danny Dolan made a thunderous amount of noise for a duo. Their anger and energy began with ‘You’re a Killer’ and ‘Just A Ride’ and did not let up for a long while.

It wasn’t my personal scene, particularly Ally’s screaming vocal style, but plenty of fans thought otherwise, with the likes of ‘SOS for You and I’ and the rather more restrained ‘Look Out For My Brother’. I could spot people particularly moving to ‘When the Lights Go Down’, then after ‘There Ain’t No Future’, ‘Bang Bang Bang’ was such a lively closer that it got people pogoing.

Over at the Bludsucker stage once again there was a 180 degree stylistic shift as Cats in Space made their debut at the festival. I have been a committed fan since they first came on the scene a decade ago so it was always going to be one of the moments I looked forward to most, but also with a little trepidation as it was also a relaunch of sorts, being the first show with Chris Childs on bass and Sam Wood on guitar – plus the audience seemed to include relatively few of the diehards who follow them all over the country.

As they opened, as usual, with the title track of debut album ‘Too Many Gods’ it was clear the lush arrangements and harmonies were safe in the new band’s hands. They played at least one song from every album to date, though ‘Revolution’ is not one of their strongest songs for me. They were also one of the few bands over the weekend to have their own video production as a backdrop including their version of the Rising Sun imagery for the first airing of a new song ‘Never Big in Japan’, continuing a recurring theme of songs about the music industry.

Singer Damien Edwards excelled on his very personal ‘My Father’s Eyes’, then there were a pair of songs that called to mind Styx and Boston in the over the top arrangements of ‘Kickstart the Sun’, led off by Andy Stewart’s keyboard intro, and one of my favourite, but rarely played, songs in ‘Jupiter Calling’, with its huge pre-chorus hook. Chris Childs’ bass intro led into the disco pastiche ‘Thunder in the Night’ while Damien again shone on another lush arrangement on ‘The Greatest Story Never Told’, even the intro that used to be sung by Jeff Brown.

I sensed that the lighter and more whimsical side of the band had been downplayed in favour of a set more suitable for this audience and this was confirmed with the closing pair which were more straight ahead rockers – ‘Hologram Man’ including Greg Hart and Sam Wood swapping solos on their Les Pauls and a Lizzy-esque twin solo from the pair, and the rolling grooves, aided by Andy’s barroom-style piano, of ‘Occam’s Razor’. I am not sure what the uninitiated made of a set very different from the other bands on show, but as a fan I loved it- the set contained a few surprises and the new boys settled in nicely.

 

Next up were a band who have been personal favourites for even longer in the UK’s melodic rock standard bearers (alongside Dare) in FM, last seen here at the inaugural Firestorm. It looked like other fans had been gathering even while Cats in Space were on the other stage but I still found a nice spot on the barrier at the far end to get an alternative perspective on the band’s stage craft. It was the third time I’d seen them this year- the first where they played ‘Indiscreet’ in full to mark its 40^th anniversary, then a festival set halfway down the bill at Maid of Stone. In terms of length and set choice, this co-headline fell somewhere between the two.

Again with their own video backdrops, and some of the best lighting of the weekend, they opened with ‘Digging Up the Dirt’ and ‘Killed By Love’. I could already spot some people in the middle moving to the latter, then as the album cover backdrop was brought down and they started an ‘Indiscreet’ sequence, I looked across and it was a great sight to see quite how many people were punching the air to the chorus of ‘That Girl’.

But as Jem Davis came down from his bank of keyboards to play keytar, I was thinking ‘The Other Side of Midnight’ was just as strong. Not for the first time I was wondering how they missed the big time with a song catalogue to rank with Journey, Foreigner and Survivor over the same period.

‘Love Lies Dying’ was a change of pace but showed the enduring quality of Steve Overland’s voice along with a sweet solo by Jim Kirkpatrick, before two more period AOR classics in ‘I Belong to the Night’ and the less played ‘Hot Wired’, but full of trademark FM-isms from Steve’s ‘who-oah’ vocal intro to the closing twin guitar break. ‘Indiscreet’ was not played in full but a real treat was to hear ‘Dangerous’, among the first songs they recorded but left off the album, with some relatively intricate guitar work.

After a reminder that the band continue a steady release of new albums to this day in ‘Synchronised’ and the bluesy ‘Black Water’, another of those fan favourites that didn’t make it to album in ‘Let Love Be the Leader’ climaxed in another brief twin guitar solo and those synchronised stage moves, also featuring bassist Merv Goldsworthy, that always put a smile on the face.

In no time at all it was onto a final trio of the big anthems from ‘Tough It Out’ in ‘Bad Luck’ and the title track, and newer favourite ‘Turn This Car Around’. Nothing in this show could change my viewpoint that FM are playing as well as ever- I hope less committed fans were just as impressed.

The 27^th and last band of the main bill (The Trooper stage played host to a further band each night for those wanting to continue the party) was a real coup in The Wildhearts- not just as a band with a long history who can still sell medium-sized venues, but with the poignant news that their time is finite, mainman Ginger having been diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer and choosing to forgo treatment.

There was therefore a huge amount of goodwill as he took the stage with his latest line up, even if there was an unusual choice of opener in ‘Failure Is the Mother Of Success’ from most recent album ‘Satanic Rites of the Wildhearts’, taking in a raw punky attitude, brutal riffing, and an art rock-like bridge as it stretched over several minutes. When they played Maid of Stone a few weeks earlier hits were conspicuous by their absence but this time ‘Sucker Punch’ came early, coming over like a spikier version of Motorhead and sparking a bit of a ruck at the front, followed by the more power pop strains of ‘Nothing Ever Changes But the Shoes’.

Ginger seemed moved by his reception and in particular when the ‘who-oahs’ that mark ‘Mazel Tov Cocktail’ continued long after the song had finished. I then had to laugh when he introduced recent song ‘Maintain Radio Silence’ as being ‘about my favourite subject, narcissism’.

 

There was love all around with Ginger saying ‘God bless you and thank you’ to which the appropriate response was ‘no, Ginger, God bless and thank you’.  He was making the most of these moments while still able to, be it another communal singalong to ‘Cheers’ (the lyrics ‘sometimes you want to go, where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you  came’ seemed particularly apposite), making the heart shape with his hands, or even petting his dog Maggie as she invaded the stage!

In such an environment, anything would go so he surprised us with playing a song off the next album Northern Spirit in ‘Spider Beach’, with keyboard player Carol Hodge sharing the vocals on the verses, then after another crowd favourite in ‘Everlone’, ‘Slaughtered Authors’ saw the band and particularly Ginger and curly haired guitar partner Ben Marsden creating a discordant wall of noise.

 

‘Diagnosis’ proved to be another communal singalong to the ‘you are not your diagnosis’ chorus before another less obvious choice of final song in ‘Chutzpah’. Luckily they had left enough time to return for one more encore, and at the opening strains of ‘I Wanna Go Where the People Go’ the healthily sized crowed that remained to the end were all up and jumping, before being showered in confetti. Hopefully we will hear more from Ginger for some while, but this was the best possible note for the 5^th anniversary Firevolt to conclude on.

I opened this review by enthusing on Firevolt’s community nature. At other festivals I would have been rushing for the bus home at that point, but it is always worth staying for Stret and Bev’s thank yous to those who made the weekend possible. In this case he had lost his voice, leaving the remarks to her. They even included some thanks to the press, and indeed we are treated here as welcome guests rather than the necessary evil at some other shows.

 

However what made it more special this year was the sheer number of volunteers who came on stage to join the thanks- having grown from ten at the first festival to around a hundred. With announcements already made for 2027, Firevolt is a success story and it is the people as well as the bands who make it so.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan 

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Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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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 19 July 2026.

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Power Plays w/c 3 August 2026

STORMBRINGER Dirt And Bone (Attic Records)
SARI SCHORR Mr. In The Middle (Provogue Records)
JAMES KENNEDY & THE UNDERDOGS Shadows (Konic Records)
KATH & THE KICKS Sleep (indie)
VELVETEEN QUEEN Too Far Gone (Silver Lining Music)
SESAME GIRL Prettiest Girl In The World (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 3 August 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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