The NWOCR III Festival, KK’s Steel Mill Wolverhampton, 28-29.09.24 (Review by Debby Myatt/Photos by Tony Gaskin)
Saturday
The New Wave Of Classic Rock Festival at KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton delivered a weekend of pure rock 'n' roll bliss. With a stellar lineup featuring headliners The Virginmarys and Gin Annie, the festival showcased some of the most exciting new talent in the UK rock scene. This was the third event put on by the team, that is purely volunteers and non-profit, with all money raised going towards the next event.
The festival wasn't just about the headliners. A host of talented bands stacked out both days’, the variety of music on offer ensured that there was something for everyone. KK's Steel Mill proved to be an ideal venue for the festival. The intimate atmosphere and excellent sound quality created a perfect environment for enjoying the music.
Kicking off in explosive style on the Saturday were hard rocking quartet Ransom. They were perfect to get the early crowd into gear from the off. Great fun and frontman Matt was a natural and seemed perfectly suited the big stage.
It set the tone for not just the Saturday, but the whole weekend.
Further highlights of the Saturday were the fabulous Jack J Hutchinson Band, with their Americana and Blues influenced rock, Sons Of Liberty, who, like Ransom played straight up hard rock with joyful glee, tongue in cheek and a glint in their eyes. We also had excellent sets from Unknown Refuge, Ashen Reach (despite being a bass player short!) and Doomsday Outlaw.
But it was high flying Collateral who stole the show for me. This is a band that should be playing big stages and arenas on a regular basis. Front man Angelo is a dynamo full of energy that doesn't stop or falter for the whole set. In his long Afghan style patchwork coat and bare chest he certainly has the women folk swooning, but it’s not all eye candy, this man has some pipes on him, they remind us very much of early Bon Jovi and they take the festival to another level.
Having to follow that were the two lads from Macclesfield, otherwise known as The Virginmarys. Their visceral, pulsating rock is mesmerising, hypnotic and a sight to behold. Maybe not the classic rock many in the room would like, but their alternative take on British rock as won them many fans over the years and they close out the Saturday in emphatic and electrifying style.
Sunday
Day two began with the news that Oli Brown had pulled out, but a last minute replacement had been found, so another day of top notch British rock was in store
And we started off this second day, just as we did on day one with a raucous ballsy set from hardrockers Kinstrife. A full throttle heavy rockin’ onslaught that blew away any first day cobwebs. This was followed up by the foot-tapping Americana country rock of Tom Killner and his band. This style of rock is quite popular at the moment with bands like Blackberry Smoke and the Brothers Osbourne flying high, so it was no surprise to see the early crowd rocking out to Tom’s British take on the genre.
That last minute replacement we spoke of were up next and it proved to be one of the highlights (if not the highlight) of the weekend. Local youngsters Jayler have rapidly made a name for themselves in a fairly meteoric rise over the past 18 months or so. The obvious and main influence here is Zeppelin, the music and the look is straight out of the Page/Plant workbook, but they do it in a fresh, energetic way that belies their young age.
It was great to see them on a big stage like this and get this exposure as I can see big things happening for Jayler. I would just say though that frontman James just needs to reign in the Plant persona a tad though, you’re not a tribute band, be yourself.
Following that was not going to be easy, but The Hot One Two are seasoned rockers by comparison and if anything they took it up a notch with their infectious songs that really got the party going, which, for me, stalled a little with next band Black Lakes who on the face of it seem a bit out of place on this weekends bill.
Their rock is dark and gothic like, verging on industrial and as good as it was, it took some of the energy away that had been building with the early bands. I would definitely see them again, but they would probably benefit from a more metal line-up.
We had just three bands left and it was triumvirate of bands that have the experience, fans and most importantly the songs to close out this weekend.
First of those three were The Karma Effect, currently touring and riding high on the success of the brilliant album Promised Land. They inject the energy back into the room with the tracks taken off that album making up the majority of their set and this is continued by the effervescent Dead Man’s Whiskey who can knock out a head banger or a power ballad with consummate ease and a lot of emotion.
Closing out this fabulous weekend were local heroes Gin Annie who treat us to set full of their hard rocking songs that have won them many admirers and they have a fair few new tunes that they’ve been drip feeding us over the last twelve months or so,and it was great to see them performing those new song live. The songs are catchy, the crowd loving it.
A perfect way to finish off what has been a brilliant weekend showcasing some of the best of British rock talent and the organisers have already announced that NWOCR IV will take place again next year at KK’s on the 27th and 28th Sept. You can get early bird tickets at this years prices for a short while, just head to www.wegottickets.com/nwocr
Huge thank you to Richard and his team for their hospitality and especially to Helen who organised, informed and looked after the press over the weekend.
See you all next year!
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