Stonedead Festival is a one day rock festival held at Newark Showground that pays homage to and recreates the spirit of the Monsters Of Rock Festival. Created in 2018 it’s now in it’s sixth year. This is my first time at Stonedead so I arrive early to have a good look around the arena. It’s a great site with an array of reasonably priced food venors and merch stalls. Everything is at hand and no more than a five minute walk.
Opening the days proceedings is Cambridgeshire’s The Hot One Two.
The band won a poll to play this coveted slot. Despite the rain, there’s a sizeable crowd watching them. The band aren’t going to let the elements put a dampener on things, kicking their set off with “Playing With Fire” All eight songs in their 30-minute set come from their debut album ‘Superbia’ released last November. Their set has everything, infectious hard rock, driving rhythms and soaring guitars, there’s pyro (there’s no skimping here) and backing dancers too. Guitarist Kev Baker looked like he was taking part in a gurning competition judging from the faces he pulled even when not playing.
It must be an unenviable task of opening the day, but their high-energy set they got an enthusiastic albeit soggy response from the crowd who happily sang along. It was a great start to the day. Catch them on their upcoming autumn tour.
Our compare for the day is Krusher. His commentary is quite blue and he says fuck rather a lot.
“Zorba the Greek” booms across the arena which gets a few people dancing. It heralds the next band, Tailgunner.
“Zorba the Greek” gives way to“Guns For Hire,” “White Death” and “Beast In The Night”. It’s powerful old school metal which goes down well.
Despite the rain easing, singer Craig Cairns slipes on the wet stage. This appears to go unnoticed by the other band members who play on. Luckily apart from ripped jeans there’s no serious injury.
The stand out moment is Grieg’s “The Hall Of The Mountain King” which featured a guitar play off with Rhea Thompson and Zach Salvini. The set is brought to a close with an awesome cover of Dio’s “Don’t Talk To Strangers”.
Next up are The Bites, an American glam band that gave us a huge dose of Hollywood fun and the Sun to boot. Singer Jordan Tyler struts onto the stage in stars and stripes shorts, while launching into “Knockin’,”. It’s infectious glam rock. “Pretty Boys” follow complete with Jordan’s bum thrusts. The set is much of their debut album Squeeze. While it’s serious music, The Bites are a band that don’t take themselves seriously but are all about having fun.
A cover of Zepplin’s “Good Times Bad Times” shows how good they are and also gets the crowd singing along. The set comes to a close with “Do Me a Favour” which really gets the crowd going.
Bonafide are announced by Krusher as being “the only good thing to come out of Sweden, other than Britt Ekland’s tits.” They move things to a more heavier, grittier direction. Opening with “Are You Listening,” the crowd clearly approved judging by the number of hands in the air. Frontman, Pontus Snibb’s (the only original band member) voice is as gritty as the music.
I didn’t really like Bonafide, sorry, they just felt like a AC/DC rip off so I didn’t stay to see the full set. I think several may have shared my opinion as the crowd seemed considerably smaller than it did when the set started.
The Scandi drama continued with Eclipse from Stockholm. Unfortunately as they came on stage, the heavens opened once again, this time it was torrential. There’s a mad scramble in the crowd to put on coats etc.
This is part of Eclipse’s “Megalomanium” tour. They kick off with “Roses on Your Grave” and “Got It! ” which despite the rain has everyone moving. The music has moved to a different direction with catchy melodies so it’s not surprising that the crowd have started to grow in size.
Frontman Erik Martenson looked dwarfed by his Gretsch White Falcon guitar which he played with great skill. Highlight of the set was “Black Rain” and the set closer “Viva La Victoria” which has the crowd singing along.
The sun had come out and the sky had cleared by the time DORO, the Queen of Metal walked on stage. Leather clad with blonde flowing locks she instantly commanded the stage. Kicking off with “I Rule The Ruins” and “Burning The Witches” which really got the crowd going. DORO’s voice is powerful as she fist pumps to “Raise Your Fist In the Air”, she has the crowd in the palm of her hand as they join in fist pumping
The set comes to a close with “All We Are,” which is a real crowd pleaser. It’s a shame the set ends so quickly (about 50 minutes).
A taped intro welcomes to the stage Ugly Kid Joe. They kick things off with “That Ain’t Livin’” from 2022’s “Rad Wings of Destiny” album. It’s clear things have gone up a gear or two as they go straight into “Neighbor”. Frontman Whitfield Crane is a powerful presence and it doesn’t take him long to have the crowd eating out of his hand. A game of “Whitfield Says” follows which has everyone taking part.
We blast through the set until we get to “Cats In The Cradle” which is dedicated to the signing tent attendee, Adele. A blistering cover of Motorheads “Ace of Spades” follows.
Without doubt their set is one of the highlights of the festival.
The penultimate act came in the form of KK’s Priest. This is a band I’ve wanted to see live for a while. With fire, smoke, explosions, insane lighting it would be fair to say that their set was nothing short of spectacular.
Frontman Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens voice was incredibly powerful as they open with “Hellfire Thunderbolt” and “Strike of The Viper.” I’m open mouthed as I watch KK Downing, wielding his Flying Vee. He makes it look so easy, no wonder he’s one of the greatest guitarists. We are treated to covers of “The Ripper” and “Hell Patrol” The crowd go absolutely mental when they pay “Breaking The Law” the crowd loving every second of it.
Headlining are the godfathers of English Heavy Rock, SAXON. In my youth I listened to their albums but I must confess I’ve not listened to their later material. As they launched into “Hell, Fire And Damnation” and “Motorcycle Man” it was clear we were in for something special.
The bar set by KK’s Priest was about to be smashed.
It’s hard to believe that Biff Byford is 73, he appears ageless, his voice is as powerful as ever. Like a regimental sergeant major he takes total control with arms outstretched.
Biff gives the crowd the choice of “Sacrifice”, “The Eagle Has Landed”, or “Broken Heroes”. Biff made the executive decision and we are treated to all three after his rallying cry of “let’s be fuckin’ havin’ you!”. Everyone goes nuts when they play “The Bands Played On’”
The festival is brought to a close with “Princess of the Night”.
So that brought Stonedead to a close for this year. I can safely say that it’s the best festival I’ve ever attended. The organisation is flawless, stewards are friendly and helpful. Despite getting soaked twice I had an absolute blast.
Festival’s organizers, Chris Sumby, Louise Bayley, and Neil Meynell should be proud of what they have achieved. Plans are already underway for 2025. Early bird tickets sold out within days of going on sale which just proves how popular the festival is.
Word and Photos by Mark Stimpson
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