Nozfest 15th August 2026

Live from the 1865, Southampton

© Andy Balcam, Balcshootsband

“Has anybody got any ‘tit tape’?”

I’m guessing today’s master of ceremonies Si Genaro is asking for a friend as he’s already bedecked in genre-defying flowery shirt and red trews, still … it’s a novel way to start a rock festival.

The fate of the untethered bosoms is never officially reported, nevertheless, the show must go on. It’s 1pm and time for party and, in these parts, if you want to get a party started at 1pm you call on Chris Payn & The Parade.

Routinely clocking up 200+ shows a year either solo or, as today, with his super-tight 6-piece band, Chris Payn is a purveyor of mighty fine rock anthems. Big guitars, big vocals and thumping tunes each with clever melodic twists. His shimmering set is the perfect way to shake off Friday night’s hangover and get the rock and roll juices flowing.

Southampton’s excellent 1865 is the perfect venue for a day like this. Great sound and light systems and a good, big floor area provide the ideal setting for bands and audience alike to rock out. At the back there’s a raised area with bar and then, up a few more stairs, a long, wide balcony/mezzanine that, today, houses the VIPs and the 9 band-specific merch stalls.

Following Chris Payn is not an easy gig but Mikey Ball & The Company tackle the task with the sleeves of their plaid shirts cut off and the dirt on their guitars turned way up.

The Company lay down a deep, raw groove that gives Mikey the foundation he needs to get fists pumping along to his bluesy, rocky repertoire. The songs are tight and focused – their down to earth feel helped enormously by Mikey’s gravelly vocal and sizzling guitar licks.

Just before Molly Karloff hit the stage one of my tog buddies tells me to be ready – the bass player moves around. A lot. He’s not wrong.

Molly Karloff dial up the dirt and heft another couple of notches. You can feel their subterranean, downtuned riffs in your guts before you hear them. Simon Gee’s growling vocal and shredding solos are the cherry on the colossal cake of their epic, intense songs.

No offence to what’s gone before but The Rattlebacks provide the first genuinely exhilarating moments of the day. 

They are constant movement – zigzagging around the small stage like rock and roll wraiths. All of the outfield players can throw a shape or two but it is frenzied frontman Alex Martucci that seizes your attention with his relentless prowling and preening.

The music lives up to the spectacle. 2023 EP ‘Kink’ is well represented with 3 of it’s 4 ferocious cuts making the set, however, just a brace from acclaimed recent album Sidewinder. Doesn’t really matter what they play frankly as their energy and precision has the whole place jumping with not a note wasted.

It’s taken Thieves Of Liberty 7 hours to get here from Sunderland but they show no signs of flagging. 

For me they provide the most classic classic rock of the day and have the most classic classic rock singer in the form of James Boak. James has a set of truly top-drawer pipes which suits the band’s swaggering, catchy-as-covid choons perfectly.

The band’s tireless touring has forged them into a super-tight, hard-rocking brotherhood. Loads of highlights including set closer Shangri-La and the 6-string showdown where the 2 axemen Kieran and Liam face off in the midst of the crowd like a scene from an early Springsteen number.

Beth Blade, from Beth Blade and The Beautiful Disasters, is one of those people that I bet are described as ‘a force of nature’ by those that know her. Well, to those of us that don’t know her, she certainly does seem to be one.

There’s a lot of influences at play here. Beth herself throws in some cool Paul Stanley moves but mostly she and the band project an unstoppable power that takes in everything from Joan Jett to Halestorm.

It’s a great set full of crowd pleasers that builds to a truly euphoric climax in Tonight I’m With You, I Ain’t Got Nothing (If I Ain’t Got Rock and Roll) and Jack And Coke. Beth’s magnetism and command of an audience is as magnificent as it is irresistible.

By the time we get to Juliet’s Not Dead we’re into the big hitters. 2 years on from changing their name and with a number 1 album and US tour under their belts the band gallop through a hugely enjoyable set.

Blessed with a great frontman, superb musicians and high quality songs JND thrill the now packed 1865. Their song about coming out of lockdown (sorry, didn’t catch the title) was a heartfelt thank you to everyone that supported live music and musicians through what was a difficult time for pretty much everyone.

The band went straight from Nozfest to the studio to work on a new album and hit the road hard again later this year.

Aussie/German nutters Sweet Electric laugh in the face of a 7-hour bus journey. “21 hours ago we were in Germany” announces singer Brad Marr from the confines of the day’s craziest jacket. Sweet Electric have travelled from Germany to play their 45 minutes and are heading straight back again after the show! Now that really is rock and roll!

Their set is a non-stop party with brilliant use of light and shade, whisper to scream dynamics and crowd participation with the pace never letting up. Highlights are closer Hard Times, with many of the faithful wielding their own cowbells, and Party Rock Anthem, which does exactly what it says on the canister.

There’s a real camaraderie, warmth and affection present today and never is that more evident than during Nozfest’s creator and driving force Jodie Bowie’s short address. It’s clear that the town and all the bands love Jodie!

It’s also a credit to all the organisers, crew and bands that, by the time headliner South Of Salem hit the stage they do so bang on time!

SOS go straight for the jugular with the one-two-three of Let Us Prey, Made To Be Mine and Pretty Little Nightmare. The band is super sharp and overflowing with energy as they tear through banger after banger.

The crowd is right there with them doing the twirling finger thing during Vultures and bawling every word of every song right back at charismatic frontman Joey Draper.

Near as damn-it Nozfest is a hometown gig for these boys and they treat it as such – it’s a total celebration with closers Left For Dead and Cold Day In Hell providing the perfect climax to a great day.

Tickets are already on sale for Nozfest 2027 – get them while they’re hot!