Welcome back again to the third incarnation of Maid of Stone (let’s just call it MoS now) at the beautiful Mote Park in Maidstone, Kent, with the wonderful views of the Kentish North Downs.

It’s a beautiful day and very hot with that too.

This festival just goes from strength to strength, offering up the best line-up for a ‘proper’ Rock festival this year in the writer’s humble opinion.

The festival is now down to just two stages, with no clashes (bar the occasional choice having to be made if one has a ViP ticket for stripped back sets in this area). The writer did not get the chance to see any of the ViP area shows, but for the record, there were stripped down gigs by Stephen Brian Leonard, Hillbilly Vegas and Kris Barras.

We were told Darren Redick of Planet Rock hosted his Friday afternoon show live from the Festival too!

The format this year was a pretty much continuous show of music from kick-off at 1.30pm through to curfew at 11pm, alternating between the Inferno Stage (Main) and the Firestarter Stage (Second), and kicking off proceedings on the Inferno Stage were;

Hillbilly Vegas (HBV) from Oklahoma! - With their Southern Rock/Country sound and uniqueness, these guys are the real deal, and similar to Preacher Stone last year, they really drew the crowd and got them going from the off (there was a long queue to get in the site first thing, and some people missed the start of this set unfortunately). The HBV set was just a great good-time party and a perfect opener for the festival. Really excellent!

Next up, on the Firestarter Stage, was Leadfeather, who are a relatively new Band but are really making a strong impression everywhere they play. With their solid ‘Heavy Rock’ sound and superb playing, plus excellent vocals, they made a lot of new friends today with a short but sweet set which was expertly delivered.

Back to the Inferno Stage now for the not quite so ‘Secret Set’ of Kris Barras and The Hollow Souls, Kris’ new band, his new collective in the Blues Rock ‘field’. They delivered a consummate performance, with panache, starting with the single ‘Borderline', as well as other new songs, Rock/Blues covers, and some Kris Barras covers too!

Firestarter Stage now for ‘We Three Kings’ with their energetic and powerful modern take on Rock 'n' Roll. A great response from the crowd and the ‘We Three Kings’ giant football added no end of fun to the performance. Good times all around.

Back to Inferno for Myke Gray’s (ex Jagged Edge & Skin) supergroup, with Henry Gottelier from The Karma Effect on vocals. They delivered a great set of up-beat tunes that had the crowd really lapping it up. It was a real feel-good moment of the day.

Firestarter again for Muddibrooke, with their ‘Alt-Rock/Grunge’ sound. A particular favourite being ‘ADHD’, which captures the essence of this and puts it perfectly into music.

The Quireboys, needing no introduction at all really, take the Inferno Stage on with aplomb. They are a British Rock institution and national treasure now, and with Luke Morley on guitar and Nigel Moog on bass, are really a strong band again. Willie Dowling on keys adds the sparkle. Spike gave tribute to Guy Bailey who sadly passed away a couple of years back now. They played a good solid set and went down a storm with the large crowd…. good old-time Rock and Roll at it’s best!

The Tom Killner Band on the Inferno Stage were much anticipated, with their Soul Drenched Americana mix delivering one of the stand-out performances of the day. Tom’s band are truly superb, and the addition of the second guitarist (Andrew Mewse) gives another layer and depth to the sound. Outstanding!

H.E.A.T on the Inferno Stage matched the day with their name and performance, delivering their brand of very accessible but quality Hard-Rock. The show was perfect, and so entertaining overall. Kenny Leckremo is all over the stage, and sings and dresses to suit! The Union Jack Flag Cape was another great moment. All in all, if the writer had to have only one vote, H.E.A.T would have to be given the ‘band of the day’ award. Fabulous stuff.

A’Priori are next up on the Firestarter Stage, and they deliver their unique Hard-Rock sound to a welcoming crowd. A good solid performance.

Joanne Shaw Taylor plays the Inferno Stage now, and pulls in a big crowd for her Blues Rock masterclass.

Gorilla Riot headline the Firestarter Stage tonight, and as a six-piece, they deliver another stand-out performance of the day. Known for their ‘Dirty-Blues’ sound, and with two backing vocalists tonight, their sound is sublime. Another contender for band of the day methinks. A great end to the ERB (Emerging Rock Bands) sponsored Firestarter Stage at MoS ….. Loved it!

Finally, Dirty Honey hit the Inferno Stage. Friday night headliners at MoS, and well deserved too! There are fireworks in the distance during their opening, which adds a level of ‘special’ to the start. They play a really solid and powerful set, with their Californian Rock sound and go down a real storm. Their song ‘California Dreamin’ just about sums it up. A great choice for headliner on the opening day at MoS.

Well, what can be said?…… a really great opening day!

We also took the chance to hold some interviews with bands today, kindly supported by Hillbilly Vegas, Gorilla Riot and We Three Kings, and these will be available on our website shortly.

Last but in no way least - Big Congratulations to Hillbilly Vegas who were presented with their 2024 WRC 'Best Support award for their show at London's O2 Academy Islington on 31/01/24, supporting Luke Morley.

Thanks must go to all to all the friendly staff encountered today, making the event just the best festival around.

There’s two more days of this to come, with some really great bands, but some risky weather in the mix too! …. Bring it on!

Review: Oz

Photos John Bull/Rockrpix and Oz