Wildfire Festival - Wanlockhead

The show started at 2PM on the Friday but work commitments meant that the Rockfiend advance contingent did not get there until 5:30. On arrival, it was re-assuring to see a field full of tents, some familiar happy faces and the drinks and food already flowing out of the host Wanlockhead Inn. Fortunately, we were just in time to catch a follow-up performance from one of the previous year’s big discoveries; Bolton lads, Unknown Refuge. Most of the crowd seemed to know the songs, probably because they bought their album after their set last year, but, encouragingly, there were a couple of new songs from an upcoming EP aired as well. The only bum note came from singer Alex, who unforgivably cracked the historic ‘what’s the difference between a snow-man and a snow-woman’ joke IN JULY! The Edinburgh Fringe festival is in August – your comedy services are not required, sir!

Firekind are a power trio from Devon who are currently on tour with Loz Campbell. They are a heavy-hitting, out and out rock band with a few subtle touches of blues and, dare we say, prog? Dan Morris threw down some bass lines that brought back fond feelings for 80’s Rush and with a hint of Biffy Clyro in there as well. They played tracks from their 2020 album ‘What I Have is Found Already’ and a live EP released in 2021 called ‘Live in Lockdown’. Theirs was a thoroughly enjoyable set and the band should undoubtedly be on their way to bigger stages, in due course.

It was around this time that the first of the weekend’s heavy showers kicked in but the marquee roof dealt with all of it. One of the welcome enhancements this year was a new toilet block outside the tent featuring cubicles and also a urinal enclosure for the boys, although the latter bit did develop a deep end and a shallow end during the worst of the downpours.

One of the consensus picks for band of the weekend was the young and enthusiastic metal- for- muthas NWOBHM sound of Tailgunner (not a euphemism apparently). It was all systems go from the first second with twin guitars, leather and studs, hyper-enthusiastic bass player with a foot on the monitors at all times, an excellent male vocalist with a passing resemblance to Wednesday Addams hitting all the good notes and an obvious admiration for Iron Maiden and old-school heavy metal. They get the crowd going with ultra-enthusiasm and commitment and get a lot of support, not least from festival legend Monty, whose denim waist coat is a veritable 1980’s rock hall of fame and these guys could fit right in. A great set showcased their own original music and could not have gone any better.

Collateral are massive favourites at Rockfiend HQ and will close the inaugural FiendFest in November with a Sunday headliner slot. Of course, they did not disappoint in any way and from the opening bars of ‘Mr Big Shot’ it was a song and danceathon for the whole set. Angelo Tristan is a flamboyant frontman with more poses than a yoga manual and this band know how to put on a rock show with absolute bangers like ‘Lullaby’, ‘Merry Go Round’, the classy- but- trashy ‘Midnight Queen’, ‘About This Boy’ (Todd’s feather-lite touch on this could bring you to tears) - all brilliant songs in a superb set that delighted the Collateral die-hards in the tent. Yippee Ki Yay. Collateral uber-groupie, Mr Rockfiend, even makes an appearance as photographer and wannabe drum tech before he has Todd Winger’s legs wrapped round his face (not for the first time allegedly) as they go for an ‘Angus Young-style’ stroll through the tent. Overall, it’s another great set by a brilliant live band who incidentally had just entered the studio the previous day to start recording their crowd-funded second album. They’re going to be busy in the second half of the year with some big support slots and they are also re-recording their debut album with some special guests, including tonight’s headliner.

Wildfire supremo, Dave Ritchie has been doing this for 10 years now and he really knows his punters and how to put a line-up together that will please them. It’s usually a cast of up-and-coming bands, often at the recommendation of Guy Bellamy and Great Music Stories, plus returning favourites and some delightful wild-cards. Booking Sari Schorr to close the main stage on day one was a genius move, especially as she was apparently the first lady to headline a day at the festival in its history?

Ms Schorr is undoubtedly one of the best female blues singers around at the moment with a powerful and soulful voice. Songs like her covers of ‘Ready for Love’ and ‘Black Betty’ please the crowd but she’s at her best when showcasing her own song-writing ability on stand-outs like ‘Turn the Radio On’, ‘Maybe I’m Foolin’ and ‘Back to LA’ from a rapidly expanding pool of self-penned classics from her catalogue. Having put in a lot of hard miles, Sari knows how to work a crowd. She seemed to have a lot of personal friends in the tent tonight and will have left with many more after this performance. There is a warmth in her voice and a cheeky twinkle in her eye when she speaks, but there is also a moment of pathos and poignancy when she talks about her Ukrainian family ties and speaks briefly of the pain the current situation has caused her. Kudos also to the band, this time including FM’s Jim Kirkpatrick stepping in on guitar.

Overall, this was a fabulous evening in splendid company and a full tent of happy campers at the end shows how much everyone enjoyed their day.

The Rockfiend crew elected to commute daily rather than camp so, sadly, we were not on-site in time to catch either Miss Kitty or Loz Campbell on the Saturday morning. On the bright side, we were just in time to pick up a signed Loz CD before they packed up her merch stall and The Delicious Dessert Company were handing out free raspberry eclairs outside the pub, but it was still a shame to miss Loz, in particular, as she got rave reviews from the early-birds.

So, our first band of the day were the fabulously entertaining The Outlaw Orchestra. As well as the music, these guys keep you entertained with some funny stories and anecdotes, some of which are apparently true! They look a bit like the Deliverance house band but they can really play and have some splendid swampy, hoe-down, desert and country songs like ‘Too Much Willie Nelson’ and ‘Blame the Horse’. Banjo Pete has a fine selection of musical toys to play with. He sits down for a bit with a lap steel pedal contraption and remarkably then unveils a keytar version of that to go along with what looks like a banjo/guitar hybrid – a ban-tar? Top marks also to Ryan on drums who made it from Sweden via Oslo and Devon in a 15-hour dash just to be here and ‘Glovebox’ on vocals for a very enjoyable set.

Hereford’s Kinstrife are another band who have travelled a fair distance. They have a gruff southern sound but ‘Cursed’ is a highly-melodic gem and they also preview a new track called ‘Sticks & Stones’, whilst their cover of ‘Great Balls of Fire’ is done Volbeat-style. Mike Hoskins is a bit of a scary-looking mofo but he’s jovial and surprisingly tender on the emotional ballad ‘Fear’ and excels on their best song so far ‘Make Me’. They’re very good and they’ll be making the even longer trip to WinterStorm in November.

Dead Blonde Stars from Sheffield bring a touch of steel and a grungey alternative rock style – there’s always plenty of variety at Wildfire. They display solid musicianship, powerful vocals and a clutch of great songs like ‘Shine Any Light’ and ‘A Friend Like You’.

King Voodoo were having a busy weekend as they were also at SOS Festival. They are very likeable lads and certainly went down well with the young children at the front, who they interacted with brilliantly. It was nice to see some younger rockers at the event and there was also a healthy canine contingent, including the WinterStorm dog. They played a charity single ‘Yesterday’s Gone’ and also highlighted their brand-new single ‘Believe in Yourself’ which was very good. They also had the best merchandise of the day with some great variety and designs – always good when a band puts the effort in to give you something a bit different to buy.

Ryders Creed hail from the Midlands and appeared to enjoy the time on stage at their first Wildfire Festival. Ryan Hulme on vocals is an obvious focal point and he gives a masterclass in working a crowd, despite it being so early in the day. The band’s music is a mix of genres; hard rock, nu metal and good old heavy metal and they mostly play tracks from their first album ‘Lost Souls’ which was released in 2020. Many in attendance must have been in-the-know, as the tent is full for their set. Bigger stages and events are most likely on the cards for these guys in the future.

Amongst Liars are another band who have travelled the length of the country to showcase songs from their new album. Judging by the number of their T-shirts worn by punters in the tent, the band seem to have cultivated a big following. They were elected as the Great Music Stories’ Band of the Year in a listeners’ poll in 2021 and they also played a great set at Wildfire last year. The band are very alternative rock influenced and almost punky in attitude. Vocalist Ian George is a big character on stage, very funny and outspoken, but also a great singer and the band are ferocious at times. They play “Reign” and several other tracks from their new self-titled album which was released on 8th July and is well-worth a listen.

Alternative rock-metal band Fahran chose Wildfire to be their first live gig in 2 1/2 years but you would not have known this if they hadn’t told us as their set was flawless. They play tracks from both of their albums and the most impressive tracks were ‘Stand Alone’ and ‘The Bitter Taste of You’ both from ‘V-A-P-O-U-R-S’. It’s good to have them back.

On a stage dominated by hairy-arsed rockers on the day, it was a delight to have a welcome change of pace with a beguiling early-evening set from the diminutive and charming Lynne Jackaman. It’s just Lynne and Jamie Evans performing acoustically but they are brilliant and what a voice – proving without a doubt that a soul on fire is something that you can’t put out. Lynne is showcasing songs from her outstanding debut solo album ‘One Shot’ which was recorded at Muscle Shoals with a supporting cast of some the finest musicians on offer there. Having heard these live acoustic versions, it was a no-brainer to pick up the album on CD after the show to hear the full works. There’s obviously been a bit of heart-break in the crafting of these songs but Lynne balances it out with some easy interaction and even resembles Catherine Tate sometimes with her comic asides. There are a handful of Saint Jude songs sprinkled in and, of course, she finishes with a spirited performance of ‘Soul on Fire’. Genuinely great stuff.

SKAM describe themselves as a hard rock power trio from Leicester and who are we to disagree after tonight’s performance, which thoroughly justified their second top of the bill status. They looked classy even before they set up the gear, as they were one of a handful of bands with a bespoke livery job on their van showing off their name and logo. Why wouldn't you, as it’s a great way to get attention and potentially gain inquisitive fans. Their set was the same length as everyone else’s but it was so enjoyable that it seemed to fly past. The three guys blend together perfectly and its blatantly obvious that they have been playing together for years. While Neal Hill hammers away on drums and singer Steve Hill looks like he’s having a ball, it’s deranged-looking bassist, Matt Gilmore, who grabs your attention with his eye-rolling antics while never missing a beat. They play selections from all of their albums and lockdown EP’s, to the delight of their huge following, with the majority of the crowd singing back the words at the top of their voices.

This time last year, Wayne Doyle interrupted Scarlet Rebels’ headline slot to announce that the band would be offering a yellow vinyl version of their then forthcoming album ‘See Through Blue’ album solely for Wildfire attendees. Their dream then was to be the first band from their small village in Wales to reach the top 40 but, as we now know, the album (and how bloody good is it, eh?) got to No 7 - a superb achievement for an emerging rock band.

It has definitely been a phenomenal year for them so far and they take a well-deserved lap of honour through ‘I’m Alive’, ‘Storm’,’ Take You Home’ and ‘I Can Sleep Now’ from the new album plus fan-favourites like ‘You Take My Breath Away’, ‘Heal’ and ‘Head in the Ground’ from previous album, ‘Show Your Colours’, and even a track from their previous incarnation as VOiD. The last song of the evening is the award winning ‘These Days’ and at the end, Doyle acknowledged that they would probably now have to give someone else a shot at headlining next year, so three-in-a-row at Wildfire might be beyond them but you never know. Fortunately, you can catch them in Scotland later this month at The Dreadnought in Bathgate and Bannermans in Edinburgh if you get your tickets quick.

And that was it for Rockfiend as none of us could make it on the Sunday. That meant that we missed returning heroes Bad Touch, Troy Redfearn, Shape of Water and others but we heard that German rockers Night Laser were absolutely outstanding.

Once again, the festival sold out but it never felt over-crowded or uncomfortable. The 11th incarnation is firmly in the diary for 23-25 June 2023. Early-bird tickets are already available and you can be sure that the loyal hard-core regulars will be there again. It is a very friendly and inclusive event which attracts serious supporters of new music and a good time – you certainly don’t get the kind of wallopers that the big festivals like TRANSMT draw in – so, if at all possible, try to get yourself along to this and the other brilliant wee festivals in Scotland like WinterStorm, Monsterfest and FiendFest for good times, good vibes and great music.