We made the trip over the Peak District tops to Sheffield on a cold and wet day for the Winter Rocks festival. Very excited to go and discover lots of upcoming rock bands! I am joined by boss man Phil so we did a joint effort here in this review & photos. As we were running late due to bad weather conditions, we unfortunately missed Steal the City, I will catch them soon though.
The Corporation is a fab venue split into 2 rooms. The first band FALLEN MAFIA was the next band on in the 2nd room which was small and dark. I can see a challenge with my camera already! The band arrived on stage, complete with black face make up and the riffs are heavy from the get go. Front girl Hannah very animated in her pose and what an amazing voice! This 5 piece heavy rock band, are from the North East and have played a number of other festivals. They sure know how to entertain and get the crowd going. Awesome set from these guys. One of my fave songs of theirs is “Nymph” just thought I’d put that in there 😊
Straight from Stage 2 to Stage 1 for the next band SHE BURNS RED all the way from West Lothian. Kilt wearing front man James arrived on stage, red mask like make up over his eyes. Full of raw energy these guys, and another new one to me, I was liking what I was hearing. Their new EP ‘Take back Tomorrow’ was co- produced by Toby Jepson is well worth checking out! This 4-piece sure has brilliant stage energy and smashed their set.
Back to Stage 2 for the next band (I should easily smash my steps target today I thought) Here are SAM MILLAR AND THE SASS BANDITS I’d heard about these guys, so was looking forward to checking them out. Sam was the guitarist in the band Bigfoot previously, and he brought his amazing guitar skills to the festival along with fantastic vocals. I thought he was quite 90’s rock style…love it! Joined on stage with her guitar and backing vocals was Lucy Shevchuk. I knew I recognized her from somewhere, she is vocalist for SQUARE WILD who I caught at the Waterloo couple months ago. The dynamic with Sam worked really well and along with the rest of the band Sam smashed the set oozing with charisma and strong musicianship.
Over to Stage 1 again, this time it is the punk rock n rollers THE IDOL DEAD. Now these guys look fun! With lead singer Phil and his short bleached blonde hair, proper punk style entering the stage and immediately jumping up in the air for the first track. (I caught a shot of this while still trying to push ear plugs in my ears) The 5-piece delivered a fast paced entertaining performance with Phil stepping over to the barrier couple times I struggled to keep up with my camera. The crowd enjoyed a good singalong to “Get Your Boots On” and “Bar At The Edge Of Time” just a bouncing good time from these guys! My personal fave of theirs is “I’m A Fake” Go check em out.
I just want to put in here that each band was introduced by the lovely ladies Caz Parker and Tina Culbertson from MMH Radio and what a fab job they did! Girl power!!
Coffee and snack break and re-energised, was back to it. Next up it is SOUTH OF SALEM and having missed a couple of opportunities to see these guys, I was looking forward to them. The 5-piece hard rock band from Bournemouth smashed through their set full of banging 80’s inspired tracks. These guys have great stage presence, look great and get the crowd going big time! Their debut album is out now “The Sinner Takes It All” go give them a listen.
Running to Stage 2 again for TWISTER and they are already kicking out high energy track to a rowdy crowd. This North-East based 4-piece have already sold out venues across the country and are going for more! They are a brilliant mix of showmanship, and musical genius smashing their way through their anthemic tracks full of soaring guitars and gripping melodies. Their debut album “Cursed And Corrected” is making waves on the rock circuit and they have loads of gigs coming up in the New Year. What a set!!
Stage 1 and it is CHEZ KANE who I was also looking forward to seeing as I have heard great things about her. They are all correct, what a performer! With her fantastic vocals from the off, leather fingerless gloves, and jacket with sleeves rolled up, within minutes I had her pegged as “DORO 2” Backed by her 4 band members this is a band to watch. She smashed her way through her whole album “Chez Kane” to a loyal and lively crowd cheering after each powerful and melodic track. Chez took time to praise the band she has supporting her which is very endearing. I’d definitely see her again, a standout performance!
Closing Stage 2 it was local band DOOMSDAY OUTLAW. Frontman Phil has a cool charismatic look about him and this 5-piece have a real distinctive sound. I am a fan of these right away, they are a bluesy hard rock band, Phil with his awesome soaring vocals work really well. The whole band were interacting with the crowd who were dancing away to the full set and received a loud reaction. Ange’s track choice – “Runaway” I’ll be back to see these again!
The headliners for the festival were the mighty VEGA on Stage 1. These were called up last minute due to Crazy Lixx being unable to play. These guys are no stranger to headline stages, and worked the crowd from the off. Lead singer Nick Workman getting it going with his great vocals and stage charisma. I compare him to Bon Jovi, you can see the inspirations shine through from other classic bands such as Def Leppard and Guns N Roses. Billy Taylor was the stand out guitarist, originally in the band DEEVER he had great stage presence and gave a few photographers the ‘shot’ Together the 6-piece smashed it with their epic set.
What a brilliant event this was, big credit and thanks to the organisers, staff and bands for making it a memorable day. I am looking forward to next year already!!”
Photos by Ange Cobham and Philip Goddard
Review by Ange Cobham
