Whitebottom Farm, Stockport | 6–9 August 2026
There are festivals you go to for the line-up, festivals you go to for the location, and festivals you return to year after year because of the community. Firevolt is very definitely the latter.
Set in the beautiful surroundings of Whitebottom Farm in Etherow Country Park, Firevolt has been gaining popularity since its first year. I first went for the full weekend in 2023 which was the second year, and the first under the new name of Firevolt, and I’ve been back every year since. It has grown slightly in the last 5 years, and so has the close-knit community feel that made people fall in love with it in the first place.
We hadn’t even made it through the gate on Thursday before we were greeted by familiar faces, and that pretty much set the tone for the weekend. There were hugs and reunions with people we hadn’t seen since last year. Firevolt even organises meet-ups for people attending solo and the shared love of music and the friendly atmosphere mean that you are guaranteed to make friends and find people you have things in common with.
Tent successfully put up in the lovely Creedence Creek camping area (slightly further from the action and so a little quieter) it was time for the traditional celebratory pint. There are several camping areas, including options closer to the stages for those who prefer to be right in the middle of things, plus limited campervan spaces. Off-site parking is supported by a regular shuttle bus, so getting yourself and your belongings onto site is refreshingly painless.
The bars operate using tokens and reusable plastic cups, and this year there was also a good range of food available from Thursday onwards. We had decided to do something different this year and go to the pub for tea, as in previous years the Thursday night food has been a bit hit and miss. We had a lovely walk through the park and a great meal at the Andrew Arms before returning to the festival site in time for the Pre-Festival Party.
Buried in Bermuda opened proceedings, although I’ll admit I didn’t see quite as much of their set as intended, as there were too many people to hug, catch up with and talk to. White Tyger finished the live music with a cracking party set before a DJ kept those with sufficient stamina going into the night.
One of Firevolt’s greatest strengths is its size and layout. There are two main stages – the Bludsucker Stage and the Trooper Stage – but crucially there are no clashes. You can watch a full set, grab a drink and wander over to the other stage without sprinting across a field or having to miss a band. Everything is within easy walking distance too.
Saturday started with Shape of Water making a welcome return after everyone fell in lovewith them when they played in 2025, so there was a big crowd for the first band of the day.
Although it was a gloriously sunny day, there were places to escape the heat when needed. Ward XVI were one of the Bludsucker Stage highlights, bringing their wonderfully theatrical, darkly humorous horror-metal cabaret to Firevolt. Over on the Trooper Stage, Darren Wharton’s Renegade delivered a brilliant celebration of Thin Lizzy, interspersed with Wharton’s own stories from his time with the band. Mason Hill brought Friday’s Bludsucker proceedings to a suitably impressive close.
Saturday brought another beautiful day and, importantly, breakfast. The food offering this year was excellent, with plenty of choice throughout the site, including the fabulous Rock & Roll Toastie Co. making a very welcome return.
Musically, Saturday was packed with familiar Firevolt favourites including Thieves of Liberty, Muddibrooke and These Wicked Rivers. The latter’s ongoing obsession with putting actual furniture on stage had apparently escaped into the audience this year, with lamps dotted around the barn. Why? I have absolutely no idea. But somehow at Firevolt it made perfect sense.
Then there is the wine bar.
Introduced in recent years, it has rapidly become one of my favourite parts of the festival. Staffed by a genuinely knowledgeable team, it offers some fantastic wines along with tasting sessions for anyone wanting to expand their festival drinking horizons beyond lager and cider. This may become relevant later.
I’d been looking forward to seeing Wednesday 13 again ever since catching them at Steelhouse last year and, WOW, they did not disappoint. Surely a future Bludsucker headline slot has to be on the cards? This year that honour went to the ever-popular Massive Wagons, who delivered exactly the huge, joyous Saturday-night set the crowd wanted.
Sunday morning demonstrated another side of Firevolt. While some festival-goers were nursing coffee at their tents, others were up early for a sound bath in the barn, part of a programme of enrichment activities that also included Rock Fit and Pilates. There is even a wellbeing tent offering a range of treatments. I also heard rumours that some particularly hardy individuals had taken part in the local parkrun.
I was not one of them. (See previous comments re: the wine bar).#
Sunday was therefore a slightly more sedate affair for me, although there was certainly no shortage of energy elsewhere. The Virginmarys were a Trooper Stage highlight, returning to an enormously warm Firevolt welcome. Two people should not really be capable of making that much noise, yet somehow, they are.
And then, all too soon, it was time for The Wildhearts to close the festival.
Watching from the hill beside the stage gave me a fantastic view across the whole site as Ginger and co. delivered a superb closing set, complete, of course, with an appearance from Maggie the dog. Looking down across the arena with friends while a crowd of very happy people sang, danced and soaked up the final moments of the weekend, I felt slightly emotional!
The music finished with Bev and Stret’s traditional thank-you speeches, including bringing the festival volunteers onto the stage. It was another reminder that Firevolt isn’t simply an event that happens to have a friendly atmosphere; that sense of community is built into it. The organisers, volunteers, crew, medics, fire marshals and countless people working behind the scenes all contribute to making the weekend feel personal.
There was even a promise from Bev and Stret that Firevolt would continue to grow “just a little bit, not too much!”
For those who somehow still had energy, Luna Marble continued the party in the barn before the DJ took things into the night.
Firevolt 2026 was everything I hoped it would be: fantastic music, great food and drink, beautiful surroundings and superb organisation. But the main reason I keep coming back is the people. Old friends, new friends, the conversations with strangers who aren’t strangers for very long, and that wonderful feeling that everyone is genuinely delighted to be there. Huge thanks to Stret and Bev and their entire team – especially Nigel, the indefatigable tog wrangler – and to every volunteer and member of the behind-the-scenes crew who keeps the whole thing running so smoothly.
Same time next year? Absolutely.
https://www.firevoltfestival.co.uk/
Words: Fiona Turner
Photos: Phil Goddard
