Live Review : Firevolt Festival on August 10th 2025 - Scandi Sunday!

Sunday morning also starts with Jack's Jam, with Jack J Hutchinson inviting festival-goers and the odd musician (Hi again Matt from Ransom!) onto his little stage. This time there’s a definite slant towards the music of Ozzy Osbourne, and a rollicking good time is had by all again. This is helped along by the fact that the festival management were obviously taking feedback on board and although the bar in the barn remained resolutely shut due to licencing restrictions, the bar by the main stage was very much open for business. Niggle put to bed in under 24 hours, kudos Firevolt! 

The stages proper commenced with a set from Yorkshire’s Motorhead-inspired maniacs Liberty Slaves. Their noise was bass-driven with rough vocals but a cheeky chappie sense of humour. They got a decent, appreciative crowd considering the time of day, and lifted the mood nicely.  

The Soul Revival were more blues than soul and gave us a modern twist on a retro sound. They plough an early Whitesnake furrow, and it was well-performed nod-along music. There's a power ballad dedicated to friends lost and it's laid back and feely. They too have been fundraising, this time for a charity called Ian’s Chain that raises funds to support men’s mental health so all power to them for that. They are good strong players with good strong songs and get the crowd going nicely. 

Tom Killner was a different kettle of fish. He is a proper country boy playing proper country and western infused Americana – yeeha! It was perfect sunny Sunday music, toes tapped inadvertently and there may have been a little discreet line-dancing about the place. It was a little light relief from the full-on rock; very enjoyable. 

Grand Central stage then gave us Buried In Bermuda, a strange name for a band playing sharp, pointed metalcore! They were the only band I managed to catch on the little stage on the final day, and were well worth a watch. 

Blue Nation’s singer had a great voice but their actual music was a bit middle-of-the road AOR. He was also a bit of a comedian, with a good repertoire of jokes and banter between songs. Those songs definitely had a light touch, it was poppy and happy with some laid-back harmonies and lots of smiles. Ballpark comparison might be Cheap Trick, or even The Boss himself. They too are raising money for men’s mental health (although I didn’t catch if it was for the same charity, sorry) and as a percentage of their merch was going to the cause it was heartening to see them with a massive queue after the set finished. They did showcase a standout track called ‘Echoes’ which was like a saccharine-drenched Stereophonics tune.  

No sweetness about the next band though, in fact The Lazys got the award for the most onstage swearing of the weekend! They were Aussie class trash, and literally gave us ALL the fucks, with a couple of c***s thrown in for good measure too. Feisty, fast and fun rock and fucking roll, they truly brought the party. Like all bands from Down Under there was a strong AC/DC influence, but with all the attitude, all the joy of seeing a band who are obviously enjoying themselves hugely doing what they love to do. We had band members in the pit, band members in the crowd, heads shaking, air punching and singalongs, all wrapped up in a delicious slice of no-nonsense straight-ahead hard rock. With song titles like ‘Half Mast Blues’, ‘Fuck The Man’ and ‘Rattle Them Bones’ we knew what to expect and The Lazys didn’t disappoint. Their irreverent attitude was a breath of fresh air on a close and humid afternoon. 

Dan Byrne continues to grow and mature as he wends his way up the path that leads to becoming one of the best voices in modern rock. His band are now tight and together, working as a slick unit in the background and allowing Dan to shine at the front of the stage. His set was another big crowd favourite, with everyone cramming in front of the Trooper stage to try and be part of it. Dan’s roots may be in blues but he & his band can really rock out – songs like ‘Hard To Breathe’, ‘Like Animals’ and ‘Death Of Me’ managed to pack a punch despite brimming with emotion and even occasionally pathos. Here at ROCKFLESH Towers we’ve been big supporters of Dan since his very early days and trust us – he has a bright future in front of him.  

The Picturebooks were another change of direction. Having a 2-person band with just drums and guitars (with vocals) may have started with The White Stripes, but this pair of taciturn Germans have taken the concept and run with it, discarding all the frills and trimmings on the way. This resulted in a set of songs that were primal, tribal even, demonstrating complex simplicity. It was therefore something of a surprise that they chose a Bruce Springsteen song to cover, even if it was one of his more obscure ones. ‘State Trooper’ stunned the crowd into stupefied silence before they regained their voices and gave it the rapturous attention it deserved.  

Scandi Sunday? You mutter to yourself on reading the title of this review. Well yes, both the penultimate band and tonight’s headliners are Swedish, although they run in very different grooves to each other. Von Hertzen Brothers are unashamedly prog. Lively prog, but prog nonetheless. They love a time change mid-song, they love a key change too. They threw in a bit of saxophone here, a smidgeon of flute there (although sadly the flautist kept both legs firmly on terra firma). It appears several of the band musicians are multi-instrumentalists as they swap between keyboards and other instruments with ease. They were a little too cheerful to be proper prog though, a little too rock, not quite geeky enough. In fact in places rather than introspective and deep they were actually quite sparkly and funky. Lads! You’re doing it wrong! So to correct my earlier words they may not be prog after all. The songs were beautifully crafted and beautifully performed, and the whole thing was a lot more enjoyable than some people (OK me!) expected. They even made it snow during ‘Snowstorm’ and that’s quite a feat on a warm and sunny English evening!  

Finally then the sun is setting, the moon is rising and the festival is nearly over as we troop back to Bludsuker to welcome Eclipse. I need to make a confession here, I’m afraid these last few paragraphs will not be an objective and unbiased review. You see, I love Eclipse. I love their energy, I love their songs, I happen to think they are one of the best live bands around at the moment and I’m just not capable of giving you a blow-by-blow, song-by-song, unemotional breakdown of what they did. Mostly because I spent the whole set on the barrier dancing and yelling like a loon as tune after tune got belted out and caught, to be cherished, by the eager crowd.

Right, so now that’s off my chest how were they actually? Bloody awesome, that’s how. Despite singer/guitarist Erik getting confused and thinking he was at Stonedead not Firevolt, despite him discovering a crack in the neck of his guitar which put the acapella interlude in the middle in jeopardy, despite them adding their own little tribute to Ozzy with a picture and Sabbath riff, they were just fantastic. Again there was no pyro or fancy stage set. In fact at times, much to the horror of the assembled photographers, there were barely any lights on them at all. Yet somehow they still managed to entertain us, delight us and most importantly rock us. Highlights? ‘Anthem’ starting with ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ played acoustically. ‘Black Rain’, a slice of proper metal from a band who otherwise display something of a lighter touch. ‘Battlegrounds’, the one about the castles, with bassist Victor jumping into the pit to hug a couple of people then staying to sing the woah-oh chorus. ‘Viva La Victoria’ at the end which of course became Viva La Firevolt. The aforementioned energy, the whole band jumping about the stage like so many jack-in-the-boxes whilst drummer Adde Moon (best known for his time with fellow Swedes Hardcore Superstar) kept a perfect beat. The singalong bits, the arm-waving bits, the whole show was just superb. The whole Firevolt experience had been amazing, but seeing a personal favourite band play a stonking set in such a beautifiul location was just….. *chefs kiss* 

But wait. The headliner has been and gone, the crowd is thinning but it’s not over yet. Down in the barn, the Firevolt Superstars gave one last chance to party til you dropped. Made up mostly of Jack J Hutchinson (the man is a virus, he gets everywhere!) and most of White Tyger, with guest musicians and singers to gee things up a bit, they raced through a set of standard rock covers that got even the tiredest feet dancing. So now it really is over, and as we check our diaries and insert the dates for next year (6th-9th August, earlybird tickets on sale from 13th September) we can confirm that this little hidden gem of a festival has stolen our hearts and will hereby be a firm fixture on our to-do list forever. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Eclipse + Von Hertzen Brothers + The Picturebooks + Dan Byrne + The Lazys + Blue Nation + Buried In Bermuda + Tom Killner + The Soul Revival + Liberty Slaves