Over its five years Ramblin’ Man Festival in Kent established itself as one of the festivals of choice for us middle-aged rockers with a relaxed atmosphere and selection of bands from variety of classic rock genres, both old and new. The 2019 version was one of my favourite festivals ever and the line up for the abortive 2020 version had promised to be even better, but sadly the organisation disappeared under a cloud post-pandemic.

However there is an established history of music events in Mote Park and last year a new festival, Maid of Stone, picked up the baton with a similar music policy albeit on a somewhat smaller scale.

While last year’s line-up did not quite have enough names for me that weren’t also touring that year, this year’s was stronger. However unlike in those better funded Ramblin Man days, no extra trains were laid on from Maidstone so only the Saturday was commutable for me from the far side of London.

My FOMO on the Sunday was dampened by the fact I didn’t think the overall line up that day was as strong and that of the two headliners, Mr Big I’d seen in the Spring at Shepherds Bush Empire, and I’d caught Larkin Poe at Guns’n’Roses Hyde Park gig.

The format was a three band warm up on Friday headlined by Gun, followed by two full days of wall to wall action on two stages – with none of those annoying stage clashes – plus a third stage to showcase the endless number of emerging new bands, which unfortunately I never got time to visit. While the entry was familiar, the original sprawling site had been squared off into a much more manageable and regularly shaped area.

After a quick look round and a trip to the beer tents I was in time for Daxx and Roxane opening proceedings on the second (Phoenix) stage which bizarrely had the banner of headliners Those Damn Crows already in place for most of the earlier bands.

The Swiss quartet got things off to a lively start with their simple but effective high octane 12-bar rock’n’roll, on the likes of ‘Evil Eye’ and ‘Ticket To Rock’. There was plenty of onstage movement with guitarists Cal Weimann and Simon Golaz trading places and the latter sometimes playing harmonica while the slower ‘Lust And Love’ made for a welcome change of pace in a mildly enjoyable set.

With Mason Hill sadly pulling out with no replacement singer yet in place, the Inferno stage was opened by Scarlet Rebels, with perfect timing as from the singles released so far I am convinced the South Walians are on the verge of a major breakthrough with their brand new third album ‘Where The Colours Meet’.

Indeed they opened with one such in ‘Divide And Conquer’ with topical political messages and ‘I’m Alive’ before ‘Grace’ had plenty of catchy ‘who-oahs’ , ‘I’m Alive’ got a few fists punching, and the bridge on ‘Take Me Home’ had a bigger hook than most choruses from other acts.

Their passionate hard hitting sound is different from many of their contemporaries – and I see influences in Wayne Doyle’s singing and songwriting from the early and best work of fellow countrymen Manic Street Preachers and Stereophonics. Yet they also have a secret weapon in guitarist Chris Jones whose crisp and rapid fire solos, all delivered while pulling some great poses tilting his Les Paul skywards, provide a complementary hard rock element.

‘Take My Breath Away’ and ‘Streets Of Fire’ were not quite of the same quality, but another of those singles in ‘Secret Drug’ was really catchy. I even detected some of U2’s widescreen influences in ‘Let Me In’ which saw an audience clap along and old favourite ‘Heal’ concluded a mighty impressive set. I marked down that I just have to see them on their autumn headlining tour.

Canadians The Commoners seem to have been investing a lot of effort in breaking the UK recently, indeed they came from a by all accounts hot and sticky headline the night before in London. Other than singer Chris Medhurst who looked the metaller in his long hair, black vest and tattoos, they were also devotees of retro seventies style with guitarist Ross Citrullo and bassist Ben Spiller reminding me of Walter Becker and David Byron respectively.

From openers ‘Shake You Off’ and ‘Who Are You?’, the music was right up my street, classic rootsy rock with a good balance between piano and organ, though the Black Crowes were probably too dominant an influence.

I was thinking all that was missing was a second guitar so was delighted when Chris picked one up on an Allmans-style instrumental intro to the Planet Rock playlisted ‘Devil Teasin’ Me’, while ‘Body And Soul’ allowed the band to stretch out in a lengthier, languid fashion. , lengthy. ‘The Way I Am’, ‘Fill My Cup’ where Chris even sounded a little like Steven Tyler and ‘Find A Better Way’ ended an impressive set, even if one that fell a little short of the hype building around them.

Over the past couple of years South Coast rockers South Of Salem have built quite a name for themselves and a big crowd was at the Inferno Stage. As well as a sleazy, debauched Black Veil Brides type image they have a taste for the macabre with a couple of coffins forming part of their impressive stage set along with pyrotechnics and dancers for a couple of songs.

However they are not just show ponies and the strength of their songs have made me an unlikely convert. The pace was unrelenting from the openers ‘Let Us Prey’ and ‘Jet Black Eyes’ with its ‘monsters under the bed’ chorus. ‘Made To Be Mine’ saw smoke rising from the stage and the first but not the last of singer Joey Draper’s audience participation, and ‘Hellbound Heart’ had the gothic feel of bands like HIM especially with the taped keys.

He emphasised we only had one shot at life in introducing ‘Static’ then it was a frantic end to a fine set with the title track of latest album ‘Death Of the Party’, ‘Left For Dead’ which combined some thrashy riffing with a catchy chorus, and their strongest song in ‘Cold Day In Hell’ (even if it always reminds me of Wasp’s ‘Wild Child’), Joey going into the crowd and picking out a youngster on their dad’s shoulders, fortunately wearing industrial strength ear defenders.

One of the big draws for me was When Rivers Meet. I’ve got steadily more into their original take on blues rock, led by husband and wife Aaron and Grace Bond, and was frustrated I missed their London headline with one of these pesky gig clashes with Midnite City.

Sadly fate intervened as a technical gremlin delayed their arrival by 25 minutes compere Pete K Mally having to draw on his stand up comic expertise to fill in before a patient crowd, and even during ‘Did I Break The Law’ they still seemed to be working on Aaron’s guitar set up.

After a couple of decent numbers in ‘Seen It All Before’ and ‘Play My Game’ and ‘Perfect Stranger’, ‘Never Coming Home’ saw Grace slipping effortlessly into a powerful falsetto, though frustratingly Aaron’s vocals were inaudible.

One of their trademarks, the variety of unusual instruments was largely absent till Grace picked up a tiny mandolin, complemented by Aaron belatedly cranking up some dirty slide for ‘Walking On The Wire’, seguing into ‘Free Man’.

Unfortunately a festival cannot run late or reduce other sets without punishing everyone so sadly their set had to be chopped by half. Ah well, there’s another gig at Dingwalls in the autumn – subject to gig clashes, of course.

It did also mean I didn’t have to worry about a stage clash for the next act Tyketto, one of the biggest draws for me. With only 50 minutes to play with I expected a set very tightly drawn around their best known numbers, so was surprised they started with a Danny Vaughn harmonica intro and the bluesy, almost southern-tinged slow burner ‘Remember My Name’, admittedly with an impressive chorus when it finally got there.

In more familiar territory were ‘Meet Me In The Night’ and ‘Wings’, one of the holy trinity from ‘Don’t Come Easy’ with new-ish guitarist Harry Scott Elliott playing the solos with aplomb. Among songs like ‘Strength In Numbers’ and ‘Rescue Me’, ‘Reach’ showcased the abilities of players from Danny playing acoustic to Harry’s guitar flourishes to some powerhouse drumming from Johnny Dee.

Quite apart from a voice that mixes power and precision, Danny has a magnetic personality as an articulate frontman which even a 12 hour flight delay could not dampen.

After the audience broke out into a round of ‘Happy Birthday’ the set closed with more ‘Don’t Come Easy’ classics in ‘Burning Down Inside’ and the grooves of ‘Lay Your Body Down’ even allowing Chris Childs a mini bass solo.

And of course the one that the most casual fan night know or would remember in ‘Forever Young’, Danny saying he was proud of what it means to people and asking them to jump if their knees would stand the strain. A remarkable number of people were Tyketto first timers (where have they been for 34 years?) but surely won over.

After a year or two on hiatus Maid of Stone marked a welcome return for Wayward Sons. The same ingredients were all there – the big smile and flowing hair of Les Paul wielding guitarist Sam Wood, Nic Wastell’s nonstop bass antics and Toby Jepson’s songwriting on a series of songs infused with a degree of punchy power pop to distinguish them from some of their contemporaries.

However the bass-heavy sound was not good at all for openers ‘Big Day’ and ‘Feel Good Hit’ and it was only with ‘Don’t Wanna Go’ that people really engaged as Toby leaned forward to encourage them to sing the ’to be a rock’n’ roller’ line.

Having recently seen his quite inspiring songs and stories show, the insight I gained into Toby’s life and songwriting enhanced my enjoyment of the likes of ‘Punchline’, ‘Bloody Typical’, and ‘Land Of The Blind’ with the oh so correct observation that in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king. He also generously thanked the organisers and stressed the importance of the role of what he called boutique festivals in supporting new acts.

The slow start was forgotten with a strong closing run of WS‘s best known songs in ‘Crush’ with audience participation ‘Ghost’, a hard driving ‘Until The End’ and ‘Joke’s On You’.

The real leftfield choice in this line up was The Warning. When announced they were totally unfamiliar to me and yet the power trio of three young Mexican sisters have built such a large following they are already announcing shows at the likes of Brixton Academy. They were certainly tight and can play bit I found both the vocals – which veered from girl band to a harsher style – and guitar style of dyed blonde frontwoman Dany Villareal a little grating on my ears.

In a set largely in English but with a few diversions into their native tongue only opener ‘Sick’, ‘Choke’ and ‘Six Feet Deep’. made an impression on me, though in a lengthy queue for a superb curry, I was not fully listening. That said, there were a large number of people predominantly the younger fans who really enjoyed them and were raving on the ‘socials’- it’s just they weren’t really for me.

In contrast, Those Damn Crows as Phoenix stage headliners was a major draw for me and many others as – having been solidly on tour for a couple of years, including some recent high profile support slots – their headline shows are limited to two this year, this festival and a home nation gig in Cardiff that was regularly plugged during the show.

The sound issues on this stage were miraculously sorted and the atmosphere was really cooking as at the right moment there was a big forest of hands and shouting to the chorus of ‘Who Did It’ before ‘Man On Fire’ and ‘Send The Reaper’ maintained the momentum. Both recent single ‘Let’s Go Psycho’ (with its ‘Don’t Go’ chorus hook) and ‘Wake Up’ combined some quite hard alternative rock riffery with big hooks in the choruses.

The band have honed their stage show and presence even further and Shane Greenhall remains a magnetic frontman. The majestically melodic choruses of ‘Find A Way’ were a brilliant illustration of how lean their sound has become. ‘Takedown’ was more raw, but ‘ I Am’ and the statelier ‘Lay It All On Me’ both had a widescreen anthemic feel to them.

Even better was to follow as Shane’s piano intro to ‘Blink Of An Eye’ could have come from the Journey ballad playbook: he switched to going out front and back again in a revised arrangement which even featured the briefest of twin guitar passages.

Back to heavier stuff, ‘Kingdom Of Dust’ gave way to ‘Sin On Skin’ which sparked jumping as a prelude to their anthem ‘Rock and Roll Ain’t Dead’, which had people chanting along the moment they recognised it. The one disappointment was that Shane, who famously loves a balcony, was relatively tethered to the stage area this time rather than go on his wanderings.

In days of old that would have been the last song but since last year’s ‘Inhale/Exhale’ album their songs have taken on a grander scale and the final two epitomised this in the power balladry of ‘This Time I’m Ready’ with Shane strapping on a guitar and ‘See You Again’ with its taped keys.

Even more than Tyketto, for me they were band of the day. They would have been worthy main stage headliners, indeed more than that, in a parallel world these modern rock anthems with mainstream appeal would be destined for arenas or even stadia.

Once again though, credit to Maid of Stone for a somewhat leftfield choice of headliner in Wolfmother, or at least one whose recent profile has been low, though they did tour last year apparently. Again the Aussies were a personal draw, in the sense of not having seen them since my first Download on 2007, a year or two after their debut album provided such a big hit and gave impetus to a revival of retro classic rock.

In contrast to bands lower down the bill like South of Salem, it seems every expense had been spared on a minimalist stage set up. There was no backdrop, the trio looked a bit lost on stage and at one point the lighting was more on the drummer than frontman Andrew Stockdale, bathed in blue and purple light. Still, with his trademark curly hair the singer and guitarist was also a taciturn presence barely speaking between songs. .

Another downside was that the keyboard player who used to give their songs the feel of vintage Uriah Heep has long gone. However they could not go too wrong with a setlist from which four of the first five songs were from that classic debut in ‘Dimension’, ‘Woman’, the mystical feel of ‘White Unicorn’ and a frantic ‘Apple Tree’.

After trawling their back catalogue for songs like ‘Midnight Train’ and ‘California Dream’, the set sagged for a while, though not for those rowdies who turned the centre of the viewing area into an unlikely mosh pit. As it wore on though I was impressed with their supply of killer riffs on the likes of ‘Victorious’, ‘New Moon Rising’ and ‘Gypsy Caravan’.

Though most often compared to Led Zeppelin, not least with Andrew’s voice reminiscent of Robert Plant’s early howls, ‘Rock And Roll Survivor’ was a reminder that their sound is also reminiscent of other underrated early seventies bands such as Stray and Budgie. The riff to ‘Colossal’ did what it said on the tin before they closed with perhaps their best known song in ‘Joker And The Thief’.

Up against the 10:30 pm curfew they still got in their version of ‘Rock And Roll’, yes the most overplayed cover in rock history but if anyone can own a Zeppelin cover, they are one of the prime contenders. Despite their presentational deficiencies it ended up being a really enjoyable set to put me on a good mood heading back on the half hour walk for the last train back into London.

Indeed it had been a near perfect day of festival food and ales, catching up with gig buddies in a relaxed atmosphere and ten bands, one after the other, and all with some merit. The organisation was brilliant and the site exactly the right siz e- I could easily add this to the list of festivals worth doing and hopefully make a full weekend of it next year.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Album review (Scarlet Rebels, 2024)
Gig review (The Commoners, July 2024 )
Album review (South Of Salem, 2024)

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)