Live Review : SOS Festival on July 3rd 2022

3rd day, and my 3rd drive-in, but as I'm only driving in from Bury so there's no drama. I arrive, park, flash the pass and get my camera out just in time to see We Three Kings, who open up Sunday morning on the outdoor stage. They are a Manchester-based trio that delivers (and delivers really well) no-messin' rock n roll.

The next set genuinely catches me by surprise. Michael Upton plays a stripped-down and emotionally raw acoustic set that manages to bring warmth to even the most hardened hearts. A Brilliantly delivered set by a brilliant vocalist/guitarist that provides such a contrast to the rest of the weekend.

Sam Millar is another alumnus of Bigfoot and with his Sass Bandits, he plays a somewhat lighter brand of rock than he did before. However, it’s still loads of fun and is a nice lead back to electricity and rock after the stark emotion of Michael Upton.

I really really enjoy the King Voodoo set, like really really really enjoy. They aren't exactly lively, but they don't really have a sound that warrants it. They play an equally vibrant and laid-back version of the blues that soundtracks perfectly a sun-drenched Sunday afternoon.

I'm not certain if you need a minimum of four for an orchestra, and Google's verdict on this is still vague at best, but either way the three-piece, very entertaining and lively Outlaw Orchestra are on next. They once again take us down a completely different musical Avenue with their unique brand of country-tinged heavy rock.

There is an SOS Announcement mid-afternoon, where we all pay thanks to all of the staff and organisers that made SOSFest the success it is, before Ethyrfield grace the stage. The West Country trio have a prog-rock sound. I'm personally not a fan of prog rock, but Ethyrfield seems to approach it with a bit of a modern twist that I do appreciate.

Trident Waters has an edgy blues-laden sound ala early Black Crowes, and singer Andrew Knightly sounded almost like David Coverdale had taken some of Paul Rogers' skills and merged them with his own. They deliver a really good set that if I'm honest I really don’t it want to end.

NWOCR stalwarts Skam restart our audio delights with a brilliant set of singalongable treats before Ryders Creed bring the indoor stage to a close with such an energetic hard rock set that I had neckache from just trying to keep my Canon camera focussed on lead singer Ryan Hulme!

For a final time, we all troop outside as Collateral bring Sunday night, and the festival, to a blistering close. This is infectious rock 'n' roll at its best and indoctrinates the audience to a point where none of us really want to go home. As ever clutching victory from the jaws of defeat, SOS Fest 2022 has been an undoubted success.

Even as late as Sunday morning, the dedicated Appleton family, who organise and arrange everything for SOSFest (from venue to band bookings to ensuring that lighting and sound staff), were still collectively undecided if there would be another SOSFest next year. But the great news is that there will be, and it will be at what is considered to be its new home of Whittles and Tokyo in Oldham. In turn, I think that we need to help and support festivals and venues such as this by pre-booking tickets and confirming commitment as soon as we can because by doing that we can help organisers arrange security and bar staff, gauge beer and food stocks etc. This was such a brilliant 3 days and as fans of rock music, we can't afford to lose this.