Whitebottom Farm – Etherow Park

Greater Manchester

Thursday Pre-Party review HERE

Friday review HERE

Saturday review HERE

Review and Photos – Rob and Danni Wilkins

After two great days of music, could Firevolt sustain the energy and volume for a third day? Waking up to sunshine and enjoying an espresso whilst watching the stream of campers heading to the showers and breakfast vendors there certainly felt like plenty of energy for one last effort.

Kicking off the day for the second time in the weekend was “Jam with Jack”. Today attracted even more faces on stage than Saturday, and some certainly made an impression! It is such a great way to start the day. Then bars aren’t open, so the first pint has to wait, but another coffee ensures I am buzzing for the big stages to kick off.

A bus from Wales had deposited the first two bands of the day in Greater Manchester, and openers Mad Haven took on the challenge of blowing the sleep from the eyes of the early risers. I had no idea that Mad Haven had been around since they were teenagers fifteen years ago, as they still look remarkably youthful! The set drew from that full history, from “Are You Ready to Rock” through to new material such as “Liar”, which tested the crowd’s lungs, and “Can’t Let Go”, with a glorious guitar intro leading into a more introspective, slower song. The highlight of the set, for me, was the final song, “Take Control”, which played around in my head long after the band had taken a bow.

The second of the Welsh contingent (although now only singer Sam Bolderson actually comes from Wales) were Häxan, back on the Trooper stage. “Though she may be but little, she is fierce” goes the saying, and Sam embodies the quote as she takes both lead and vocal duties, stepping away from the mic to rip out riffs that complement her strong singing style. That leaves a LOT of stage to fill, and bassist Harriet Wadeson, in quite spectacular trousers, took on the challenge of doing just that whilst thickening out the sound alongside drummer Jess Hartley. Unlike many bands, Haxan weren’t present to promote anything new, but teased with a suggestion to “watch our socials,” so fingers crossed there is something brewing. Favourite song of the set? “Collide” where Sam’s voice really shone, but “Burn Alive” pushed it close!

Shortly before the festival, Deville had to pull out and were replaced by the Scots of Pyroclast. In the run-up to the festival, whilst checking out the playlist, I was very impressed by the vocals of Mark Reid, which had a Dioesque timbre, so I wondered how well that would translate to the live show. The first surprise as the band appeared on stage was the sheer age range of the band members, with the rhythm section of Liam and Jack possibly not being allowed to get a drink at the bar without producing ID for some time, and Mark having played in bands far longer than either of them have been alive! Musically though, it gels beautifully, and Pyroclast bring the heaviest sound of the day with songs such as “Break The Tide” (from the new album due out in December) and the twin guitar assault of “Wail” standing out in a strong set.

“Jam with Jack” gives fleeting glimpses of his talent and ability, but today Jack J Hutchinson gets to show why he gets that gig with his own set back on the “Trooper” stage. Along with Greg Smith on bass and Drew Moore on drums, it is a set that showcases his blues style and, paired with his raconteur delivery between songs, his set really hits the mark. A new song, “Soul Believer”, stands out in the set, “Constellations” has heads nodding furiously, and “Don’t Let the F***ers” riffs furiously and showcases a superb solo. The standout song, however, is “I Will Follow You”, which follows a narrative of being about when his Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and brings a tear to many an eye. Hopefully we will continue to see Jack, both jamming and performing, at Firevolt’s of the future, as he is as much a part of the festival as he is a guest!

By this point I was starting to wonder whether the budget for Sunday was running out, and so the size of the bands reduced as, unusually, we were about to watch our fourth trio in five bands with Apriori! Here, as another tradition, the pick of organiser Bev today marks the third appearance at Firevolt for the guys from Blackpool, and over that time they have clearly grown in both musical presentation and confidence. Trios tend to struggle to fill a large stage, and when one, Mark Wilson, is anchored to a bank of keyboards, the task becomes even harder, but guitarist/vocalist Tony Lang rises to the challenge. We needed to take a short break partway through the set, but as the van was so close to the stage were able to listen and enjoy songs such as “Fear”, “Live Today” and “Making Love to the Devil”.

Reducing the average number of band members even further, we then headed to the Trooper stage for the loudest duo around in The Virginmarys. I love watching these guys. Danny Dolan is an absolute force of nature, drumming as he batters hell out of his kit, often standing and bringing his full body weight down, with fingers taped and a supply of sticks on hand as they regularly break or fly out of his hands. Beside him, Ally Dickaty coaxes an extraordinary range of tortured sounds from his rig, making the sound far bigger than should be possible with just two musicians. It’s a frantic set. Barely any chat, just wall-to-wall powerful, punky, grungy rock delivered in a wall of intensity. They crammed 15 songs into a one-hour set, and I can honestly say that having seen them several times over a good few years, this was one of the best performances I have seen, mainly for sheer impact. Standout song? I love ”Bang Bang Bang”, which encapsulates all that is good about their unique, crushing sound.

A total change of pace and intensity follows with the next two bands. Firstly, an unexpected supergroup with Cats in Space, who took to the stage featuring the ubiquitous and ever-smiling Sam Wood on guitar alongside Chris Childs from Thunder on bass! This was my first time seeing the band, and I wasn’t too sure what to expect other than anticipating a classy and classic rock sound. That was exactly what was delivered, with complex layers of keys and guitars overlaid with vocal harmonies that contrasted totally with the raw energy that went before. The musical ability shone through on songs such as “The Greatest Story Never Told”, with some delicious twin and duelling guitar work from Sam and Greg Hart, and “Hologram Man”, which followed the same path. The whole set is elevated by the sumptuous vocals of Damien Edwards, whose voice drips with class. Not my musical cup of tea, preferring the rawness to the polish, but a truly enjoyable set from a group of talented musicians for sure.

Headlining the Trooper stage were another returnee in the melodic rock standard-bearers, FM. They received the most fulsome of intros from compère Paul Cash, whose voice drips revealed that he had seen the band 65 times in total! Class is permanent, and in the utterly delicious vocals of Steve Overland you have the very definition of the word. Put him alongside Merv Goldsworthy’s pounding bass, Jim Kirkpatrick’s subtle but sublime guitar work, Pete Jupp’s controlled yet dynamic drumming, and Jem Davis’s sumptuous keys, and it really is a genre-defining sound. The song catalog matches the musical ability. “That Girl”, “The Other Side of Midnight”, “Killed By Love” and “Turn This Car Around” all rate as standout AOR tracks and leave you feeling that FM maybe should have ranked higher amongst their US peers.

Usually the final headliner plays to a smaller-sized crowd as people head off to be ready to work on Monday, but over on Bludsucker, crowds massed ready for The Wildhearts.

During FM we heard the sound check, and I turned to my other half and said, “Jesus, that’s loud!” When Ginger and co hit the opening chords of “Failure is the Mother of Success”, it appeared that their sound engineer had found the magic button that eluded those leading the previous two days – and Jesus, it WAS loud!

We were kept out of the pit for the first two songs, and as the band surged into “Suckerpunch”, fireworks lit up the sky.

Joined on bass by Christ Catalyst, this was clearly going to be The Wildhearts’ performance of my dreams. Ginger was on another level. Telling the crowd “we are here to celebrate life”, swigging from a bottle of whisky, laughing, smiling, and ripping riffs from his guitar whilst showcasing that unique songwriting talent. Whilst in the pit, he brought his beloved dog Maggie onstage and won the hearts of the few in the crowd who so far weren’t convinced by the music.

One of the most spontaneous moments I have seen at a gig followed when Ginger finished “Mazel Tov Cocktail” and went to introduce the next song, but an audience choir just kept singing the refrain. Ginger looked a little stunned and said, “That has never happened to me before”. The love between audience and performer was clear, and slowly but surely that organic symbiosis that can rarely occur with live music unfolded. The audience reacted, the band played harder and louder, so the crowd responded, met by the band, until you realise what you are seeing is incredibly special.

It is easy, when writing these reviews, to focus on the setlist or the minutiae of the songs, but this gig wasn’t about that. It was about a performer finding the freedom to enjoy himself and cast off previous restraint, and an audience joining in and simply giving. Ginger described it with two quotes: “This is a night I’ll remember for a very long time” (We really hope you do, Sir!) and “I feel bad I’m getting paid for this!”

Amidst fireworks, Ginger, Ben and Chris all played with the sparks, but their smiles were even brighter, and as the last chords died away took an extended bow. I genuinely believe this to be the standout performance not just of the day, or of the weekend, but of the entirety of Firevolt, delivering something truly magical and organic that will long remain a cherished memory.

Organisers Bev and Stret then welcomed all the volunteers on stage for a well-deserved bow and ran through the huge list of thanks that show just how complex a festival such as this is to organise and how much it relies on a whole series of people giving their time and energy to make it work.

The few hardy remainers head back to the Trooper stage for a last set by previous battle of the bands winners Luna Marble, who showcase a very Fleetwood Mac retro rock sound with modern twists, brought to life by vocalist Maria Rico, who is an utter force of nature! Somehow the band manages to overrun their time slot so we don’t get to hear “The Chain”, which results in the wonderful plea of “Please let us play it! We will play it quietly” and the only boos Stret received all weekend when the legalities of curfews force him to turn the plea down.

Firevolt 27 will take place from 12-15th August, and onsite motorhome spaces sold out within minutes when they went on sale (offsite parking is available and just a short walk from the festival site through a beautiful park). Bands already announced are Tyketto, Sisters Doll, Soho Dukes, We Three Kings, and Liberty Slaves, with many more to follow.

See you there! We’ll be the ones helping you park your van, or set up in accessible, photographing from the pit, writing reviews, trying once again to sample every beer from the real ale guy, succeeding in sampling every food vendor, catching up with old friends, making new ones, telling Stret, no, I am NOT there to drive a buggy, trying to work out which compère used to present as trans (and being dobbed in by a fellow photographer when that wasn’t meant to be a public musing), and just loving every second of this wonderful little festival.

See you there!

Firevolt Festival – Sunday

270 photos