STEELHOUSE FESTIVAL 2018 | LIVE REVIEW
Hafod-Y-Dafal Farm, Ebbw Vale, Fri 27-Sun 29 July
Rock music fans from far and wide turned up last weekend for their annual pilgrimage to the outskirts of Ebbw Vale on the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons. Officially the highest music festival in the UK, the windy uphill journey to the top of the mountain took you to the setting of Hafod-Y-Dafal Farm, the spiritual and physical home of Steelhouse Festival. Going from strength to strength, this year was the eighth Steelhouse to take place, and against all odds and everything Mother Nature threw at it, it stood tall, loud and proud. An absolute gem of an event that should have a much more prominent face in the summer festival calendar.
Friday evening gave us four acts to warm up for the weekend, and these guys were by no means warm up acts. Championed by festival sponsors Planet Rock as ones to watch in 2018, Bristol-based Fragile Things were given the honour of kicking off proceedings after winning Steelhouse’s Battle Of The Bands. The arena already filing up, the echoing sound of catchy riffs and unique vocal welcomed the crowd rolling in from the campsite.
The mountaintop was graced with rock’n’roll royalty next, as former Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell graced the stage with his three sons and vocalist Neil Starr. Collectively known as Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons, they rallied through some great original material as well as ‘Head classics Born To Raise Hell and Ace Of Spades.
The Friday headliners were probably my surprise of the weekend: I’d never heard of them, but seeing the amount of T-shirts on show for this band indicated the size of their following. Stone Broken are ones to keep an eye on over the next couple years – in a nutshell, this band’s music needs to be heard in arenas. Worth Fighting For and Wait For You are stadium rock at its best.
Overnight into Saturday, the test for the festival site began. Gale-like wind and thundering rain hammered down – but hell was that going to stop the masses from carrying on where they left off. Early risers were treated to a lunchtime set by The Bad Flowers while the weather stayed half-decent, but the same couldn’t be said for Aaron Buchanan And The Cult Classics. The rain, thunder and lightning arrived in mean fashion, but not hindering the former Heaven’s Basement frontman, vocally on point with his new outfit.
Dan Reed Network [above] brought their own showing of funk-rock to Steelhouse. Formed in the 1980s, there was a huge crowd for the veterans, both in front of the stage as well as behind the scenes. First co-headliner of the night Myles Kennedy, with full band in tow, well and truly made his mark with his set. Out on tour supporting his first solo album Year Of The Tiger, tracks Ghost Of Shangri La and Haunted By Design sounded great live. World On Fire and Standing In The Sun, from Kennedy’s last album with Slash and The Conspirators, got catchy acoustic makeovers, but the set couldn’t run its course without any Alter Bridge classics. The usually heavy Addicted To Pain got slowed right down, and the beautiful Watch Over You sounded out beautifully across the mountaintops through the pouring rain.
The rain was there to stay, which unfortunately saw quite a few retreat to their tents, caravans and campers. However, the draw of rock legend Glenn Hughes [top] playing an all-Deep Purple set was enough for the majority in a tendency to suck it up and get soaked. The former Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Trapeze icon raced through a fan-friendly setlist including Stormbringer, Smoke On The Water and Georgia On My Mind, inviting Myles Kennedy back to the stage for encore opener Highway Star before closing the Saturday night with Burn.
The weather gods laid it down hard overnight and Sunday morning in the campsite resembled a very wet tent graveyard. Despite the possible worry about if the festival would continue or not, the arena opened early for everyone to get extra shelter, food and drinks, and spirits seemed high as ever.
Unfortunately, the weather did claim a few victims, both The Quireboys and The Dead Daisies unable to make it to the valleys due to transportation issues. The rest of the bill got shook up and carried on as normal. The Dust Coda were given the task of taming the weather and opening the Trooper Stage for the final day of the weekend – and fair play to them, a great set. Those Damn Crows and Mason Hill followed, both bringing with them a good following of fans and surely making some new ones throughout the afternoon.
The gap of two bands in the lineup gave Massive Wagons a suitably massive opportunity to creep up the bill, and take that chance they did, looking the part and keeping the damp crowd going throughout. The Wildhearts [above] played a hit-laden set including Sick Of Drugs, TV Tan, and Caffeine Bomb. A great fun band, very much underrated within the industry; the glimmer of sun and blue skies summing up the atmosphere.
The hard-hitting strut of Black Star Riders proved a fitting closing act to Steelhouse 2018. The band, fronted by Ricky Warwick and including a number of the current Thin Lizzy lineup, laid down the measuring stick and smashed out a performance that sent everyone home with a smile on their face. Undoubtably one of the best value for money festivals in the UK, Steelhouse is a must for any rock fan, come rain or shine.
words OWEN SCOURFIELD photos RAYMOND BANNISTER