When Firevolt, the festival formerly known as Firestorm, cropped up last year, boasting some of the best of the current crop of classic rock, it sounded a little too good to be true. Another festival on the calendar. And as we’ve seen over the last year, so many others have folded or postponed as there’s only so much money to go around.
In spite of that, Firestorm 2022 went ahead and from all s, it was a great debut year and sounded like a great way to spend a weekend. Fast forward to this year and with its new name, Firevolt was back with another great lineup with some Moshville Times in-house favourites headlining like Massive Wagons, Royal Republic, The Answer, and Kris Barras Band. Having been told it was a great one and “You’d love it,” festival owner Stret reached out to us some months back to invite us along. Sadly, none of our crew could make the entire weekend and my efforts to pay for a Saturday ticket being shot down by him, Stret extended the invite to come just for the Saturday.
Having come from Scotland, it’s a journey of trying to outrun the rain which thankfully doesn’t come near Whitebottom Farm. Well sign-posted on the approach, you know exactly where you’re going and where your appropriate parking is. As well, there’s a charge for parking but they’ve managed to do the decent thing – charge less if you’re only there for the day which some other bigger festivals could learn from. And once out the car, an aroma hits you. If the journey to Steelhouse has the smell of burning clutches, Firevolt has cow pats. Another festival on a working farm and accompanied by a lovely walk through Etherow Country Park – or grab the shuttle bus if you don’t fancy a twenty minute walk.
But once you arrive, it’s like all the best festivals – it’s small with a community feel, full of like-minded people who are all here for a great day or weekend of rock music. Absolva are already tearing through their set on the Trooper stage, becoming louder as you make your way up the path and all the market traders. There’s typically all your festival food and jewellery and craft-y things which I spy through the sea of Mason Hill shirts. Absolva seem a touch heavier than what you’d expect on a billing like this, NWOBHM meets thrash with a healthy dose of melodicism. It’s my first taste of the Trooper stage – a converted barn with fake grass allowing you to pick your spot – at the barrier under the roof, in the middle with the elements or towards the back where the merch and a bar sits and is again under a roof.
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As people make their way over to the Big Top stage to catch Vega, there’s a short twenty-minute wait between bands to cover people making the two-minute trip in case people need to grab a bite or drink or answer the call of nature. It allows me time to see what else is on offer at the stalls, bump into The Virginmarys as they start to load in and some fellow fans. And from then on, more and more of their shirts appear and if you thought there was a lot of Mason Hill shirts, The Virginmarys designs start coming out of the woodwork to eclipse them, each fan with a different one from the past 10+ years. And they’ve got a lot – all of them as great as their music. Food in the stomach, it’s time to sample the bar which leads to swapping money for tokens to hand the tokens back for a drink. In this day and age feels a bit antiquated and an unnecessary extra step when the middleman could be cut out but there’s likely a reason for it. Tokens cost a fiver apiece – a fiver gets you a pint so cheaper than city centre prices.
Now, it’s time to watch The Virginmarys kick the evening up several notches to get us warmed up for The Answer. Battering through a healthy dose of songs both old and new, Ally Dickaty and Danny Dolan have the fans in the palm of their hands and from the sounds of things afterwards, gain a few new converts. Playing on a sizeable stage, Ally uses the space to his advantage, hopping back and forward, trading looks with Danny, his riser acting as a throne for his tiny kit which gets smashed to smithereens as standard. Songs like “The Meds” and “Lies” are met with as much enthusiasm as old gems like “Dead Man’s Shoes” and “Just a Ride”, sitting in the set like old friends. Their feral and vicious live set is a storming one, as raw as they always are and bolstered by whoever was on the sound desk doing a great job and the fact they’re currently out on the road.
It’s another break and a chance to catch up with the band as well as a nice chat with the Trooper stage manager who has plenty of stories of working at other festivals and telling us what else this site is used for around the year. Another great element to be found in this corner is the toilets – they’re clean, they flush, there’s running water and soap to wash your hands, and there’s a hand dryer. Nearby, there’s even a running water tap to fill any water bottles or cups to re-hydrate (or if you just want to save a few quid).
The Answer have the honour or closing out the night. Hammering through much of Sundowners as well as some older gems like “Come Follow Me”, “Under the Sky” and “Nowhere Freeway”, they’re a fitting end to the night and a solid booking. It’s energetic, it has people dancing, bouncing and nodding their heads depending on the song and person. But they continue to do classic rock better than most of the bands who followed, the new material being more sophisticated on record translates well to the live environment. Continuously bringing the good vibes and kicking the bad karma out of the barn, the dark and the cold is also banished as The Answer bring the heat.
And with that, the night is over and it’s time to head back to the car, back along the same path which is now pitch black, save for my phone torch and the occasional set of mini bus lights as the shuttle bus takes people back down to the car park. It’s the one real part of the festival which could use improvement with some lighting but given it’s part of the country park and likely outside what they have permission to do. That slight niggle aside, Firevolt deserves all the love it’s had since this time, last year. It’s family friendly with a welcoming atmosphere, it’s not too busy, not too quiet, a great layout, reasonable prices and the most important part – the line-up is stellar. There’s as much fun and community here as there is in more established festivals like Bloodstock and Steelhouse and I hope it keeps going for as long as it can.
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