Live Review : Rockwich Festival 10th Birthday Edition
Yes, you read that right. Due to missing a year during Covid, 2025 sees Rockwich celebrating its 10th birthday in style. Year on year this humble little gathering has expanded, outgrowing several previous venues and selling out pretty much every year. To mark this auspicious occasion the previously indoor-only event has managed to secure the use of a marquee just outside the main doors of the club that it calls home. It’s still handy for the loos and main bar, the traders and merch have taken over the indoor space (but there’s still room to go for a sit down if you need one!) and the marquee also has its own bar at the end opposite the stage. This has allowed Rockwich to expand its capacity a little, and despite a couple of minor technical issues that were quickly solved it proved to be a great success all round. There’s still plenty of parking and camping available, and it would be fair to say (having attended them all) that this year was probably the best Rockwich ever.
Part of that is down to the continuous evolution of the venue and setup, but mostly of course it’s down to the bands. Promethium Promotions are first and foremost music fans themselves, and they spend the rest of the year going to gigs and festivals and scouring them for up-and-coming bands. They listen to feedback, they listen to recommendations and applications and they give us an event chock-full of the best new rock and metal year on year. They also get back bands that have started low on the bill and are now seen as worthy headliners, as is the case this year with Collateral.
There’s a long way to go before we get to them though! Doors open and music starts at 12, and first up to tantalise our earbuds are Atlas. Unashamedly soft rock and with a hidden gem in the prowess of vocalist Craig, they run through a melodic set whose soft and fluffy overcoat fails to disguise a heavier underbelly. The nearest comparison would probably be Asia, although like several other bands on today’s bill there’s a hint of Bon Jovi about the choruses. Overall it’s a good start, not too hard, not to heavy, just about right for a sunny Sunday,
They are followed by our good friends Heartbreak Remedy. Having been off the scene for a little while whilst life happened around them, the HR boys have returned to the summer festival season with a bang this year. They produce a set of their usual blues-based hard rock; Matty’s gravelly voice and pounding bass provide the perfect counterpoint to Luke’s hard riffing and enthusiastic solo-ing whilst Steve (on temporary hiatus from his musical day job pounding the skins for the Mean Man himself Chris Holmes) keeps perfect time at the back. It’s upbeat and uplifting and gets the crowd moving and grooving along throughout.
And now for something completely different. Sweet Electric are a bunch of German dudes fronted by the manic skills of ex-Massive frontman Brad Marr. Brad is a whirlwind of gold apparel and cowbell, bouncing and jumping like he’s on springs, belting out the lyrics and exhorting the crowd to play along with the madness. Despite the stereotyping that tells us Germans have no sense of humour these lads are obviously loving the antics of their pint-sized poser of a singer, and their face-splitting grins are as infectious as the tunes they are playing for us. It’s hard rock to bounce too, it’s catchy, it’s silly and it’s glorious. What better way to spend a Sunday than bawling along to a drinking song led by an Australian in clothing bright enough to be seen from space whose shiny gold feet only barely stay on the ground?
Sam Millar, by contrast, is a little more serious. Only a little mind you, as he too captures the spirit of summer in a set full of potential pop-rock anthems. Regular bassist Benji Faith (and his tongue!) has returned to the fold and underpins Sam’s lightweight, slightly frothy style with a vibe that keeps it firmly planted in rock territory albeit at the AOR end of the scale. There’s a lot of na-na-nas and hey-hey-hey bits in the choruses, which the crowd duly respond to and chant back with vigour, and the power-pop element reminds me in places of The Feeling. Notwithstanding the light touch Sam can still shred with the best of them, and the set is full of blistering solos as well as singalong choruses so there’s a little something for everyone.
Next up are Juliet’s Not Dead. We covered them very recently in our review of Firevolt Festival, so can confirm that they are harder and heavier than the day’s offerings so far, with just a touch of early noughties pop-punk thrown in for good measure. They meld both power and melody into a short but sweet set of killer tunes. There’s harmony and time changes, and plenty of opportunity for the crowd to join in. The sound is slick and commercial for the most part, with just enough rawness to not be too sickly sweet. It’s like the bastard offspring of the Foo Fighters and New Found Glory – not too dangerous but far from safe at the same time.
Did I mention hard and heavy and bastard offspring? Step forward Victory or Die. Featuring Jason Sweeney from The King Lot, these flying Scotsmen storm the stage to give us a masterclass in gritty classic rock. Here there’s a hint of Wildhearts, there a touch of The Almighty, everywhere the sweeping brushstroke of Motorhead. After all, their name is taken from a Motorhead song! It’s raw, powerful and exciting and the crowd can’t get enough of it. They grabbed the Band Of The Weekend crown from most of the assembled throng, and it will be interesting to see where they can go with their sound in the future.
Moskito too bring a rawness to the stage, with an indie-tinged performance that’s full of verve. Soundwise they are stripped bare, and remind me in places of the Virginmarys even though there are more than two of them. Their biggest selling point though is their energy and the way they interact with each other. There is a family element here as two of the band are brothers and another is a brother-in-law and this closeness, tightness, comes across in the way they express themselves on stage. They cross genres throughout, and occasionally get in the crowd just to see things from our point of view. Moskito definitely have bite!
Slyder Smith and The Oblivion Kids surprise me because they don’t actually play their self-titled track “Oblivion Kids”. This is a shame, because everyone loves a good woah-oh chorus and that song has one of the best. Despite this glaring omission though they power through several new songs alongside some of Slyder’s older stuff. He is a little less of a troubadour these days and a little more of a rockstar, and the newer material reflects this. It’s a little sharper, a little less introspective, a little more party than his first solo offerings. The odd Last Great Dreamers song still sneaks into the set too, giving it a veneer of familiarity that goes down well. The whole thing had a feeling of a man who has been searching for his musical niche for a very long time and may at last have found it. He’s comfortable in his shoes, which can only be a good thing.
The Takeaway Thieves bring the swagger back to the stage. With bassist Adam still away for personal reasons “The Rev” (best known for his time with Towers of London and their infamous tv documentary) has now become a permanent four-string fixture and adds a bit of glamour and pizazz to the proceedings. They romp through a set of sleazy, dirty rock n’ roll like a litter of puppies rolling through a field of cowpats. Yes there will be consequences later but for now we are having way too much fun to care about them! There are funky bits, and even a power ballad for shits and giggles. It’s all about cramming in the fun, and the Takeaway Thieves do that in style. They are upbeat and happy, they prance and posture, they bring the crowd along with them by providing all the happy.
Troy Redfern takes us back to the roots of rock music by playing the blues. There’s a bit of a southern, almost ZZ Top feel to some of his songs but mostly they are as blue as the sky on this lovely summers day. Bearded, booted and behatted Troy is the epitome of a blues guitarist and his complicated syncopations add to the fascination of the sound he weaves together. He ends with a song called “Sanctify” and indeed our souls are cleansed by his eager enthusiasm. Preach!
Trucker Diablo join us from their native Norn Iron (Northern Ireland) and bring over their take on classic rock. It’s dirty and real, and gives a nod towards another son from the same soil Ricky Warwick. There’s a semi-acoustic power ballad mid-set that’s very nice but mostly it’s in-yer-face drinking, fighting and partying music. ‘Bark At The Moon’ is played in tribute to Ozzy, and the crowd take the whole band to their hearts and envelop them with love in the form of air-punches and headbanging. They may be a little rough around the edges but they have definitely captured all our hearts here at Rockwich.
Dan Byrne is the penultimate act at this year’s festival, and yet again he gives a tight performance brimming with emotion and great songs. His voice is on fire, his band is on form but it’s pretty much the same setlist as we saw at Firevolt just a couple of weeks ago so we are treading familiar territory. Despite this Dan and his band give a fine performance, and are much appreciated by the by now heaving crowd.
So finally we are at the end of the night, and ready for the triumphant return of Collateral. They are another band who have been off the radar/circuit for a little while for various reasons so there’s an air of anticipation in the air as they leap into action. Can they still do it? Have they still “got” it? The answer to that is a resounding “Yes”! Their radio-friendly and polished sound is peppered with massive riffs, catchy hooks and beautiful melodies, and it washes over the crowd like the warm summer breeze that we have enjoyed all day. The familiar tunes are there, with their almost country twang popping up all over the place. The sound is smoother than silk to the ears, but at the same time it makes toes tap, heads nod and bodies sway. There’s always a slight edge though, an undercurrent that makes you think these clean-cut chaps with their well-rehearsed songs may still have a dangerous edge. There’s still some rocking to be had, in fact to paraphrase my beloved Def Leppard, Collateral are an iron fist in a velvet glove. ‘Lullaby’ is unsettling rather than soothing, and ‘Mr Big Shot’ still describes frontman Angelo to a T. Essentially Collateral, despite their slickness, can work the crowd up into a frenzy and the singalong, dancealong escapism of the music is a perfect way to end what has been a long and enjoyable day of music.
So that’s the tenth Rockwich over and done with, and it was done in fine style. The outdoor marquee was a huge success for them, although I can’t help wonder how it might have fared if the weather had been less kind? It may or may not make another appearance next year, we will just have to wait and see. What we do know though is that on the Sunday before the August Bank Holiday Witton Albion Football Club will be opening its doors to another bunch of up-and-coming bands and a couple of hundred fans eager to watch them. Put it in your diary!
Nice & sleazy, glam & cheesy