STEELHOUSE FESTIVAL 2016 | LIVE REVIEW
Hafod Y Dafal Farm, Ebbw Vale, Sat 23 + Sun 24 July
The weather may have been changeable, hot sunshine contrasting with mist and rain, but once again the music at the Steelhouse Festival was consistently superb. From the opening act on the Saturday, a young band from Wigan named Bigfoot, through to The Darkness closing the festival on the Sunday.
Steelhouse festival has a unique vista, high up the hilltop near Ebbw Vale and attracting ever-larger crowds. It is also significant that people return year after year: camping, glamping or staying at nearby hotels, the festival has a family feel.
The music is at the heart of the festival, and Bigfoot stamped their credentials with confidence; this quartet from Wigan have the potential to rock crowds for many a year to come. Steelhouse organisers mix up the sound as demonstrated by the blues-infused rock from charismatic showmen The Dirty Thrills. Full of energy onstage, the hijinks never deflect from their deep, groove-laden music.
On Saturday afternoon, Steelhouse was dominated by young bands who are picking up the baton and creating rock relevant to them – notably Vega and Tax The Heat. The festival had an international feel, the prog-influenced rock of Finland’s Von Hertzen Brothers given a spectacular backdrop (specifically, the artwork from their latest album). Up next, and featuring the first woman to appear onstage this year, Blues Pills’ [below] hippy rock extravaganza. A Swedish/American/French multinational entity, Elin Larsson burns up the stage with her stunning vocals as lead guitar curls around music redolent of early Fleetwood Mac, Hendrix and Aretha Franklin.
Can the day get better? Yes it can! The Answer played their debut album Rise in full, celebrating its 10th anniversary, and it was glorious. In an age of streaming and random play, the set re-asserted the inherent power and flow of hearing an album as its creators intended. All too soon it was time for the Saturday headliners: the closest to intemperate weather we came today was Thunder [above], who hit the stage to suitably thunderous applause. Danny Bowes led from the front, the audience singing along and maintaining a great atmosphere until the last notes faded away. For those who still wanted to party, the night was young, DJs soundtracking a festival with no neighbours to upset.
Glam rock band Last Great Dreamers opened proceedings on Sunday, cutting through the drizzle and the atmospheric mist swirling around the mountain. They were followed by Welsh band Hand Of Dimes, who delivered a set of classic rock as the festival vibe reasserted itself. Exchanging motorbikes for vocal mics, James Toseland hits the stage up front. Toseland, his band has an adrenaline-fueled vocal punch. James has surrounded himself with a band that enhances his vocal prowess playing with energy and excitement.
Thereafter, another high-energy act with Raveneye, crowdpleasers with an impressive depth of sound and circus-style antics: not a note is missed as Oli Brown is paraded around the stage on the shoulders of bassist Aaron Spiers. Raveneye’s set was animated and the music superb, with the vestiges of Brown’s blues career apparent by the pick on his thumb and a shining sapphire blue guitar. Excitement and anticipation approached fever pitch levels for The Dead Daisies, who went on to look, sound and perform like the headliners they should have been. Many in the crowd just wanted them to play on, with a strong case made for band-of-the-festival status.
A change of style courtesy of Hey! Hello!, Ginger Wildheart’s pop-rock incarnation. Fans of Ginger were ecstatic as they picked up the festival baton with a fun set that contrasted with previous performers. Next up were Terrorvision: a Marmite band who you either love or are left cold by. There is no argument they put on a show, though, capturing and reliving their 90s rock heyday. The perfect lead, then, into The Darkness. As they hit the stage, an appropriate level of darkness fell across the festival so both their lights and frontman Justin Hawkins could shine bright. The fans had stood for hours at the front, ensuring they were up close to a band who, for them, were the perfect final act of a festival that once again delivered.
Steelhouse 2016 may be done and dusted, but 2017’s already-confirmed date for your diary is the weekend of Sat 29 and Sun 30 July. Time to revisit Steelhouse on the mountain once again.
words and photos LIZ AIKEN