talented tributes ensure Rock & Bike Festival continues to entertain

The Rock and Bike Festival returned to Carnfield Hall to unleash three days of Rock music onto the adoring fans. Rock and Bike Festival prides itself on being a family friendly festival and goes out of its way to ensure that the very young to the very old are catered for with a variety of activities throughout the site to keep the little ones entertained.

Inevitably when talking about a festival that delivers a feast of rock music, it would be difficult not to make comparisons with the monster that is Download Festival. However, in their wisdom, Rock and Bike Festival organisers realised that it would be foolish to even try and compete with the awesome legendary scale that Download Festival has managed to evolve into. Like the shudder of a doomed soul, the organisers at Rock and Bike focus more on the fun element and the family friendly atmosphere rather than trying to fleece the fans of every single penny they can squeeze out of the ticket holders.

This year the Rock and Bike Festival was celebrating its 13^th year as a festival. hence why it was labelled “Best of a dozen years”, the idea being that they invited some of the acts that stood out over the years back for this year. The Quireboys and John Coghlans Quo and Girlschool were all given headlining duties. One of the good things about this festival is that they aren’t afraid to give bands a try and one such band was The SoapGirls, a politically driven, high octane, controversial L7 type band.

After wandering around the site and getting our bearings, the first band that we settled down to listen to was Guns 2 Roses, who have mastered the art of sounding like Guns N Roses. The trouble is they turned up on time which instantly ruined the illusion of them being Guns N Roses. However, that didn’t seem to deter people from enjoying renditions of “Sweet Child O’Mine” and “Paradise City”, which created a volcanic roar of approval from the crowd.

For the less talented mere mortals attending the festival, there was a karaoke bar for people to warble to their way through classic rock anthems. For those highly crafty people it was an easy way to get a drink without queuing…jump on the karaoke sing a classic rock anthem so badly that the tent emptied and voila you have no queue for the bar.

The SoapGirls provided the festival with their original material, songs such as “Bad Bitch” captured the audience’s attention, currently The SoapGirls have the luxury of being able to play to their own rules. The only exception being the allocated stage times that they must stick to. But apart from that each show is certainly unique. Their interaction with the audience is nothing short of controversial. Asking fans to join them on stage to knock back a drink that they call “Voodoo Juice” they then allowed the two fans to stay on stage after finishing most of this drink which has previously caused controversy from fans claiming that they have ended up in hospital afterwards. The SoapGirls have a different costume for most gigs and this was no exception, arriving on stage wearing a grotesque mask they left very little to the imagination with the little attire they were wearing. Some would argue that their shocking lack of clothes detracts from just how talented these ladies are at writing melodic bass driven infectious songs. However, like any controversial band, it will always be divisive when it comes to liking their music.

From one female band to the headliners Girl School. After more than 35 years together, they still know how to put on a great live show. Sure, they are a lot older now, but they still can teach the younger musicians a lesson or two in how to perform live.

There were so many great bands but some that stood out for me, was Rainbow Rising, which covered the songs spanning the entire career of Rainbow, and yes obviously they included “I Surrender” and “Since You’ve Been Gone”. A great tribute band that were tighter than a duck’s arse musically.

Surreal Panther brought a humorous highlight to the weekend. They have managed to capture the on-stage banter that the real Steel Panther have during their live sets. Musically Surreal Panther could deliver the goods effortlessly. They ploughed through the fan favourites such as “Community Property”, “Eyes of a Panther” and “Party All Day” which left the crowd smiling like Cheshire cats.

John Coghlans Quo was headlining, and as a fan of Status Quo it was great hearing some of the old material from a band that has stood the test of time. Hits such as “Caroline” and “Down Down” were well liked by the audience who showed their appreciation by jumping around and singing along.

The Quireboys were struck by technical difficulties during their soundcheck and so went on stage 30 minutes later than planned. The band members took it all in their stride and strolled onto the stage and delivered a blistering set which included “Hey You” and their party anthem “7 O’Clock”. The Quireboys were the perfect end to a magnificent festival.

For fans of rock music, the Rock and Bike festival is the perfect way to spend three days without requiring a second mortgage to cover the costs. The tribute bands are very skilful at covering some of the worlds iconic rock bands for a fraction of the price that it would cost to either see the real bands or even attend a festival with the real legendary bands headlining.

The weekend was packed full of tribute acts, all exceptionally talented, and brilliant at replicating their heroes.

After thirteen years of running the festival, the organisers still ensure that enjoyment is the number one priority for the people who attend. This is an intimate family friendly festival with an awesome atmosphere and incredible music. Genuinely one of the greatest hidden gems of the festival season.

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