Event Reviews

After selling out shows in Dublin and Belfast back in June, such was the demand for tickets from local rockers, Alter Bridge returned to Belfast on Sunday night to play a welcome second show as part of The Last Hero Tour.     In contrast, it was opening act As …

After a hearty cooked breakfast, we wobbled over the road to the Elizabethan Suite for day two of Grimm Up North Fest. Even at 13.00pm a dedicated number of rockers had assembled for opening act SYZ. Formed in 1981 and fronted by the perpetually entertaining Roy Hinson, they rocked out …

With The Kentucky Headhunters’ Richard Young having combatted his fear of flying when he came to see and open for his son’s band Black Stone Cherry in summer 2016; 2017 sees the band return to the UK and being reunited with the same support band, the UK’s Bad Touch, for …

Yes, that is spelt correctly. Not grim up North, but Grimm Up North! So called as it was a two day heavy metal festival in Bury, Manchester, organised by Kevin Wynn to raise funds for ongoing medical bills for Steve Grimmett, lead vocalist with Grim Reaper. On a South American …

American head charge’s European tour reached Milton Keynes after a relentless three weeks soft touring with not a single night off – a schedule that is hard for bands to sustain. It’s a four band lineup and the night gets under way with German band Reptil. I always try and …

Tonight was my first time seeing one of Dan Reed’s solo shows. With his band, Dan Reed network the shows are full of energy, but his solo material is quite different. Tonight’s sold out show was at the lovely St Pancras old church, just behind St Pancras station. It’s a …

When Arjen Lucassen announced on Facebook earlier this year that for the first time in 22 years, Ayreon would play some live shows, the fans understandably went nuts. With no promotion or advertising, the two dates at 013 in Tilburg sold out within the hour (that’s 6000 tickets sold with …

Another year, another stupendous Rockwich returns! Organised by Prometheus Promotions, they managed to book twelve top quality bands to play in 12 rocking hours. Midday opening act, Wakefield based The Sourheads, fronted by the barefooted ball of energy Jake who looked like he was born to be onstage, ripped through …

Sunday at Bloodstock Open Air Festival, a bitter sweet one  as it’s the final day but this year it turned out to be the strongest day! A great start came from Kettering based hard rockers  Switch Blade City featuring Sean Seabrook on lead vocals, the best dressed frontman of the …

“Saturday, Saturday, Saturday nights alright” as Elton John wisely put it and describes today’s bands perfectly! Hotel fry up and straight off I go to Bloodstock Open Air Festival again with the first trip of the day to the New Blood Stage to witness Preston based lunatics Ward XVI. Shuttle …

Doesn’t time fly! My tenth Bloodstock Open Air Festival and definitely the most enjoyable due to the quality of the bands on show. Over one hundred played this year and I managed to catch over forty of them over the weekend playing on four stages. A mad dash to the …

Thursday at Bloodstock is mainly a day for arriving, getting wristbands sorted and setting up camp before meeting up with friends. Then in the evening the arena opens for some bands. The fact that this year’s festival is sold out was apparent – the car park was a lot busier …

First up opening the rising stage we were pleasantly introduced to KillIT; a rock band influenced by the greats such as Slash and Davey Rimmer. From start to finish they force fed the audience their high energy performance of which the audience loved. Their engagement with the crowd were incredible …

Ahead of their performance at Ramblin Man Fair, UFO finally returned to Birmingham after a rather lengthy absence, one that was noted at the start of the show to be most of their career, so there was an eager appetite amongst the diehard fans ahead of the performance. Also scheduled …

First up after heading onto the festival site, it was a nice start but grey clouds were quickly approaching. The first band on for the day, in fact the only band on at that moment were rock and rollers The Nile Deltas. A great band to kick off day two …

2017 is the tenth year of SOS Festival, an annual affair organised by the team behind Rocksector Records. They showcase not only their own label acts but also some European bands that you might otherwise not get to see and they also give a platform to a whole host of …

This year’s Ramblin Man festival saw the addition of a Friday bill. Rather than a full day it was just an afternoon/evening affair and fans were tempted in with the offer of a free beer. There was a good turnout even though not everyone was able to get down there …

The Summertime Festival held at Warrington Parr Hall this year surpassed superlatives; with the exemplary line up, Joanne Shaw Taylor headlining ahead of The Stevie Nimmo Trio, Bad Touch and Xander & The Peace Pirates,  delivering performances that demonstrate each are at the tops of their individual games and bringing a …

It’s the final day of Tuska Open Air Metal Festival and the sun has finally broken through the clouds as we descend to the concrete arena one more time to go toe to toe with some of the finest metal acts on the planet.  The gates open quite late and there’s only …

So it all comes down to this. After six heats, two semi-finals, covers of ‘You Suffer?’, drummers dabbing mid-set and busts of Theresa May being destroyed, there’s one more hurdle for the six bands affectionately dubbed ‘The Best in the South West’. Tonight it’s all about going harder than ever …