One of the consequences of the current wretched state of our world in 2022 is that, even though live music has returned from its Covid hiatus, travelling abroad for both fans and bands has become logistically more difficult, and we can expect to see fewer American and other overseas bands hitting our shores.
It’s a good time therefore to focus on the British rock scene which is at its healthiest in years, at least in a musical rather than a profit making sense, not least because of the efforts of the movement known as The New Wave of Classic Rock.
So when in the spring a new festival, Firestorm, was announced with an impressive roster of over 30 bands, all from ‘this sceptred isle’, it was an answer to my prayers, despite being 200 miles from home. The line up included several acts for whom my response to seeing them for the first time since live music reopened had been to the effect of ‘that was so great, when can I next see them?’, plus a number of others on my list to check out for the first time.
Sadly it appears that the adage ‘if it looks too good to be true it probably is’ led to some cynicism, particularly given that a number of other festivals, including those run by a certain organisation with greater resources, had bitten the dust, often at short notice. There was also competition with other events that weekend, while many of the bands here were on multiple other festival bills.
Though badged ‘Firestorm MCR’ the setting was right on the edge of the Greater Manchester area – on the rural fringes of Stockport - down a single track lane at the end of a country park and on a farm. The primary stage had an intriguing set up – a stage and small standing area underneath one barn, then after a small gap in the open, a larger barn housing the bar but still offering a view of the stage. The second stage, the easiest of walks away in a neighbouring field, was a more conventional big top and well appointed other than an off putting roof support bisecting the centre of the stage.
DAY 1- WAYWARD SONS, PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS, THE TREATMENT, BAD TOUCH, FLORENCE BLACK, SCRUFFY BEAR, THE HOT DAMN, UNKNOWN REFUGE
The honour of being the first band to open Firestorm went to a very young local-ish band from Bolton, Unknown Refuge, who had been selected after a battle of the bands contest. Vocalist and bassist Alex Mancini was slightly grungy in image and singing style but the two guitarists Jack Tracey and Anthony Hale clearly love a bit of Pantera-style heavy shredding. The likes of ‘I’m Not a Bad Guy’, a yet to be released song ‘Spearhead a Revolution’, ‘Battle Hymn’ and ‘To the End’ all went down well, showing youthful promise and getting the festival off to a good start.
Next up were more seasoned company in the one all-girl group on the bill- The Hot Damn. Circumstances defied me from seeing them at Stonedead Festival last year so this neatly made amends. Their co-ordinated image is certainly striking although their dayglo coloured polyester ‘pantsuits’, as the Americans call them, were an uncomfortable choice for a boiling hot day.
Formed from various groups including the Amorettes and Tequila Mockingbird, their sound is considerably popper than those acts and indeed during opener ‘Catch Me If You Can’ I had the Kings of Leon’s ‘Sex On Fire’ in my head. However the infectious eighties influenced pop rock of songs like previous single ‘Dance Around’ and a brand new one ‘Live Life Love’ impressed.
There was also a lot of humour on stage, marking guitarist Laurie Buchanan’s birthday, plugging their merch to the tune of ‘Mercedes Benz’ and inserting a snatch of Donna Summer’s ‘Hot Stuff’, renamed as Hot Damn during ‘Going Down’. An enjoyable set, if one riddled by sound issues still sorting themselves out ,ended with ‘I Didn’t Like You Anyway’ which had several people, myself included, singing and jiggling around.
The action switched to the tent for Scruffy Bear who were late replacements for Hells Addiction. Despite the rather twee name the band – who I’d caught at one of the Holloway Strip events in London last month – conjure some intense and heavy grooves, though they do not rely on obvious hooks or choruses.
The primeval howl of singer Georgy Eaton was striking and yet at odds with her breathless high pitched enthusiasm between songs, which from her explanations also seemed to carry a thought provoking lyrical message. I found myself surprisingly impressed with the likes of ‘Pebbles’, ‘Magic at our Fingertips’, ‘Stories of Strong Women’ and ‘Solace’.
Next up were Florence Black who have been building quite a reputation for themselves, both in the wider world and among my own circle of ‘gig buddies’, one of whom in particular swears by them. However as they opened with ‘Zulu’ and ‘Bird on a Chain’, they were rather dry and dark for my tastes, not least singer and guitarist Tristan Thomas’ rather growling vocals. Moreover, the power trio had quite a plain stage presentation with Tristan almost in his own postcode on one side of the stage. ‘Smoke’ hinted at Alter Bridge but ‘The Deep End’ and ‘Same Again’ were worthy but hook free, but I found ‘The Ride’ and ‘The Light’ more accessible.
A very authentic cover of fellow Welshmen Budgie’s classic ‘Breadfan’ went down a storm with the crowd, before they closed with their best known song ‘Sun And The Moon’. Belatedly this showed the light and shade I wish more of the songs had demonstrated. I’m afraid I can’t really add myself to their growing army of fans, at least not without further investigation.
After narrowly escaping catastrophe as beer and camera clashed as I was packing up to return to the tent, I had my first sighting since the pandemic of Bad Touch, the Norfolk rockers under the command and excellent vocals of hat wearing Stevie Westwood. They opened in some style with two of their most obvious and straight ahead rockers, ‘Lift Your Head Up’ and ‘Good on Me’ (or is it ‘Jealous Again’?)
Though those lovely Black Crowes-like southern inspired vibes can leave the songs needing more variety, they are a tight unit reaping the benefits of a stable line up over many years and the guitar tone of Rob Glendinning is always a delight to hear with its sense of taste and feel, especially on ‘Can You Save Me’.
‘I Get High’ kept up the momentum of a fine opening riff from his guitar partner ‘Seeks’ Seekings; a cover of Alanis Morrisette’s ‘Hand In My Pocket’ was a pleasant surprise, and ‘Outlaw’, with great dynamism as the quiet bits built to a massive fist punching chorus, and the fun anthem ‘99 per cent’ ended the most accomplished and melodic set so far on a high.
Over a decade after being teenage sensations and earning a high profile US support for Kiss and Motley Crue, even more than Bad Touch, The Treatment have settled nicely, finding their niche and finally a stable line up who both musically and presentationally are a sharp, high energy live act.
Opening with ‘Lets Get Dirty’ and ‘Let It Begin’ (with its catchy ‘Runaway Train’ chorus hook), Tom Rampton has a frontman’s looks and constantly worked the crowd while the AC/DC-esque riffing and poses of brothers Tao and Tagore Grey never fail to entertain.
Though enjoyable, the likes of ‘Bite Back’ and ‘I Bleed Rock’n’Roll’ can be in danger of repeating themselves like Airbourne, but there were some particularly impressive moments such as the lolloping feel of ‘Eyes On You’ (another where the ‘Under water’ chorus is more prominent than the song title) and the more melodic ‘Devil In The Detail’.
There was a ZZ Top feel to ‘On The Money’ and ‘Rat Race’s sharp guitar sound reminded me of Pyromania-era Def Leppard. ‘The Doctor’ was a rare favourite from their earlier years, and ‘Get The Party Started’ was made for audience participation but I sensed maybe they had misjudged the clock as the set abruptly ended with old favourite ‘Shake The Mountain’ among those I would have expected to hear.
The final band of the day in the tent are one of the few to bridge the gap between the old and new wave of British rock. Phil Campbell is, alas, now the senior surviving former member of Motorhead but the Welsh guitarist, in a dryly humorous way leads a band called The Bastard Sons which include no less than three of his offspring. After a ‘Highway Star’ intro tape they opened with the eponymous ‘We’re The Bastard Sons’.
Singer Joel Peters does a passable impression of Lemmy’s growling singing style and the set included more Motorhead than I expected and though they were never really my cup of tea, no-one my age can avoid singing along and punching the air to songs we grew up on like ‘Iron Fist’ and ‘Born To Raise Hell’ – though I committed the cardinal sin of thinking I could complete a toilet and beer break within the space of a song and missed ‘Ace Of Spades’ in its entirety, returning to find a packed tent going crazy to ‘Silver Machine’.
These sat alongside some originals including ‘Big Mouth’, ‘Get On Your Knees’ featuring a singalong, and the slower and bluesier ‘Dark Days’. They ended with ‘Ringleader’ well before their allotted time but that left time for a generous four song encore including ‘Bomber’, ‘Just Cos You Got The Power’ with an extended guitar solo, the old-fashioned rock and roll of ‘Going To Brazil’ and suitably to close, ‘Killed By Death’, a reminder that it was Phil’s debut in Motorhead and remains one of their finest hours. You could question the over emphasis on nostalgia but for a festival crowd this was perfect fodder.
And so to Wayward Sons, like their Bastard counterparts a new band but one with a relative old stager in mainman Toby Jepson (and indeed another in hyperactive Chrome Molly bassist Nic Wastell). However in contrast Little Angels material, as usual, was totally absent from a set of originals spanning their now three albums.
They opened with ‘Any Other Way’, followed by one of their now familiar first album favourite ‘Don’t Wanna Go’ which got the crowd going, ‘Even Up The Score’ and ‘Ghost’.
His hair starting to grow back after last year’s severe chop, Toby seemed to be enjoying himself and was the first but not the last artist to be bowled over by the vibe of the festival. Sam Wood, with one of the biggest smiles in rock is a very capable guitarist with a lovely tone on his Les Paul, and yet I find it hard to fully warm to them the way I connected with Little Angels back in the day.
The songs, most of which have a power pop or slight new wave feel are too samey with no real change of pace from one song to the other. ‘Sign Of The Times’ and ‘Fake’ both suffered from an overly punky approach, and the band’s rather frantic delivery – at least with their live sound – also drowns out some of Toby’s sharp political commentary, ‘Small Talk’ being a prime example.
However the closing third of the set was much improved, notably ‘Crush’ and ‘Faith In Fools’ and I picked up on the chorus of ‘Joke’s On You’ as it progressed. Indeed I really enjoyed the encore of three of their favourite songs- ‘Feel Good Hit’, ‘Big Day’ and ‘To The End,’ its ‘sticking it out to the end’ chorus a perfect salute to people who had braved the heat for an excellent first day.
DAY 2 – THOSE DAMN CROWS, FM, THE DUST CODA, INGLORIOUS, EMPYRE, BUCK AND EVANS, GORILLA RIOT, REVIVAL BLACK,SOUTH OF SALEM, THESE WICKED RIVERS, BASTETTE, VALHALLA AWAITS, BLACK ROZE
A couple of years ago at Ramblin Man (which set the benchmark for a perfect classic rock festival) I prided myself on seeing at least something of 13 bands in a day. On Firestorm Saturday I matched that but some clever scheduling (plus, regrettably the withdrawal of Bernie Marsden on health grounds) meant that in a marathon 12 hour period I could watch all 13 bands. The famous Mitchell and Webb Sky TV spoof ‘football everywhere, all the time’ sprang to mind.
The party started with some retro vibes from Black Roze with the very entertaining stage antics of white dreadlocked singer Victoria (Viixen) with her goth-meets-glam look complemented by some tidy solos from Baz Roze on his Ibanez. ‘Shake It Wild’, ‘So Sleazy’, ‘Not Your Whore’ and ‘Burn It Down’ were all very enjoyable if unoriginal fare.
Best of all though was a cover of ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’ pitched midway between the Eurhythmics and Marilyn Manson versions. She introduced ‘At The Devil’s Door’ with a heart warming story of her bounce back from a near death experience, until a brief set had to be cut short.
Kicking things off in the tent were Welsh band Valhalla Awaits – one of the bands on the bill closest to out-and-out metal. Former Buffalo Summer frontman Andrew Hunt is a strong singer with a good stage presence and there were some impressive songs including opener ‘Dying Inside’ and ‘Black Waters’.
It was though a double edged sword that the most memorable song for me was a quality cover of ‘Slither’. Nevertheless ‘Pull Me Under’, ‘Skin And Bone’ and ‘Inside The Sun’ from a new EP concluded the set and showed substantial promise.
Next up were Bastette, who with some goth and pop overtones offer something different to those fellow NWOCR hopefuls who generally tend to plough a traditional heavy blues rock furrow. Indeed the stage movements and falsetto on opener ‘Hunter’ of willowy, red-clad singer Caroline Kenyon reminded me of Kate Bush rather than the more usual rock influences.
Their best known song ‘Talk About It’ came fairly early in the set alongside other established songs like ‘Psycho’ and ‘Sick And Twisted’. ‘Rip Her To Shreds’ was my favourite of a set which closed with ‘Rollercoaster’. Though the focus will always be on their magnetic singer, the band seemed more assured and comfortable on stage than when I saw them earlier in the year in London and are evolving nicely.
These Wicked Rivers made for a striking sight, in their beards, flowery shirts and Blackberry Smoke-style paisley printed soft furnishings adorning the stage. When I saw them last year in London at the Total Rock anniversary show they had struck me as rather stoner-ish for my own tastes, yet this time within a couple of songs I found myself surprisingly impressed with the likes of ‘Force Of Nature’ and the Kris Barras-esque ‘Black Gold’ which were very accessible, with the keyboards of Rich Wilson also giving additional colour to their songs.
‘When The War Is Won’ and ‘Floyd’ were both slow and heavy, yet also majestic, while the two closers ‘Testify’ (featuring harmonica and a repeated ‘Holy Water’ chorus) and ‘Don’t Pray For Me’ both had an epic feel. After this pleasant surprise of a set, I was realising I had underestimated them initially.
South of Salem from the South Coast have the scuzzy, sleazy look of the likes of Black Veil Brides. My first encounter with them at the same Holloway Strip event where I’d seen Scruffy Bear recently had also not been a favourable one, finding them too shouty and aggressive for my own tastes.
This time in a rather better appointed environment I was able to appreciate them more. They do have an obsession with the macabre, though balanced by a great sense of humour in the titles- ‘Let Us Prey’, ‘Another Nail In My Coffin’ and best of all ‘No Plague Like Home’.
‘Demons are Forever’ had a Shinedown-esque feel and I also enjoyed the way the twin guitars combined at various points during the set. ‘Pretty Little Nightmare’ and, in particular, set closer ‘Cold Day In Hell’ married aggression with a catchy hook and I had to eat humble pie, enjoying them way more than expected.
As singer Daniel Byrne pointed out, Revival Black’s show was a transitional one as it included several from their second album ‘Under The Light’ which after being gradually dropped into the set was days away from release. A generous selection included openers ‘Believe’ and ‘Take You Out’, ‘See You Again’ and ‘Broken Home’.
‘So Alive’ was probably the fastest in the set, then, after’ No Secrets No Lies’, new and old ended proceedings in the form of ’Hurricane’ and ‘Wide Awake’ with its ‘take me to the end of the line’ chorus.
However I still feel rather ambivalent about the critically acclaimed young Liverpudlians. On the one hand, Daniel is both an engaging character and has a voice of great range, the band look the part and are impressively hard-hitting and tight but the music – whether old or new – to my ears lacks a bit of variety and memorable hooks.
Mancunians Gorilla Riot as you might expect seemed to bring a lot of their own fans- however this was a double edged sword as I thought too much of the set was taken up with matey banter between singer Arjun Bhishma, band members and their fans, leading to the feeling I had gatecrashed a private party.
Their sound was far more laid back than I expected and, indeed the mellow vibe was perfect for another sweltering afternoon, with some lengthy southern influenced jams somewhere between Blackberry Smoke and Blind Melon, featuring two lead guitarists in Liam Henry and Charlie T, occasionally three when Arjun joined in. It was frustrating not to hear more of the songs introduced, in order to check out further, though I did pick up on the insidious ‘Last Hymn’, ‘Bad Son’, with a snatch of ‘Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be’, and ‘Morning Sun’.
Prior to the pandemic Buck and Evans had emerged as one of my favourite bands and I was delighted to see them on the bill as I feared they were history with Chris Buck – who seems to have tidied his image somewhat – busy with Cardinal Black (another on my must see list). Opening with the beguiling ‘Slow Train’ they offered something totally different – great songs given scope to develop including winding solos delivered with great emotion by Chris, a Bonamassa of the valleys.
Sally-Ann Evans’ soulful voice was to the fore on ‘Going Home’ and a new song ‘Something To Take Me Higher’ in particular, while ‘Dreams To Remember’ was pure Memphis-style soul. However the singer (who at the risk of a cliché shares the sardonic humour and some of the mannerisms of Gavin and Stacey’s Nessa) seemed to be struggling a little both with the heat and with her keyboard not working.
For the casual fan they are not the easiest listen, especially when one lengthy song – ‘Back To Yesterday’ and ‘Sinking’- follows another. The funky soulful set closer ‘Ain’t No Moonlight’ had a lighter feel and more in that mould would have been welcome.
Meanwhile, back at the barn, the variety continued with the dark and sometimes progressive sounds of Empyre – again a band I have struggled to get into in the past. Songs like ‘My Bad’ were no exception – however I had to warm to the sardonic humour of sonorous singer Henrik Steenholt, asking if anyone wanted a party rock band, and if so they had come to the wrong place as their mission was to kill the vibe.
A number of new songs were played including ‘Walking Light’ and indeed one of them ‘Hit And Run’(I think) was more like The Cure or other indie bands. ‘Only Way Out’ was the one song I really picked up on, but I reached the conclusion they are for others to enjoy.
Inglorious are a band I have seen much more of, through constant touring with indeed an autumn jaunt upcoming. They had the misfortune to be in the tent when the afternoon was at its hottest and stickiest but did not let it affect their performance. They opened with an absolutely classic riff from Danny DelaCruz heralding an impressive start with ‘She Won’t Let You Go’, though for a while I didn’t recognise the young guitarist who has drastically toned down his extravagant clothes and pouting poses.
Familiar earlier favourites like ‘Breakaway’, ‘Unaware’ , ‘Read All About It’ and ‘High Flying Gypsy’ showcased Nathan James’ rich, bellowing voice even though his self-assurance – including the Freudian slip ‘here’s one from my (sic) first album’ – is always an acquired taste.
There was just a solitary cut from the all female covers album ‘Heroine’ in ‘Barracuda’ where he made a mighty attempt at Ann Wilson’s peerless vocal, which delighted me as he had left that off the set I saw in London last year, when he was suffering from a cold.
The division of guitar responsibilities is more equally shared these days between Danny and Dan Stevens (audaciously dressed down for the heat in a mesh top!) and the two both showed their prowess on ‘He Will Provide’ an illustration, together with ‘Messiah’, of how the band’s sound seems to have gradually got heavier.
There were familiar tropes from Inglorious gigs – a call and response chant ‘we’re in f—ing Stockport’ to ‘Where AAe You now’ being one such, and Nathan wandered into the crowd to seemingly sing ‘Holy Water’ with every single crowd member, while the two guitarists again took turns with the solos, before as usual ‘I Don’t Need Your Lovin’ and the big riffing of ‘Until I Die’ ended an enjoyable as usual set.
Up from London, The Dust Coda have achieved quite a fair bit of success with last year’s second album ‘Mojo Skyline’ hitting the national top 30. Allowing music rather than image to speak for itself, theirs is an interesting sound that is hard to pigeonhole but usually has a raw high octane bluesiness to it, with John Drake’s distinctive howl.
With the new album heavily featured, they opened in surprisingly accessible fashion with ‘Jimmy 2 Times’ and ‘Demon’. ‘Dream Alight ‘had a melodic and southern vibe, ‘Sweet Love is Gone’ was a lengthy and raw blues, but ‘It’s a Jam’ was punchier garage rock.
As their set neared its end, ‘Down In The Valley’ was another lengthy jam with a bass solo and snatch of ‘LA Woman’, ‘Best Believe It’ fast and furious, and ‘Limbo Man’ ended a diverse set confirming their status as one of the more interesting bands in the current scene.
And so to the two headliners, beginning with FM who have the longest history of any of the bands. Full disclosure – they’ve been favourites of mine even before their first album appeared in 1986 and the two shows I attended this spring left me wanting more.
However the tent was somewhat empty and with only a smattering of band T-shirts it appears that the NWOCR bands held greater appeal- though in fairness they tour extensively and indeed played two other shows over the weekend less than 50 miles away. However they are the ultimate pros and there was a reassuring feel from the moment Jem Davis’ keys heralded ‘Synchronised’; and Steve Overland uttered the first of this trademark ‘who-oah’ intros.
The set was a perfect mix of the old and the (relatively) new: in the former category ‘Bad Luck’ and ‘Let Love Be The Leader’ showed off all their hallmarks: those great melodic hooks and the way the band joyfully combine in stage poses, notably when Jim Kirkpatrick and Steve play a snatch of harmony lead guitar.
In the latter category came the fun of the Van Halen ish ‘Life Is A Highway’, ‘Killed By Love’ with its ‘who-oh-oh’ choruses; the dual guitar shuffle of ‘Over You’ and bluesier feel of ‘Crosstown Train’ with Jim’s guitar up front in the mix.
The lazy, mellow feel of ‘Long Way Home’ from new album ‘13’ showed off the blues and soul influences in both Steve’s vocals and Jim’s guitar, then there were the numbers for the diehard fan- ‘Crack Alley’ and in the one change to the set ‘Every Time I Think Of You’ replaced ‘Frozen Heart’ as the mid-set ballad and left me wondering why it failed to be a breakthrough hit back in the day.
There was then a closing run of vintage FM classics – ‘That Girl’ ,’Tough It Out’- where Steve excelled himself with both an opening ‘who-oh’ and ‘yeah-eah’ and ‘I Belong To The Night’. However it is a tribute to the way new song ‘Turn This Car Around’ has become a classic that the atmosphere was equally good, with more cheeky humour from the band pretending to boogie Status Quo style during the song’s climax.
Two usual encores showed the different sides of FM – the moving ‘Story Of My Life’ delivered almost acapella showcased that extraordinary voice that sounds as good as ever at the wrong side of 60, then ‘The Other Side Of Midnight’ saw the depleted crowd jumping around as the band again enjoyed themselves with Jem bringing his keytar up front. More reliable excellence from the stalwarts of British AOR.
I returned to get a spot in the wings at the main stage with great difficulty – proof that Those Damn Crows were the biggest draw for this festival – despite appearing at several other outdoor shows this summer.
I’ve said it before but it is Shane Greenall’s incredible magnetism as a singer and frontman that makes them stand out in a crowded field and his exuberance was clear from the start, indeed knocking over a pit photographer in his enthusiasm. The rest of the band are powerful and well drilled (though guitar solos of any length are avoided), but the opening pair of ‘Send The Reaper’ and ‘The Fighter’ seemed a little too fast and frantic while the dark stage lighting did them no favours.
‘Someone Someday’ surprisingly segued into a most unexpected of covers in ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’. But good though the likes of ‘Kingdom Of Dust’, the modern rock of ‘Sick Of It’ complete with taped keyboards and thrashier ‘Don’t Give A Damn’ were, for me the set had richer pickings the longer it went on.
‘Who Did It’ was huge and then in a change of pace Shane added acoustic guitar to the mid tempo, anthemic ‘Be You’ and took to piano for the superb ballad ‘Never Win’. It is those slower numbers that show off an arresting voice with an unusual timbre which in another world could be suited to modern pop.
‘Blink Of An Eye’, dedicated to all those lost during the pandemic was another widescreen epic as he switched between piano and prowling the stage up front. There was even the preview of a new song ‘Wake Up’, and during ‘Sin On Skin’ the party atmosphere was in full swing as he went into the crowd, emerged from the rear bar with a tray of shots and thanked the crew amid much banter with bandmates, before the set closed with ‘Long Time Dead’.
The first encore was another massive anthem in first encore ‘Go Get It’, heavy Metallica like riffing giving way to a huge hook filled chorus before their traditional audience participation closer ‘Rock and Roll Ain’t Dead’. As NWOCR’s answer to Denim and Leather as a movement anthem it was a fitting close to the day and to a set that proved beyond doubt that TDC have the breadth of approach to be one of the few young British bands who can carry off headline shows bigger than this.
DAY 3 – STONE BROKEN, KING KING, MASON HILL, THE QUIREBOYS, RYDERS CREED, SCARLET REBELS, KING HERD, ATTIC THEORY, FIREKIND,A’PRIORI
Sunday’s schedule was marginally less frenetic and despite getting going late, I kept up my proud record of seeing every single band all weekend by catching the last 20 minutes of a very accomplished set by Blackpool band A’priori.
With Tony Lang impressive on both vocals and lead guitar in an unusual power trio setup with a keyboard player playing bass parts, the set up and indeed the music reminded me of Wolfmother from time to time (as well as some Zeppelin-esque riffs). ‘I Feel Alive’ ‘Wasted Years’, the latter with a particularly fine solo, and ‘Black Church’ impressed and they concluded with an excellent version of ‘Killing In The Name’.
Firekind – who I then realised I’d seen in a previous guise supporting Wishbone Ash many years ago – offered something a little different from the weekend’s norm, a progressive trio not that far in style and approach from fellow Devonians Muse, except that singer and talented guitarist Jason Morris had that Steve Perry upper tenor smoothness. especially on ballad ‘Burn On The Sun’. They closed with ‘Sound Of Rain‘ and as one of the less well promoted acts on the bill, had made a favourable impression on the unconverted.
In contrast, singer Lewis Wright of Attic Theory had one of those rough-edged voices I don’t normally go for, accentuated by using a megaphone on a couple of songs. But it was hard not to enjoy the warm heartedness of these Liverpudlians who promoted a charity single ‘Narrow The Lines’ and where one of the three guitarists revealed that the very effective last-minute stand in bass player Lucy was one of his pupils!
Alongside originals like ‘Tattooed Heart’ and ‘Doesn’t Matter’, there was an unexpected, but fun, moment in a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’. ‘Your Light’ built in intensity and I really enjoyed ‘Saints Amongst Us’, though closer ‘Violent Delight’ (I think that was the title!) was a bit rough for my tastes.
After catching up with a couple of fellow scribes, I rushed back to catch the majority of King Herd, a new name to me with their first album yet to appear. Singer Dave Taylor came over a little bit like an edgier version of his fellow West Midlander, Stone Broken’s Rich Moss. Musically they were a little post-grunge but possessed some more than decent songs, notably ‘Halo’, ‘Like It Used to Be’, ‘Remedy’ and ‘I Used To Be Somebody Else’. In short yet another pleasant surprise on this weekend full of them.
Again proving that the NWOCR bands were the big draw for most, Scarlet Rebels drew the second biggest crowd to the tent all weekend behind Phil Campbell. Incredibly the Llanelli band pitched their new album ‘See Through Blue’ into the national top 10 earlier this year so their confidence was on a high.
The charismatic Wayne Doyle leads a band that have that uniquely South Walain passion and intensity in the mould of early Manic Street Preachers and Stereophonics, and though the Les Paul wielding Chris Jones is a fine guitarist, soloing is kept to a minimum in an uncompromising wall of sound on songs like ‘Down The Line’, ‘Take It’ and ‘Part Of Me’.
‘Take You Home’ and ‘Save Me’ got a particuarly good reaction, and though some songs sounded a bit samey, for me they really hit their stride when a polemic against our Government seemed to give Wayne added fire and ‘These Days’ and set closer ‘Heal’ were on the next level, finally justifying the hype after I had feeling slightly sceptical for a while.
Back on the main stage Ryders Creed kept up a similar intensity, notably in the tortured figure of singer Ryan Antony, braving the heat in a thick long shirt. Probably one of the heaviest bands of the weekend they mixed classic and more contemporary influences and were a not always comfortable but rewarding listen. ‘Lost Soul’ and the closing pair of ‘My Life’ and ‘Money’ were the songs that made most of an impact.
One of the biggest, yet also most controversial names on the bill, were The Quireboys, having parted company in bitter fashion earlier this year with singer Spike, and I was curious what reception they would get as a result. There was certainly no outright hostility, but I sensed Guy Griffin- the guitarist literally and metaphorically stepping into centre stage as lead vocalist – was having to work overtime to win over a sceptical audience, though in fairness he did not try and sweep the elephant in the room under the carpet, and explained the band members were entitled to continue having been playing together as the Quireboys for over 20 years.
Opening with ‘I Love This Dirty Town’ before one of the many debut album classics in ‘Misled’ with some great piano work from Keith Weir, it was clear ‘Griff’ has a more than decent voice that fits the raffish debauchery of the music, but is not particularly close to that of Spike.
The band wisely decided to use the opportunity to refresh the setlist with a broader selection of tracks, rather than just trot out hits indelibly associated with Spike. These included ‘Gracie B’ which has a deeper musical feel than much of their work, ‘Turn Away’ with its AC/DC ish riff, a generous selection from the best of their post-millennial albums ‘Homewreckers and Heartbreakers’ – not just perennial favourite ‘Mona Lisa Smiled’, and ‘Original Black Eyed Son’ from most recent album ‘Amazing Disgrace’ .
Old favourites ‘There She Goes Again’ and ‘Hey You’, with fine slide work from Griff and Paul Guerin, were still enjoyable and they carried off the country ish ‘Roses and Rings’ admirably. However after ‘This Is Rock n Roll’, a closer of ‘7 O’clock’ badly missed Spike’s character – not to mention the void left by his harmonica playing. They delivered as good a performance as they could in the circumstances, but to a muted response, and I cannot see this ending well for them.
Meanwhile back at the barn Mason Hill were being watched by a crowd probably only second in size over the weekend to that for Those Damn Crows, and rightly so as the young Scots are one of the very brightest prospects in the NWOCR.
Opener ‘Hold On’ demonstrated their mix of dark and heavy verses with a strong chorus hook, and ‘DNA’ instantly got people going, followed by the Alter Bridge like ‘Out of Reach’. One of the pleasures of their show is always how singer Scott Taylor feeds off the enthusiasm of the crowd and his puppyish energy becomes infectious.
It helps that in James Byrd they have probably the most talented lead guitarist in this cohort of bands, as exemplified by his work on the grungy ‘Find My Way’ and a beautiful solo on the brooding ‘Where I Belong’.
There were a couple of surprises in the set- Scott dedicated ‘Now You See Me’ to those who ‘remember the band before the first album’; and a new song ‘Freaking Out’ though I am still not totally sold on it after two listens.
‘We Pray’ showed their more brutal side but for me though, the highlight of the set was the fist punching anthemic feel of ‘Broken Son’ and indeed one of the moments of the festival was when the crowd took over the post-chorus chant after the song had finished, before bouncing to ‘Against The Wall’, a song Scott said had sustained him through the toughest of times this year.
Those unexpected crowd interventions meant the set was in danger of overrunning but there was still time for a quick and authentic cover of Audioslave’s ‘Cochise’, concluding the latest in a series of excellent, dynamic live shows I have seen from them.
From one set of Scots to another, albeit of a slightly different age and musical genre, as Alan Nimmo and his King King bandmates were closing out the action in the tent, sadly again to a sparse crowd. After an outstanding show in London earlier this year their presence on the bill was one of the major draws for me as they tick a lot of personal boxes in terms of musical style.
While their roots are in traditional blues rock with lengthy guitar (and occasional keyboard) solos, over the last couple of albums their style has evolved to encompass more mainstream melodic rock influences and so it was that an intro tape of ‘Highway To Hell’ led into the best ever undiscovered Thunder song in ‘She Don’t Gimme No Lovin’ while ‘Fire In Your Soul’ had a huge melodic chorus hook and ‘One World’ was almost danceable.
In more familiar territory were older favourites- the soothing sounds of ‘Waking Up and ‘Lose Control’, sounding like a cross between Bad Company and ‘Jumpin Jack Flash’- and longer, bluesier songs like ‘Rush Hour’, complete with crowd ‘who-oah’s, ‘A Long History Of Love’ where keyboardist Jonny Dyke shared the solo spotlight, and ‘You Stopped The Rain’ with Alan’s fluid solos becoming lengthier.
They are also an enjoyable band to watch with his sharp sense of self deprecating humour and stage movements- indeed the way he, brother Stevie and bassist Zander Greenshields moved in together to pull a pose as ‘Whatever It Takes to Survive’ concluded with a rare snatch of twin lead guitar was straight out of FM’s stage playbook.
‘I Will Not Fall’ was another recent example of their commercial direction, culminating in Stevie’s only lead solo of the night but his brother was back centre stage on an 11 minute epic ‘Stranger To Love’ as he took down the pace before winding up another of those long solos. There was a solitary and contrasting encore in ‘Let Love In’, with a lighter and more soulful feel and a singalong, concluding another musically impeccable set.
And so to the 30th and last band of the inaugural Firestorm in Stone Broken. Having risen very quickly and been established names for at least five years, it is perhaps too easy to take the young West Midlanders for granted. Clean cut, mild-mannered and visibly having fun on stage, they may be the opposite of edgy but their genial nature always gives off a warm feeling.
Opening with the slightly modern beats of the title track of new album ‘Revolution’, they also benefited from probably the best light show all weekend and many of their gems were front loaded in the set with the hooky choruses of ‘Stay All Night’ and ‘Heartbeat Away’ together with the more recent ‘Black Sunrise’. ‘Doesn’t Matter’ and ‘Let Me See It All’ showed though that their more average numbers can be a tad repetitive.
However the new ballad ‘Stronger’, newly introduced to the live set showed their way with a tune, and ‘This Revival’ was another fine current cut while the likes of ‘Better’ are well constructed, simple and enjoyable and impossible not to get into.
Though I can hear influences from a whole range of 2000s bands, they will always be dogged to their dying day by Nickelback comparisons, so it was ironic that their one set piece saw them emulate Kroeger and Co, the band playing an instrumental while Rich Moss fired out merchandise to the crowd.
‘Let Me Go’ had a harder edge while ‘Devil You Know’ and ‘Worth Fighting For’ saw the remaining crowd rocking out, but the highlight of the set was when Rich, alone with acoustic guitar, sang ‘Wait For You’- with its heartfelt, simple sentiments sung in slightly anguished fashion this is the type of song that would have been a sure fire hit in the USA in the 2000s along the likes of 3 Doors Down and Daughtry. They didn’t go off for an encore as such but, as with every time I have seen them, ended with ‘Not Your Enemy’, combining a crunchy riff with yet another catchy, bouncy chorus.
Even if the attendance was probably lower than hoped, this was one of my most enjoyable festivals in a long while, with a wide array of homegrown talent on the stages, virtually no clashes, an attractive setting with an easy layout and a friendly and relaxed vibe. It wasn’t just me – many bands said how much they loved it and expressed the desire to be invited back. There will doubtless be the usual wishlists for higher profile names but I hope the Firestorm organisers resist and gradually build on this extremely promising start for a new festival which showcased the very best of British.
Review and Photos by Andy Nathan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
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Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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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