Here we go again! …..bar a splash at kick-off! …….the weather holds!

Everyone’s ready for the first main day of MoS 2024, and there’s definitely a buzz of anticipation in the air!

With three stages in action all through the day, and very often two stages competing with each other most of the time, it’s difficult to give justice to all the acts all of the time!, so apologies to all those that weren’t seen in their entirety

Daxx and Roxanne were the first band up today for the writer, and they delivered their classic inspired Rock and Roll in a positive and energetic set as always, waking everyone up with their stage antics! The Phoenix Stage was still suffering from less than optimum sound, although better than yesterday

Spyder Byte next up on the Firestarter Stage, with their Sleazy/Punk attitude made for a excellent opener.

Scarlet Rebels are the first band to play The MoS Inferno Stage this year, and they give the crowd a thick slice of Melodic Rock with a social conscience, and are a great start to the day, having a good punchy sound from the off.

The Commoners are a polished Roots rocking act from Toronto and have already established themselves as one of the leading exponents of their sound. Playing a good selection of songs from their new album ('Restless'), they have a very distinctive identification but with healthy nods to the greats of the past, right through to the Black Crowes. The ‘Devil Teasin Me’ was great and often ‘ethereal’ in its delivery. They were truly excellent all the way through and left everyone wanting more.

South of Salem with their catchy tunes integrated with darker themes, were a real hit on the Inferno Stage, and drew a good size crowd, many who hadn’t seen them before, and from a straw-poll, these newbies were really impressed with the positive energy coming from the stage. The stage props and dancers added to the occasion.

When Rivers Meet in the shortened set available to them (due to technical difficulties) showcased their Blues/Roots set with pure class and no signs of what must have been a very frustrating situation for them. Total respect due and they gained more followers as a result.

The Hot One Two delivered a great hard rocking set on the Firestarter Stage, and kept the party going in that quadrant of the field. Excellent!

Tyketto on the Inferno Stage were simply perfect, and their finely crafted but still honest Melodic Hard Rock was delivered with style and passion, and Danny Vaughan was the perfect gentleman and host of the proceedings. Candidate for the performance of the day to many I feel.

Wayward Sons fronted by Toby Jepson delivered a high-energy fast paced set of tunes to a loyal crowd.

Ashen Reach delivered a killer set of Modern Metal to a their loyal fans and some other inquisitive folks too, everyone having a blast!

Dead Man’s Whiskey playing on the Firestarter Stage too, really engaged well with the crowd and everyone had a great time, with a crescendo of emotion ('Make You Proud') then crowd singalong ('Racing Bullet') finishing the set off with aplomb.

Those Damn Crows immediately showed their presence on the Phoenix stage as headliner's, with their solid modern Rock sound, but in truth, should probably have been the main draw on the Inferno stage. Shane Grenhall had total control of proceedings and the capacity audience too. They held on to their audience through to the very end of their set. An excellent performance.

For pure energy, engagement and theatrics, not forgetting some great noise too! …. in the veins of Shock-Rock and Prog not too far distant on occasions, Ward XVI on the Firestarter Stage were the absolute high-light of the day, with imagery aplenty and crowd ‘immersion’ seemingly at every other song. The Teddy made a lot of new friends too! What a finish!

Wolfmother topped the bill today, on a very ‘barren’ stage, doing what they do well and what a great way to end the evening

Everyone left happy again, ready to do it all again tomorrow!

The Saturday at MoS was a fabulous day of music so let’s bring on Sunday!

Oz (photos: John Bull)