Across the weekend, Quarantune Rocks will showcase 10 bands that represent the best of the exciting UK rock scene, co-founder, Karen says “There’s a wealth of new talent in the rock world and we want to unleash some of it by supporting these amazing bands”.

“After the success of previous events, Quarantune Rocks 2023 promises to be bigger, better, and louder than ever” added Pamela.

The event takes place at the Victoria Bikers Pub, Coalville, which has been putting on live music for almost 30 years. Co-Founder, Karen thinks it’s the perfect place for Quarantune Rocks, “Live music venues are dying across the UK, but the Victoria Bikers Pub provides a space for new bands and established acts to take to the stage.”

“For this year’s non-profit event, we made it a mission to source some of the best new music out there, with performances from ten bands over 2 days and headline appearances from Trident Waters and Gypsy Pistoleros, we were once again delighted with our line-up, and we were confident the event would rock but like always, it is the people that make the event.”

So firstly, a huge shout out to John, Dave and the super friendly team at The Victoria Biker’s Pub who hosted our event and gave us all the help we needed. Shane was amazing as our sound engineer, Quarantune Rocks rocked! This venue is quirky and legendary, we love it, thank you all so much.

An even bigger thank you to every single one of you who came along to support us, to Steve Russ for the amazing video work and of course, to all our amazing bands, without whom our event wouldn’t happen. We try to be diverse on our bill and showcase all the talent, so our bands offer something for everyone – we hope you loved them as much as we do.

Friday October 6

Opening for us are the rather fabulous, Naked Sunday who certain set the pace for our weekend, with an engaging and lively set, they rocked that stage with heavy bass lines, great rhythm on the drums and Martin on lead vocals and guitar, whose showman performance raises the roof. Initially he reminded me of Myles Kennedy, but his range is much broader – what a set, simply a great way to kick off what is surely going to be a good weekend packed of rock! As Naked Sunday head off to the recording studio, I am not alone in looking forward to hearing more of them.

Here Come The Crows are a 5 piece from Swindon, who have their own unique brand of dirty rock ‘n’ blues, Lee is a captivating frontman, and he spares no time at getting the crowd engaged for an energetic full on set. Classy, sassy, they liven us up nicely, lifting the performance to a new level.

Next up, Black Bear Kiss, this Shropshire 4 piece are just perfection and they certainly gained a new following tonight. With a packed set that included all of their classic tracks, from their self-titled debut album, this is a band with a huge heart and a tragic back story, ‘Begin Again’ is a tribute to former guitarist Rob Jones who sadly passed away suddenly in 2021 “This is really meaningful”, says singer Chris Leech, “many years of blood, sweat and tears have gone into making this … it was the last track we recorded with our late guitarist Rob Jones, so its very special to us.” They held their own and then some on that stage with the crowd eating out of their hands – this band are most definitely going places and we were so lucky to get them for our event.

Our Friday headliner was Trident Waters, a London based trio formed in 2015, this band play a funky bluesy rock, and when they take the stage, there’s a moment when the crowd look shell-shocked, and I see people getting closer to feel that beat, with the Devils Stomp and Who’s in Love? showcasing their range and hook laden style. The groove is on and we are enthralled in the moment. What a band, we have a great time and certainly good times are rollin’. This band are off the scale – we are all having a little band crush by the time they end their awesome set – what a master class in rock n blues!

Closing out day 1, what a line up, what performances, the QR family is having a ball, and we still have day 2 to look forward to….

Saturday October 8

Daylight Robbery kick off proceedings on Saturday, this was a set that cleared any cobwebs and set the scene for a great day/night of rock! Daylight Robbery are a 3-piece delivering highly accomplished musicianship and great tracks – the bass player provides vocal support, the drummer is immense and again, the lead vocalist is a showman who knows how to entertain. What a set, what a walk down memory lane with the rather awesome ‘Edwards no 8’ and ‘Samarah’ – a great opener for the day!

Bare Knuckle, a 5-piece hailing from Oxfordshire, share their heavier side opening with Dive Bomber, the pacey set shows their potential and the obvious camaraderie on stage. These guys are rock family with them supporting us from the very first event and leading a poignant tribute to much-loved members of the QR family who are very sadly no longer with us, Carlos stepped up to deliver AC/DC’s ‘Shoot to Thrill’ in all its glory – thank you so much for that. We know Steve Downes & Tina Sherwood (Forge Music) would have been rocking with us!

It’s no secret that I adore Skinny Knowledge – they’re the band I have seen from their infancy and indeed they had their inaugural gig at the first ever Quarantune Rocks, so I’m beyond excited that we have them on our bill again.

Excitement was met by pure rock star quality; how tight this band are and how far they have come in the last couple of years. With a packed set, the energy increases ten-fold and the whole of the Vic is bouncing along to this class act. I am sure this band will be going places and I suspect we won’t see them playing smaller venues for much longer particularly when the next album is released imminently.

BlitZ deliver a blistering 10 song classic rock set including their latest single ‘Freddie Said’ – they sound so familiar, yet it is all original, good old rock n roll and with impassioned pleas to carry on supporting live music, this band live and breathe rock ‘n’ roll. Skilled musicianship, lyrics that are reminiscent of their influences this is a quest for rock perfection, with many new fans won over and excited for their album release.

Topping the bill on Saturday night are The Gypsy Pistoleros. Described as “the world’s greatest flamenco punk glam rock band ever”, the band has recently received prime-time airplay with the single ‘Come on Eileen’. Lead singer Lee Mark Jones is excited to head up the Saturday night, “Gypsy Pistoleros cannot wait to play Quarantune Rocks, cracking people, cracking line up! Essentially, it’s gonna be a right cracker!”

Gypsy Pistoleros take to the stage with their unique style, bang on humour and crowd engagement, their stage presence draws people in and the party goes up a level, what a performance, what a set! This 4-piece, hailing from Worcester, with Lee at the helm, gel really well together and the impact on stage is instantaneous and electric.

There’s no hiding place, audience participation is required and eagerly delivered. They are unique, completely unique, never have I heard such a blend of styles merge so successfully that you’d struggle to label it (don’t bother trying) but the set is blistering, the tempo is high and the energy off the scale – think living la Vida loco on acid and you’re getting close!   We couldn’t have picked a better way to end our event, I’m definitely excited to hear their new album, ‘Duende A Go Go.. Loco’ when it’s released early November.

The Quarantune Rocks group is a close-knit family, we are always bowled over by the generosity of our group, times are tough out there and we all know that for many live music is a luxury item given the cost of living.

This year was no different, people gave their time, merchandise was donated to our charity raffle, let alone the many miles that were covered as bands and supporters travelled from all over the country, to showcase their support for the live music scene. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, it meant the world to us to see you all there, not only did we have an absolute blast, we raised £482.82 for the Music Venue Trust. THANK YOU!

The music industry and in particular small music venues really need our support and without grassroots venues, bands have nowhere to start their journeys, so here’s our Quarantune Rocks plea, if you are passionate about music, as are we, then please, please support it however you can, follow a band, buy the CD or merchandise, go to a small gig venue, check out bands you have never heard of  – you’ll make more of a difference than you’d realise to the live music scene and you may bump into a few of us too.

Here’s to next time…

Review by Karen Clayton

Bare Knuckle

Blitz

Black Bear Kiss 

Daylight Robbery

Gypsy Pistoleros

Here Come the Crows

Naked Sunday

Skinny Knowledge

Trident Waters

Verra Cruz