Although Ross has already run through what he saw on Sunday, I feel duty-bound to throw my own words at you seeing as I was the one who was actually there to review the festival. Plus, he missed one of the acts I saw. Although I missed one of the ones he saw, so we’re all square. That comment was particularly clever as it was Square Wild I missed as we took longer grabbing brunch than expected. I’ll do my best to catch them at Bloodstock (New Blood stage, Friday) to make up for it.
We arrived in time for the announcement of the announcement, which was essentially a chance for Luke Appleton to put the event crew front and foremost for a well-deserved round of applause. Posters also went up for next year’s event with a handful of the bands announced, along with early-bee tickets. Details on their website! The first band we caught were Thieves of Liberty on the outside Viking Stage. Despite being from Sunderland (sorry, lads, local bias is showing through), they were pretty decent. Certainly more entertaining than their local football team… And yes, I know their drummer is a Chelsea fan. Happy birthday, Tom, by the way. Ahem, anyway. Bluesy, catchy and upbeat they were a great band to start the day with.
Following on were on of the few acts I’d seen before – although some time ago – Dakesis. The last time was way back at Bloodstock 2017 when bassist Amy was rather impressively pregnant, yet still played a full part in proceedings. I mean, you don’t want to miss that New Blood experience, do you? The band have got even better with time, and they pulled an impressive number of fans out of seats including my gig buddy Molly who bought all their albums from the merch stand afterwards. Their operatic style with multiple vocals and grand vision is something that really deserves to be seen live… and if you’re heading for Bloodstock this year they’ve been bumped up to the Sophie stage. Catch them on the Saturday!
Spyder Byte make or may not have named themselves after a Marvel character, but they do throw out greasy, dirty rock and roll if not spiderwebs. Harking back to the days when glam rock was properly filthy, they both look and sound the part. Their set was over far too briefly for this reviewer, but I’ve been enjoying listening to When The Light Goes Out and Addictive since I got home.
I’ve heard a lot about MuddiBrooke (mainly from Ross who was working merch for them) but hadn’t had a chance to really listen to them until today. Colour me impressed with their stripped-down style and great songs. Heartfelt grunge with some great singalong choruses, they’re an easy act to get into. They’re also another act you can catch at Bloodstock this year – head for the Jager stage on Saturday.
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The stage yo-yo continued as I bounced outside to see Loz Campbell wow the crowd with her 40-minute set. Loz was highlighted some years ago as an annoyingly talented youngster who I’m guessing is now in her early or mid-20s. And she’s still annoyingly talented. A born frontperson, she holds the audience in the palm of her hand while chucking around both lyrics and riffs like confetti. The music is banging, the band look like their loving it and the crowd lapped up every moment. I was duty-bound to rush back indoors and catch King Kraken otherwise Shells would never have forgiven me. Absolutely my kind of music, they were doomy, heavy and had inflatable tentacles (that’s tentacles) on stage for added atmosphere. Their music is just made to bang your head to, and they’re another I’ve continued to listen to since getting back home.
Sunshine calls, so we headed back into the fresh air for Black Lakes‘ sheep-and-valleys influenced Welsh rock. They’re a great balance of melodic and powerful. Lilting lyrics punctuated by blasts and uplifting riffs. As the tempeartures started to drop, I’m not sure whether my goosebumps were from the weather or the music. Back indoors we were treated to a band from the wrong side of Scotland (fight, fight!) as She Burns Red made the beer barrels rattle behind the bar. I gather they were another band who suffered travel issues, but I am so glad they managed to make it as they bloody rocked the place. Do keep an ear out as they have a new album coming shortly, and if it’s half as good as what they were playing this weekend then it’s going to be very deserving of your time.
The headline slot deservedly belonged to South of Salem, who I’d seen most recently supporting Wednesday 13 in Glasgow (also with Molly, as it happens, due to her being a massive fan). They really impressed me that night and with a longer set this evening… they impressed me even more. Their music is so easy to get into, the songs aren’t overly complex, and their whole stage performance just screams ease and professionalism. Despite all this the star turn wasn’t from the band themselves, but from a young fan in the audience. Sat on his dad’s shoulders, he was screaming along word for word, until eventually frontman Joey Draper reached out and had him singing into the microphone. Sorry, guys. Your set was amazing, but the whole show was stolen from you by a child.
So… that was it. A long-ish weekend of top notch bands covering a variety of rock and metal sub-genres, in a superb venue with a wonderful friendly atmosphere. Seriously, what more could you want for a pittance of a ticket price? You need to add SOS Fest XV to your calendar for 2024!
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Photos by Charlotte Emily Photography