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It’s almost time to make the journey up the mountain to Hafod-y-Dafal Farm – situated on the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons – for the tenth Steelhouse Festival. Cancelled in 2020 because of you-know-what, 2021 sees the organisers finally celebrating their tenth anniversary, and with the restrictions and uncertainties surrounding travel, this weekend is very much a homegrown affair with each of the four home nations represented. Here’s a brief preview of what to expect on Saturday, and Sunday.
You’ve had a great day getting reacquainted with old friends on opening day, first festival in a few years perhaps, had a late night in the bar afterward, woke up with that thirst that comes after a skinful; what better way to shake off the early morning shakes than an early lunchtime set from rising stars Revival Black? With Daniel Byrne – one of the most accomplished, and understated young vocalists around today – at the helm, Revival Black plays a guitar-driven brand of rock and roll that has some of the big boys at Planet Rock sitting up and paying attention. These guys are going to set off at a blistering pace and put down a marker for all to follow on: track to listen out for – ‘Wide Awake’. Hands Off Gretel are going to tear Steelhouse a new one. No getting away from that. One of the most retina-blitzing live acts on the UK live circuit today (well, when it returns, but you get the picture), the South Yorkshire alt-rockers are (along with Therapy?) perhaps the most un-classic rock act performing over the weekend but will still leave with scores of new fans tucked under their belts. Led by the incendiary Lauren Tate, Hands Off Gretel were on the verge of building up one hell of a head of steam, and then the plague struck. First gig in 16 months or so? Stand back and watch as Tate is unleashed. Track to listen out for: ‘S.A.S.S’. Homegrown heroes Florence Black complete the opening salvo of bands on Saturday, and the word on the street is that the trio have been cooking up something special in the studio while recording their long-awaited debut album. Road warriors per-excellence, Florence Black are going to be preaching to the converted, but for anyone experiencing these guys for the first time: they put the “power” in power trio. Track to listen out for: current single ‘Can You Feel It?’ – it is a belter. Total sidebar- but how cool would it be if Benji Webbe from Skindred got up with the boys for a riotous version of their collaboration ‘Gunshot’?
After picking yourself off the floor from the opening three bands, time to dust yourself down for a mid-afternoon slot from the Kris Barras Band. Expect guitar fireworks by the bucketload and some incredible playing from Barras and his white-hot blues-rock band. Years on the road have turned them into a finely-tuned outfit, and with a few albums worth of material to choose from, this is as close to a “Best of” set as you will get from Mr. Barras. Bring your singing voices though as you will need them for the track to listen out for: ‘Hail Mary’. As dinner-time approaches, thoughts might turn to check out the copious amounts of scran on offer at Steelhouse, but hang on, here comes Toby Jepson with Wayward Sons, so hang-fire on that burger and halloumi fries. With their third album, ‘Even Up The Score’ due later this year, the time is perfect for Wayward Sons to push on through that ceiling to the next level. One of the UK’s most unsung songwriters, Jepson still has so much to say as an artist, and from what has been heard of the forthcoming album, he will arguably have the finest album he has produced on his hands. Track to listen out for: gotta go with a new one – ‘Even Up The Score’.
After you discard the nosebag, make your way down the front for the welcome return of Those Damn Crows to the mountain. Maybe the most eagerly-awaited set of the weekend? A Welsh band, in front of a home crowd, buoyed by the success of the most recent album ‘Point Of No Return’, as well as the news that vocalist Shane Greenhall will be one of the featured guest vocalists for ‘Queen Symphonic’ at the London Palladium later this year, Those Damn Crows are going to be a tough act to beat. Plus, they have the songs tailor-made for a festival, will anyone be able to top what might just be the moment of the weekend (and the track to listen out for) – ‘Blink Of An Eye’. Norn Iron noise-merchants Therapy? are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of their debut album ‘Babyteeth’, 30 years at the top of their fucking game. Not many bands have survived 30 years with their reputation as intact as Therapy? Still one of the fiercest live acts around today, and given the state of the UK post-Brexit, one of the most relevant, Therapy? are still making important albums. Set-list wise? Who knows? Maybe they will go full-on greatest hits mode? Or throw in a few tracks from 2018’s belting album ‘Cleave’? Either way, be prepared to bounce as soon as ‘Nowhere’ and ‘Screamager’ kick in. Track to listen out for: ‘Knives’ is always pretty special.
Is it really a festival if The Darkness are not invited? The most fun that you can have with your clothes on, you should be ready to smile all the way through their headline set, nothing is off-limits when Justin Hawkins is cocked and loaded. A full-on rock and roll jukebox, The Darkness will bring with them hooks big enough to sink Moby Dick, and the end result will surely put a smile on even the meanest of mean cynics – Geoff Barton? Don’t take your eyes off the stage for even a split second, as you might just miss a trademark gymnastic jump off the drum riser from Hawkins. Tracks to listen out for obviously include all the regulars, but maybe you might just get treated to ‘Solid Gold’, if you do, then pay attention to the lyrics…Save you a place at the bar after the music fades out?
After the dust settles on what should be a riotous Saturday, it’s up at the crack of noon for the perfect openers for the final day of festivities – Empyre. Always a fantastic band to catch in a live setting, Midlanders Empyre proved with their stunning debut album ‘Self Aware’ that they are no slouches in the recording studio either. With the tasty, heartfelt guitar work of Did Coles bringing a multi-coloured palette to the party – along with the low, howling vocals Henrik Steenholdt – expect Empyre to put on an opening set to remember. Track to listen out for: ‘My Bad’ is a show-stopper. Recently expanded to a six-piece, Collateral is set to bring a ray of sunshine to the mountain, regardless of the weather. Admittedly, the polished self-titled debut album did leave a few people here at DGM Towers slightly underwhelmed, but that all changed as soon as we caught Collateral live onstage. What a difference! An extremely confident band, with songs that work so much better in a live setting, Collateral has all the makings of a band booked onto a festival line-up purely to get the crowd smiling and singing along. The next twelve months are crucial for frontman Angelo Tristan and his compadres, with the new beefed-up sound that the extra players bring to the Collateral sound, album number two ought to be an intriguing prospect. In the meantime, hopefully, you brought your singing voices, and packed your dancing shoes? Track to listen out for: the hook-filled ‘Can’t Hold Me Down’.
It’s been a stop-start few years for Scottish modern-rock outfit Mason Hill, but all the heartache and grief was finally put behind them with the long-awaited release of debut album ‘Against The Wall’. Any nerves that the five young guys had about people still caring enough to buy the album would have surely quickly disappeared with the news that the album had gate-crashed the National album charts top twenty. Hopefully, the dark days are behind the band and they will finally be able to get out on the road and let their army of fans hear the new material, and Steelhouse is the perfect launching pad. Track to listen out for: ‘D.N.A.’. Are Stone Broken to be considered as elder statesmen/woman of the NWOCR scene? It’s almost as if the Black Country-based rockers have been around for ages! Each tour has brought a bigger production, and stronger songs from a band who won’t rest on their laurels and are desperate to learn and grow. Touring America with Fozzy would have been an incredible learning experience, and plans to capitalise on this were kicked to the dirt with the onslaught of cancelled tours in the wake of covid. A new studio album is due later this year, with live dates to follow in early 2022, in the meantime, sit back and enjoy one of the UK’s strongest new prospects. Track to listen for: ‘Worth Fighting For’. The prospect of a hits-laden set from former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden is enough to have fans of blues-rock drooling in anticipation but add the golden larynx of Nev MacDonald playing the role of David Coverdale, and it’s double the fun as a jukebox full of hits awaits you, lucky people. With his brand new blues album ‘Kings’ freshly released, you might be treated to a few choice tracks, but once ‘Fool For Your Loving’ starts up then it is party time on the mountain. Track to listen out for: has to be ‘Fool For Your Loving’, right?
The penultimate act on the final day of Steelhouse Festival 2021 is The Wildhearts. The all-conquering The Wildhearts. Just as the weekend might be beginning to take its toll and energy levels start to dip, enter The Wildhearts to deliver a knockout punch of aggressive, hook-laden power-pop rock & roll. With a brand new album just around the corner, Ginger, CJ, Danny, and Ritch might casually drop in a few newbies to whet the appetite for ‘21st Century Love Songs’, but with it being a festival set, then perhaps this will be a full-pelt best-of set from arguably one of the most important bands that the UK has ever produced. Look out for some synchronised star jumps from Ginger and CJ, and listen out for, well, everything really, but the new single ‘Sort Your Fucking Shit Out’ is a total banger. The job of bringing this fine festival to a close falls to veterans Uriah Heep. Ultimately always criminally overlooked when lists of influential bands of the 70s are compiled, Uriah Heep have an enviable arsenal of quality cuts in their back catalogue. But the Heep don’t simply relying on the chestnuts, instead, the band is on what can only be described as a “purple patch” with 2018’s ‘Living the Dream’ being the latest in a long line of top-quality new studio albums. A new album is expected late September, but in the meantime, enjoy some ‘July Morning’.
Full running times are available here.
Photo credits – Rob Wilkins
