Here we are again! - Day 2 (Saturday) at Maid of Stone (MoS)! ….. what a fabulous time was had by all yesterday!

The weather today has started off not so good, with rain and thunder/lightening overnight (tough time for the campers), and then rain through the morning into the early afternoon, but it settled down by mid-afternoon, and the day ended up as glorious again, and not quite so hot as Friday, which was a great outcome for everyone.

Today’s lineup is again really strong, with an eclectic mix of bands across and within the ‘Rock’ sphere, some really exciting stuff to look forward too, so here we go!

Darren Redick and Paul Anthony of Planet Rock share the compare/introducing role on the Main (Inferno) Stage, and the Emerging Rock Bands (ERB) team again are more than capably in charge of proceedings on the Second (Firestarter) Stage.

First up today, opening Day 2, we have Jack J Hutchinson (the Blues Rock ‘Riffmeister’) and his band on the Inferno Stage, who pulled in a decent size crowd, given the fact that it was raining, and delivered a really engaging, warm and polished set with emotion to boot. A great start to Day 2 here in Maidstone at Maid of Stone.

Moving over to the opener on the Firestarter Stage, Big River, introduced by Lucy Heffer of ERB. Big River were scheduled to play MoS last year, but vocalist, Adam Barron had been hospitalised, and they were unable to play, so this year, it’s the triumphant debut of Big River at Mote Park! Big River play their own take on real Old Skool Classic British Rock, with ‘Soul’, and today was no exception. A superb mix of their originals and covers, with their exquisite song ‘Wings’ all being played perfectly and with emotion. A great set and long may they continue to delight us with their music!

Back to the Inferno Stage, and it’s the British Heavy Metal Band Fury. They played a blistering set, with no let up, to an eager and receptive crowd. The weather didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits and they went down a treat.

It’s up the hill to Firestarter Stage now (all good exercise!), to witness a revelation…….. Bobbie Dazzle (Sian Greenaway) and her band. All dressed to match the name, and their playing is too! Bobbie Dazzle play Glam Rock for the modern age, with all ‘hats off’ to the greats of Glam from the 70’s, think Sweet, Mud, Glitter Band et al, but with a completely fresh approach. A perfect ‘pick-up’ and festival band, it was so much fun! Mostly original songs, but, yes, no typo’s here, an ABBA cover too! And we get a song with a FLUTE, expertly played by Bobbie (Sian) with reminiscence back to Jethro Tull! Even a Keytar! Fabulous stuff and they really set the festival alive. brilliant!

How to follow that?, luckily, back on the Inferno Stage (more like a ‘roll’ down the hill!), is Rosalie Cunningham and her band, with their own unique Rock… think Prog-Rock with balls! This was going to be a treat in store for everyone. What we witnessed was a scorching showcase of music and glamour, with superb musicianship and entertainment, from all the band, delivered with what can only be called ‘panache’. It was a really excellent set, and the writer heard and held so many conversations with others after the set, all holding the same views. We were again rewarded with another FLUTE masterpiece……… and we’re not at a PROG Festival!. Fantabulous!

We’re really on a roll now today, and back on Firestarter is Kim Jennett and her band, with their unbelievably energetic Rock set. Kim is a totally engaging performer who gives it her all, with no respite. The overall performance was absolutely rock-solid and special mention has to go the Kim and the band’s inspired cover of the Zeppelin classic ‘Immigrant Song’, which Kim fittingly sang with real skill. A great performance.

More pounding to be had now, down at Inferno, with the most excellent Florence Black giving us their, well, solid Welsh Rock 'n' Roll! They were relentlessly hard and heavy as we know and love them, but still capable of adding light and shade into the mix. The MoS crowd lapped it up, and everyone had a really great time …. another fine band in a long string of them this afternoon. Thanks MoS!

A band on Firestarter now, that the writer has ben really looking forward to seeing, are Flint Moore. Difficult to categorise, who needs to eh!, but it helps to position an outfit when using words to get the message across. So, Flint Moore are loosely a unique blend of Alt-Rock with Folk influences, perhaps some kind of current day Prog. Whatever the description is, they give a special performance which is engaging and thought provoking too. Visually gripping and sonically fascinating, the set was a great introduction to the band, and their album, ‘The Aches and the End’. A superb set that everyone in the crowd enjoyed.

Next up on Main (Inferno) is Sophie Lloyd. This set was highly anticipated by everyone at MoS, and it definitely delivered. From the off, with Sophie’s superb guitar playing backed by a fantastic band, we were all in for a real treat this afternoon! The set just kept on getting better and better, firstly, when Maurisa (of The Moths) joined Sophie on stage, then Nathan James (Inglorious) and wow, Chris Robinson (Black Stone Cherry). What an absolute banger of a gig! Fun times all around and the weather has delivered too! That’s the way we like it!

Revenant are on Firestarter now, delivering their solid UK perspective on the Southern ‘infused’ Rock sound. Revenant are a relatively new band, forming a couple of years back, but have steadily grown their profile on the scene, to the point where they are now starting to make bigger ‘waves’, and play festivals. The Revenant set today was solid, and their sound could be described as ‘huge’. The audience visibly enjoyed the show, and it was a great way to close out the afternoon on the Second Stage. Excellent stuff!

Moving into the evening’s frolics back down on Inferno, we’ve got The Raven Age (with Steve Harris’ son, George, on bass). This Alternative/Groove Metal band are a great fit for today’s line-up and audience. They delivered a really solid and up-beat set and the audience were more than happy with today’s show.

Potential for ‘most fun of the day’ has to go to ‘In Search of Sun’ back up at the Firestarter Stage. This band’s Funk-Infused-Metal was a party-time gig that gave the opportunity for the ‘mosh-pit’ to make an appearance at MoS! The show was a non-stop roller-coaster of up-beat tunes and bouncing around! Great fun!

Ugly Kid Joe (UKJ) are back in Maidstone! (they played Ramblin' Man Fair many years ago), on the Inferno Stage this evening. Having last seen UKJ at Newark's Stonedead last August, the writer was hoping for another great gig, as they were so good back then. No disappointment, UKJ were again on form! Often a ‘marmite’ act, but an era defining band in my opinion, they pulled a large crowd in and totally delivered! They played all the top tunes that would be expected, plus a great deeper-cuts set. A fun hour or so!

Now to the headliners on the Firestarter Stage, Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse (BGG) ……. the writer has wanted to see these guys for a long time, but it’s just not been possible. Today was the day, and it was truly worth the wait! BGG are hard to define, but suffice to say they are a powerhouse of a band with a powerhouse of a front-lady (Greta Brawner), who is a non-stop bundle of energy, looking like a Rock 'n' Roll ‘Wonder Woman’ for today. Robin Davy is on guitar, a great player, dressed in an endearing yellow jacket and cowboy hat! Their set was just great fun and so expertly played, backed by Kev Hickman on drums, Charlie Kay on bass and supported by some expertly played ‘keys’ work as well. This band can really play!….They’ve got Blues, Rock, Americana, Country, Soul, the lot! Non-stop fun, and we got freebie necklaces being tossed into the crowd too!

Last but not least, the final act of the day, and their only UK festival or otherwise appearance this year (not due back to these shores until late 2026), on Inferno, it’s Black Stone Cherry (BSC)! Eagerly anticipated by everyone, they take the stage with their usual confidence. They played all the songs that everyone would want, rocking and poignant too. It was a huge crowd and they went down really well. There were more fireworks as per yesterday, giving a great backdrop to the show! BSC gave a truly fitting end to another fabulous day here at Mote Park.

In addition, there were two excellent stripped down sets in the VIP area today, unfortunately, not experienced by the WRC, but reported as excellent by those that were there! These were by Beth Blade & The Beautiful Disasters and also South of Salem.

Today turned out to be another really strong offering from this Festival and everyone is really looking forward to the final day tomorrow, and I guess, in particular, to Michael Schenker and his UFO years!

The WRC once again took the chance to hold some interviews with bands today, kindly supported by Flint Moore, Revenant and the one and only Sari Schorr (who is playing at MoS tomorrow, Sunday), and these will be available on our website shortly.

Thanks again to all the staff and organisers, working so hard behind the scenes to make this festival so great, it is really appreciated.

Bring on the final day tomorrow!

Review: Oz

Photos John Bull/Rockrpix and Oz