Wildfire Festival - The Wanlockhead Inn 30 July – 1 August 2021

Wanlockhead is officially the highest village in Scotland, not due to any home-grown herb plantations, but because it’s 1,351 feet above sea-level. So never mind Latitude, this is the festival with altitude and attitude. The village is also home to The Lead Mining Museum so they’re used to some heavy metal around here and they seem to have embraced their annual visit from their slightly noisy but very considerate visitors. Some folks might even know the village from the 2009 cult BBC Scotland drama, Hope Springs.

The Wanlockhead Inn is a fine base. There’s only one stage this year – a big marquee in the car park – but the pub is the focal point for food and drink and there’s plenty space to spread out and keep as much distance as you’re comfortable with. It’s largely a ‘mature’ crowd – if not quite coffin-dodgers then predominantly from the double-vaxed demographic – but there’s a decent sprinkling of young folks around, including a few of the newer bands who have made a weekend out of it and you kind of feel you’d be more likely to catch unplanned pregnancy or Chlamydia from them rather than Covid, to be honest.

Friday 30 July 2021

Rockfiend didn’t arrive on-site until the Saturday but, by all accounts, it seems like all the early-arrivals had a good time on the Friday with the camp sites filling up and a few catch-ups round the bar for the every-year regulars. Late Night Legacy were the first band on, ironically, in mid-afternoon. They were followed by Scottish rockers Victorius who went down well with all of the crowd, but especially with the drummer’s young son who was apparently giving it big licks. It was great to see quite a few young kids grooving away with their ear-defenders and inflatable guitars over the course of the weekend and they were all very entertaining and a great credit to their families. This year, the main stage is again sponsored by mega-influencer Guy Bellamy’s Great Music Stories radio station. Guy B’s clearly been a key enabler for the festival and, judging by the amount of love he was getting from the stage, he’s also been a champion and adviser for many of the performers. Ravenbreed are one such band. As well as appearing in the Welsh heat of StormBreakers, they’re also the Great Music Stories Band of the Month for August so there should be great things ahead for them and they impressed many with their set. North Atlas and Clipe Circle are a couple of Scottish alt-rock bands getting some valuable exposure and apparently As Sirens Fall and their lively pop-rock glam were a big hit with the young ladies. Anyone that missed the Bad Day Blues Band could get a second chance at The Callander Jazz & Blues Festival in October where they will likely be playing more tunes from their highly-regarded debut album. Headlining honours went to Welsh band Florence Black. They were known to most from their previous live work around the country and they definitely seized the day with a very well received set which helped to send folks back to their tents with some good vibes after a wee acoustic jam at the bar involving the guys from Cloverhill.

Saturday 31st July 2021

In an ironic twist of fate, it would appear that some of the festival-going campers were bothered by sheep rather than the other way around for a change and a 4AM performance by the local cockerel had some folks dreaming about choking the chicken or some other Knorr stock cube inspired vengeance! They should really thank the wildlife for getting them up in time for King Voodoo’s 11 AM set. Although their cover of “Tie Your Mother Down” was the most commented on, their own grungey rock tunes also struck a chord with many and their impressive video for the single “Drag Me to the Water” was due to released the very next day so it’s happy days for them.

Apparently, groups on the guided tour of the lead mines could hear the bands from underground and at least one pair of passing tourists found their way into the gig just in time to hear Cloverhill. Guy Bellamy apparently once told them that the best way to get a song on the radio was to write a song called “Radio” so that’s what they did and it is indeed a radio-friendly gem. They previewed some material from their imminent album release ‘Just North of Hell’ including “Get Up” and “Leaves a Scar”. The latter sounded great but is doubtless even better on record where it will be embellished by a keyboard part from Derek Sherinian who has also helped out on an earlier song of theirs.

One of the great joys of a festival is discovering fabulous bands that you don’t know and we were all blown away by Unknown Refuge from Bolton. They were playing songs from their debut album ‘From the Darkness’ and made an immediate impression with the hard-driving counter-point “To the Light” before rattling through other highlights such as “Shadows”, “Battle Hymn” (not the Manowar song – no loin cloths or baby oil in sight) and the singalong “If the Gods be Good”. They describe their sound as the bridge between NWOCR and metal and that’s a good shout. Alex Mancini bravely and gratefully serenaded Guy B with an excerpt from Whitney’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” (who said bromance is dead?) before they wrapped it up with the epic “Journey” which features a fabulous Lizzy-esque twin-guitar intro. It definitely wasn’t just the wonderfully enthusiastic merch lady who was into it as she soon had a sizeable post-set queue at the table to snap up T-shirts and albums with a signed CD making its way into my swag bag too. We’ll be hearing more from these young lads and it will all be good.

All of the bands have been writing new songs during lockdown and some of them have been quite pissed off. That comes over loud and clear from furious hard rocking punky band Amongst Liars from Brighton. Their track on the ‘Modern Rock Vol 2’ CD (free from GMS on entry) “Black Days” is a seething political take down and they whirl up quite a storm in their time on stage. Ashen Reach are a band I was particularly intrigued to hear and they exceeded even my high expectations with a terrific set. The name is derived from an island in the video game ‘Sea of Thieves’ and the band are definitely the finest thing to come out of The Wirral since the Mersey Tunnel. They’re out on tour with Haxan just now, showcasing songs from their brilliant debut album and making friends all around the country. Highlights include the ambitious opener “Fighting For my Life” and the atmospheric “Tear it Down”. “Heir to the Throne” gets the whole tent jumping and mini-moshing before singer Kyle Martyn Stanley gets to show off his amazing range with soaring melodies and heavy grunting in his repertoire on “Broken Column”. Allegedly, he used to be in a Take That tribute band which was a bit off-putting to discover as I then kept trying to imagine which one of them he was. Apparently, he still moonlights occasionally and they want him back for good but he’s not having it. There was some disappointed booing when they announced that the next song would be their last but fortunately it was the epic nine-minute title track “Homecoming”. They’re a really likeable bunch and definitely one of the highlights of the day. Edenthorn are a band that I’ve regrettably never managed to see before today – my loss, as they are terrific performers. Enigmatic guitarist Dylan Gardner -an (un)dead ringer for Eric the bad vampire out of True Blood – fires off his top quality playing largely from the side of the stage, leaving plenty of space for charismatic and long-limbed front man, Kyle Tague to do his thing. Their respective siblings make up a rhythm section that really stands out with powerful drumming from Mark Tague and phenomenal nimble-fingered bass playing from Faiba Gardner – one of only two ladies on the stage today along with the wonderful Jess Stanley on drums for Ashen Reach. Their cover of “Another Brick in the Wall” improves the old Pink Floyd tune in the same way that Gun improved Cameo’s “Word Up” but it’s their own material that will make their name, especially new songs like “A Matter of Opinion”.

You’ve got to raise a glass to Dave Ritchie and his team as it must have been a bit of a nightmare trying to put a festival together in uncertain times and with ever-changing regulations. Even getting transport for some of the gear was a challenge but they somehow managed to overcome all of the obstacles in their way. The last thing they needed was to lose an act at the last minute but that’s what happened when Liberty Lies fell victim to the dreaded ‘ping’ on the Thursday – a real shame for the band. Fortunately, veteran blues-rockers Cry for Mercy are good enough to rattle off a quality set in their sleep and they dropped seamlessly into an afternoon slot at very short notice and were immensely likeable. Mike Ross made a welcome return to Wildfire with The Mike Ross Band, having previously played here in 2019 with RFR (Redfern/Hutchison/Ross). He brings his own brand of southern-tinged, bluesy rock and is an instant hit with the crowd. His set consists predominately of songs taken from the ‘None of Your Business’ album with another couple from its predecessor thrown in. This man can certainly play guitar and he also takes time for a bit of banter, urging the crowd to tell former band mate, Jack J Hutchinson, who is playing the following night, that he was far better. Like many, I must admit that I had never heard of Mike before but he is now on my playlist, which is far better for it. A New Tomorrow have an impressive intro tape – in fact, it’s so good they played it twice! That was their only mis-step though and they were quite correct to stop and get it right as their highly technical, intense and intricate modern music demands it. Alessio Garavello was definitely one of the finest singers on the day and the band were on top of their form playing songs from their Frontiers album ‘Universe’. This was their first ever visit to Scotland and they were very well received, so hopefully they will make it to the larger cities in due course. Hellbound Hearts are a beautiful but dark and scary enigma. They wear black clothes, play black instruments, get their name from a Clive Barker horror book and deliver intense gothic metal masterpieces like “Hearts are Graveyards” and new songs from their forthcoming ‘Hate Springs Eternal’, but they’re actually lovely Yorkshire lads with a nice line in witty stage patter. There’s no doubting the intensity though, as they hammer through a powerful set including songs from their excellent ‘One Thirteen’ EP and, unbelievably, a version of Duran Duran’s Bond theme, “A View to a Kill’. They have been off the road since their last live gig back in November 2019 in Edinburgh - not entirely due to Covid, as that’s just how long it takes to recover from a bevvy session with Mr & Mrs Rockfiend on the Bannermans couch. The rammed-full tent is a sure sign that Llanelli’s Scarlet Rebels are a band on the very cusp of a big breakthrough. They made a lot of friends on tour promoting the excellent ‘Show Your Colours’ album and they have kept the momentum going through lockdown with a live mini-album ‘LIVE: Made in Sonic One’. The next step is the ‘See Through Blue’ album which is available for pre-order from Earache Records for release in January 2022 and they announced a Wildfire exclusive yellow vinyl offer on the night. Before that they are touring the UK with new label-mates Buckcherry, so it’s all going on for them. They deserve the success which is surely coming their way and theirs is a celebratory set featuring classics like air guitar favourite “Not the One” and the exquisite “You Take My Breath Away”. We’ll be seeing them again at WinterStorm along with Empyre and Florence Black. Northern Ireland’s Trucker Diablo roll onto the stage a little later than planned due to a few timing issues throughout the day. That is really the only minor gripe with the whole festival, which is a relaxed and chilled out experience throughout. They released their new album “Tail End of a Hurricane” earlier in the year and they’re understandably eager-beaver keen to get touring it. “Set the Night on Fire”, “I am Still Alive” (yes, I can hear it from where I’m standing), and “Slow Dance” all get an airing from the album and the lyrics from “Rock Kids of the 80’s” bring back many childhood (ahem) memories. Fan favourites “Drink Beer”, “Girl in a Photograph” and “The Rebel” showcase the effortless talent in this band. We are even treated to a cover of the CCR classic “Proud Mary” and the inevitable “rolling” crowd sing back. It’s a brilliant set by the band of the day for many and a massive round of applause for Simon trying hard to limit the ‘cuss words’ to protect the younger members of the audience down the front.

Sunday 1st August 2021 

Young Welsh band Mad Haven were a friendly presence all weekend. They worked hard spreading the word and handing out flyers on Saturday night to ensure they got a decent crowd in for their 11AM slot on the Sunday. They were rewarded with a very credible turn-out and an even better response so I guess sometimes a cockerel comes in handy. Their ‘Never Give Up’ EP is well worth a listen. The Autumn Killers continued the Welsh takeover as the middle band in a three-in-a-row taffy takeover. They had a big weekend including an appearance at The Rockmantic Blackout in Blackpool and were obviously enjoying being back on the road. Everyday Heroes were an absolute revelation and clearly demonstrated how they’ve grown since they were last here. Once upon a time, they were the young lads fighting their way out of Wales with their heavy blues-rock. They gained a slot at Winterstorm 2018 by winning the Stormbreakers competition and then continuing to grow and improve with some guidance from Mark at Polestar. Today, they looked and sounded mature, confident and strong (literally in the case of Luke and Jay who’ve clearly spent the lockdown period working out) and delivered a very fine set. They mixed it up with some party songs early on, then filtering in some highlights from their astonishing ‘A Tale of Sin & Sorrow’ album before slipping in “Take Me Home” ‘for the ladies’. Hopefully a longer set will allow them to feature more of the album songs as “Standing Stones” and “Soul to Save” were real highlights on the day. No need to ever refer to them as ‘up and coming’ again; they’ve arrived and they’ll just be known as a proper top-quality rock band for me from now on. White Raven Down have an epic intro track which acted like a bat signal to draw the crowd in from the bar. They probably had less sleep than most as they played The Yard in Cornwall on the Saturday and drove overnight to get to Scotland in time. And they’re going to have to come back again as they completed what must have been a brilliant weekend by winning the online Brighton StormBreakers event to gain a place in the final at The Dreadnought in Bathgate on the 28th of this month. There was no shortage of energy though, particularly from amped-up guitarist Stu who looked like he’d really missed playing live and ended up out in the crowd giving it big licks. Electric Black have travelled up from Hertfordshire for the festival and actually arrived the previous night to take in the atmosphere, other bands and a few beers. It’s their first visit to Scotland but bass-player Ryan already rocks a kilt like no other. Not to be outdone, front man Alistair Shiach also brightens the place up with his luminous shirt. Judging by the rest of the weekend, other band apparel is also available and you can have it in any colour you like as long as it’s black. They clearly know how to deliver some good old fashioned rock n roll to the not-too- bad sized crowd who had wandered in to see them. Their self- penned material goes down well but the biggest cheer is for a cover of Hozier’s “Take Me to Church” which really is outstanding. Keep an eye out for these guys, they are definitely one to watch. Thirteen Stars are virtually the ‘house’ band at Wildfire, but it’s a very pleasant surprise to see Verity White on-stage as a full band member. Well, maybe not so surprising as husband Alex was already in the band and she’s joined by fellow newbies, JJ Watt from The Main Grains and Scottie Mason out of The Senton Bombs. Front man “Hoss” Thompson is still there, of course, resplendent in the double-denim Canadian tuxedo and, as well as being a mighty fine singer and guitarist, he also brings a bit of cowboy comedy to the show, trading banter and wit with the by now full tent. This new version of the band has only been together for 3 gigs so far but they’re brilliant and really elevate things to a higher level. Having Verity on board for joint, backing and lead vocals is an absolute added bonus to this band. Her drum stick throwing and confetti cannon firing need some work but she’s an absolute joy and her vocals are tremendous; she even gets to sing some of her own songs with “Little Bit of Trouble” being a standout. Obviously, there’s also a bonanza of Hoss’ songs too, with highlights including “Mint Jelly” and many others from last year’s album “Finest Ramshackle Jam”. Hoss has the audience eating out of his hands and then making a dive for the merch stall (bonus points to the band for the variety of T-shirt colours on sale). Who wouldn’t like a dose of southern rock with some blues and a little bit of jazz and funk thrown in from a band who genuinely looked as though they were having a really good time? Verity White deserves a special mention of her own. She played an acoustic set at The Inn on the Saturday night and was a cheerful presence on-site all weekend. A few folks have posted off-stage photos from the festival and she’s in most of them! And she still found the time to model a ‘Tits’ T-shirt when playing with Hoss. What can I (Craig) say about Empyre that I haven’t already said before? I’ve used every superlative in the book about this band; Henrik Steenholdt’s distinctively deep vocals; Did Coles guitar playing; Grant Hockley on bass and Elliot Bale’s drumming combine to make this quartet tighter than the proverbial gnat’s chuff. The tracks taken from 2019’s “Self-Aware” album, “Stone”, “New Republic” and especially the haunting “Only Way Out” are ridiculously good. The sound guys did a great job in a short space of time all weekend, working with each of the bands to give them every chance to do themselves justice, but Empyre potentially achieved the best mix of the whole weekend with which to showcase their extraordinary talents. We were even treated to a new song exclusively for Wildfire from a clapometer choice of two. I’m ashamed to say I forgot to note down the title of the one they actually played and, despite the crowd imploring them to geez “Parasite”, we’ll have to wait to hear the runner-up. I even had a fanboy moment when they strolled past and said hello while I was on the phone to my son; right place at the wrong time and my son is suitably chastened for phoning. The message is clear; you need to listen to Empyre- end of! The band have some classy merchandise too and we were especially taken by a canvas print of the original artwork from the album. Other bands take note; a bit of variety and originality on the stall can make a big difference. Release the girls! Haxan’s excellent debut album ‘White Noise’ has been out for around a year but it’s taken this long to get out on the road to show it off, for obvious reasons. The dates are happening right now and tour-mates Ashen Reach and Mad Haven were both still on hand to add their support for the Welsh lassies’ tea-time slot. They rattle through a fine selection from the album, starting with a joyous “Skeletons” and then others including “Killing Time”, pausing only to dedicate “Black Sheep” to the local sheep before wrapping up with the ‘un-f*cking forgettable’ “Living Dead”. Other than Ms White and a couple of other ladies, it’s been a total sausage-fest on stage this weekend so it was really nice to get an oestrogen blast of energy from the girls. You can expect a triple dose of that when the Thundermother / Haxan / Beth Blade tour hits your town – it’s been pushed back to early April with the addition of a Glasgow HRC show so get your tickets now. Twister have been an absolute whirlwind of activity this week with an incredible 6 shows in 4 days – how the hell is that even possible? Wildfire was the last of those shows and they must have been knackered but they didn’t show it and their feelgood, energetic, glam-tastic performance sent a high-voltage charge through the tent on Sunday evening. Their set revolves around the excellent ‘Cursed & Corrected’ album, starting like a tornado with “Save Us Yourself” and including “Call to Arms” which is their contribution to the NWOCR album. These guys work really hard and it shouldn’t be forgotten that they still ‘toured’ around the country playing virtual gigs to raise money to support venues like Bannermans, The Dreadnought and The Waterloo Bar during lockdown. They deserve your support in return so check out their music and make an effort to go and see them if they come anywhere near your town – you won’t be disappointed. Jack J Hutchinson was not afraid to start his set with a string of songs from the not-yet- released ‘The Hammer Falls’ album. Unsurprisingly, there’s real quality in tunes like “Call of the Wild”, “Straight to Hell” and “Down by the River” and they will surely feature when he tours the album in October / November this year. He includes “Justified” obviously and also “World on Fire” which is his contribution to ‘The Official New Wave of Classic Rock – Volume 1’ CD which has crashed into the charts at #10, although, as the cat in the hat pointed out, it would have been nice to beat ‘The Greatest Showman’ and it would have reached #9 if it hadn’t been for f*cking Moana. Even so, Geoff Barton get it right up you.

Just when it seemed that a few folks had maybe drifted away to get to their work on Monday morning, the tent was suddenly rammed and jumping for Revival Black. What a reception these guys got and they absolutely smashed it with a triumphant set. Their timeslot was trimmed to about 30 minutes as time was cracking on but they still managed to blast through a few songs, largely as featured on their lockdown live broadcast, but including a preview of a new song “Believe”. Needless to say, their live DVD was flying off the desk after the show on the strength of that performance. There must be even bigger things ahead for these lads judging by the audience response.

Surprisingly, there had not been a Scottish act on the stage since the Friday evening before Wildfire wisely turned to a national treasure to close proceedings on the Sunday night. Cheeky chappie Jason Sweeney was the perfect choice to play the closing party and he brought a very talented band of local musicians along to back him up. The songs from his outstanding ‘Unknown Direction’ EP are ideal for situations like this and they worked really well with the full electric band, including the only full set of keyboards we’d seen all weekend. Suddenly the floor was full of people dancing wildly like they were at an end of term school disco, with the brilliant “My Wasted Heart” and “She’s a Fighter” acting as an up-tempo erection-section for some new-found friends. The anthem “This is my Tribe” was a perfect ending to the main set and was dedicated to the wonderful ‘real’ rock family that enriches events like this, and on this occasion, Jason’s tribe even included a good-natured, heckling French pirate, along with plenty other beautiful, crazy people. Even through his impressive face-beaver, you could tell that Jason had a big grin on his face, and why not; this is a very discerning audience and they really loved his new songs. The thing about Jason is that he’s a one-man Donny & Marie Osmond; definitely a little bit country and a little bit rock n roll, so he finished with a quick blast of “Highway to Hell” followed by an even better song, a brilliant new original country-rock sounding belter called “Drinking for the Weekend” which will be on his next EP due in October and well, it just seemed absolutely perfect in the circumstances.

And that was that. Other than some organised ‘wombling’ the next day that restored the camp-site, pub and surrounding areas to pristine condition by lunchtime on Monday – a really great effort by all concerned. No surprise really, it’s that kind of festival and it had been nothing but a good time all weekend. Wildfire has grown a dedicated hard-core following of regulars that are always here but it’s an exceptionally friendly and inclusive event and no one walks past you without at least a hello and a short chat and the bands are the same – happy to hang out and properly join in with the fans off the stage. So massive kudos to Dave Ritchie, GMS, The Inn and everyone else involved in making this happen. It’s a real labour of love but very much appreciated by everyone who goes and I hope the organizers enjoyed their weekend too.

Next year’s event is already booked; same place and a slightly earlier date of 1-3 July 2022. Incredibly, this will be the 10th anniversary, having started way back in 2012 at Valley International Park near Lesmahagow. Back in those days it was known as Les-Fest (coincidentally also the name of a VHS I once got from under the counter at Blockbuster). The name-change to Wildfire came when the show moved to Wiston for a couple of years before eventually finding a home in Wanlockhead. I think they’ll be welcome here for many years to come and it’s been a phenomenal achievement.

If you didn’t manage to get along to the gig, the Great Music Stories Rock Show is broadcasting a Wildfire 2021 Wrap Show this Friday 6th August from 6-9PM (just ask Alexa). Tune in to hear what you’ve missed and tickets are already on sale for next year. See you there.