Review: Firevolt Festival 2026 - Thursday Pre-Party

Whitebottom Farm – Etherow Park
Greater Manchester

Review and Photos – Rob and Danni Wilkins

Five years ago, a new festival started advertising tickets with a line-up that most who saw it decided must be a hoax of some sort. It featured a stunning line-up of the cream of the NWoCR bands in a country park setting near Manchester. I took a chance, bought a ticket, and began a love affair with this glorious little boutique weekend of music, food, beer, and most of all connecting with a music family.

Since that first year, there have been many changes, all for the better.

The first of which is that we are now part of the team of volunteers that help make sure the event takes place. One helps with accessible camping and parking, and the other helps the many motorhomes find a comfortable space for the weekend.

That means Thursday is busy and tiring, but soon time for the second big change: the growth of the Thursday night pre-party.

Year one is a glorious memory. It felt like someone’s wedding as the rock quiz featured hastily assembled teams writing answers on paper, a dinner of stew served from a table and a small disco and live band.

This year it truly felt part of the festival proper, with three bands, a full bar and all of the food traders available to keep you full. The quiz is now a high-tech phone affair and the DJ sets feature music chosen by those attending via submitting a link.

First up were Buried in Bermuda from Bristol, playing on a small stage by the DJ, having been invited back after playing the rather remote Grand Central stage last year. A lot of thought clearly goes into the image of the band with matching logos and branding, but the sound lives up to the visual with some wonderfully well-crafted and heavy delivery. Vocalist Gilles puts his all into songs such as “Take My Hand”, “All That I Am” and “Until We Meet Again”. Add in a glorious cover of “Like A Prayer” and the weekend was kicked off in great style.

Another innovative change last year was the introduction of “An Audience With”, and the formula was repeated this year with Manchester’s Gorilla Riot.

Basically, the band plays a few songs, then compère Paul Cash interviews them with some pre-prepared questions, a few more songs, then the audience gets to ask whatever they wish, and finally the band finishes their set.

Here I need to make a confession. I first saw Gorilla Riot at Firevolt at that first festival five years ago and came away unimpressed. The focus seemed more on partying than playing, and whilst I love rock and roll to be on the edge rather than sterile, I felt the band hadn’t earned the right to indulge to that degree. Tonight, I loved every second! The sound was the most sumptuous blues rock, with twin guitars and raw vocals. The harmonies of both vocals and strings were spot on, and the first song hadn’t ended before I turned to another photographer and mouthed “wow”.

The Q&A kept my attention. The responses were witty and intelligent and gave real insight into what being in the band must be like. Still quite a party, but maybe a little less excessive (stoned on nerds, van breakdowns, hatred of AI, and frontman Arjun describing his music taste as “music I like and music I don’t” amongst the highlights).

Towards the end, the band invited a young fan, Amelia, on stage to play tambourine, which was a lovely, human touch that rounded off an engaging performance that changed me from a critic to a fan who looks forward to seeing them again.

Finally, Firevolt stalwarts and, if there is such a thing, house band, White Tygër end the live music portion of the evening with a set mixing well-known covers with their own material. I may be wrong, but I believe that the band has performed at all five Firevolt festivals (the 2022 festival having a different name) and it is easy to see why. The covers are delivered with energy and flair, and their own material more than holds its own in the setlist.

As White Tygër leave the stage, the evening continues with another DJ set, but we head back to our motorhome, parked feet from the main stage, literally, to get some sleep, ready for a full day of music on Friday.