Rockwich 2023   –   26/27 August 2023

Live from Witton Albion Football Club, Northwich

Every August Bank Holiday you will find this family friendly festival pumping out all of the noise and much fun from Witton Albion Football Club’s Social Club.

More below about Rockwich from Caz Parker who popped along to review.

I’m Caz Parker for MMH Radio and you’ll mostly find me DJing or compering rather than reviewing, so bear with me as I give you my thoughts and musings on this fab little festival   This was my first ever RockWich, and usually I’m a little apprehensive when I’ve not been before and don’t know the drill, especially as I was arriving alone. However, as soon as I got there I saw a friendly face directing me where to park and how to get in and instantly I felt safe and comfortable. Of course being the fantastic rock family that we are, it didn’t take me long to find friends inside the venue.

A festival in a football club is a little different, but given that the weather wasn’t really on our side, being indoors was a godsend and parking and camping close by is a massive plus, especially for those of us seasoned Download goers where you’re exhausted before you’ve even started! And no need for portaloos! Huzzah!  Instant win   I’ve had my eye on RockWich for a few years now because they always have such a stellar line up and this year was no exception. I also love that it’s just one stage so I don’t have to make choices and miss anything, so winning all round for me so far.  I couldn’t make the Saturday unplugged sessions, which I’m told were excellent, but made sure I was there to see every band on Sunday, all 13 of them!  That’s a hell of a lot for your money, that’s for sure!   Great to see my pal Pete K Mally bringing his usual high energy, passion and comedic quips as the festival’s completely competent compere and King Voodoo were first up kicking off this jam packed day.  The opening slot always feels like it’ll be harder work as you gotta warm up the crowd, but it was already busy and they brought huge energy to the room with their bluesy rock vibe.  I loved the vintage style mics, really nice touch and they packed their half hour slot with 7 tracks mostly from their latest album Hex released earlier this year, starting with Whiskey Drive and ending with Drag Me To The Water.  I’d not seen them before so I did a little research and hailing from the musical epicentre that is Liverpool, they say they want you to feel the groove, move to the music, sing your lungs out and come back for more.  Judging by the crowd reaction, I think they achieved that, we can definitely ‘Be more Voodoo!’

Next up taking to the stage the youngest band of the day, Zac and The New Men.  Another band I’d not seen before, these guys are from South Wales and they continued the bluesy heavy rock vibe but in a very different way.  First thing I noticed was the 70’s inspired wardrobe, singer Zac taking to stage in a long fur coat, with James on bass in flares and a floral shirt.  Great look, it vibes their musical style perfectly.  For the first couple of tracks the sound wasn’t the best, too much bass for me to clearly hear the vocal, but a lot of effort and energy went into the ambitious cover of Immigrant Song and I still enjoyed it.  The sound was bang on by track 3 which was Embers, a slower number which really gave me the opportunity to hear Zac’s voice to its full potential. I absolutely loved watching the band jump up and down in sync for their final song Begging for More, great to watch as well as listen to, you’d remember you’ve seen Zac and The New Men, these guys have a bright future ahead I reckon!    By now the room was full and we didn’t have the awkward gap right at the front on the stage where no one wants to be the first to block everyone’s view.  Kinstrife arrived and brought a different vibe to the stage, this was powerful heavy rock with a deep south edge even though they are actually from Hereford! Someone more eloquent than me said the singer Mike’s voice sounded like it was ‘soaked in whisky and razor blades, in a good way’, so I nicked that quote seeing as I had just written down ‘gravelly’   I also noted he was very smiley and looked like he was having a blast.  I love that! Give out the vibes you want back and they will come! Very melodic sound, reminiscent in parts of Thin Lizzy, I also got Pearl Jam vibes. They whipped through 6 tracks starting with Intervention and ending with Make Me, with a particular highlight being Ground Hammer which went out to anyone who is or has ever been in the Forces.   It’s now 2.30pm and by now I’d say the room was as full as it could be, not many stragglers left to arrive, even those coming here from StoneDead had made it so the atmosphere was great, everything was still pretty much on schedule.

Just to make sure you didn’t have a mid afternoon slump after grabbing some lunch, in came three piece The Dukes Of Bordello bringing fast paced, high energy, loads of fun and a huge stand up double bass!  This was more of a rock/punk vibe, their set started with the appropriate ‘All In The Name Of Rock n Roll’, with a song dedicated to Wilko Johnson as well, they manage a whopping 9 tracks in their half hour slot! I told you it was fast paced!   So how do you follow that?  Well next up is the first band of the day that I’m not seeing for the first time and I already know and love.  And they are my pals so I already know I’ll be singing along and wiggling my bum for the next half hour.  Bringing the pleasure without the beach from Blackpool, hopefully by now everyone knows how to pronounce it properly, as Pete K Mally puts it so perfectly, the ‘incredible’ three piece A’Priori take to the stage.  One of the best looking bands on the scene, with more hair flicking than a Timotei advert, however they aren’t just style, there is substance here as well. This is hard rock with a mega groovy edge to it.  I always think Tony’s vocal has a bit of a Myles Kennedy feel to it, but not so whiny (yes I get bored with too much of Myles, I know… unpopular opinion alert!) Anyway, no boredom here, they kick off with the catchy little number Shotgun Blues from their latest album House of Cards, which even if you didn’t know it, you’d be singing along to the chorus straight away, and then get even groovier and a little darker with Black Church, Better Man and Halo from their first album.  Dropping back into the second album my personal favourite Making Love To the Devil leads nicely into the one that gets everyone singing if they aren’t already, this is Nah Nah Nah Nah, always accompanied by a fan in the audience playing their tambourine, because they can’t do absolutely everything .  The sound that comes from this stage is bigger than three people should naturally be able to create, and when it came to that point in the set when Tony says that next up is the last song, there’s a huge “boo” from the audience.  They wanted more, and I gotta say, half an hour wasn’t enough, but they finished strong with Wasted Years and I remember Pete seeing them off stage saying that they never disappoint, and I concur.

I don’t know what it is about RockWich, but whoever books the bands needs a high five, because every band today seems to bring high energy, there’s no chance of getting distracted or having a chill moment, other than between bands and I guess that’s the beauty of one stage.  Chance to replenish the drinks and have a little chat, and hats off to the bar staff because there was never a long wait and that is something I massively appreciate, everything seems easy and stress free here, I love it!

The next band on takes things in another different direction, this is where it gets a little heavier!  Lords Of Ruin hail from the North Of England and definitely bring a bit more metal into their hard rock, even a little Viking vibe going on!  After a small technical hitch they belted out big tunes kicking off with Decay, into Broken Dreams and Man I Am.  Dox on vocals has a stunning voice, so even though this isn’t necessarily my favourite genre, they put on a fantastic show so I couldn’t help but get drawn in.  My good friend Sally Hetty is a massive fan, and she said she’d have come for them alone and they were band of the day for her.  They followed through with tracks Walk The Line, Universal and finished strong with their debut single and fan fave ‘In From The Cold’.  The crowd loved them, they sang and they cheered and they left their mark for sure.   You’ll find I haven’t got a bad word to say about any band on this line up, which is precisely why I needed to be here.

Before they even took to the stage, I knew Daxx & Roxane would bring every bit of energy they have, and of course they did. The band are now two albums strong and driven by live performances that knock your socks off.  Their set started strong with Interstellar and then followed with Strange Woman and Get To It from their self titled second album.  They are high energy, fast paced, good time rock n roll and they plough through into Grind, the brand new track Faceless and finish strong with Wrong Side.  They probably should have had a longer set, but they totally made the most of the time they had and blew the roof off.

Talking about longer sets, this is the point at which we start on the 40 minute band sets and kicking off the evening shows we have Takeaway Thieves, another band from Blackpool here to ‘illuminate’ the stage (groan, yes I know that was lame ).  Described as classic rock with a punk edge in my opinion definitely sleaze vibes, these guys were a pleasure to watch as all five of them they didn’t stop moving all over the stage throughout the set which kicked off with ‘13 Feathers’ from their 2021 self titled album.  With its tribal drum beat, 13 Feathers will definitely set you free for sure and the crowd were singing back at them and arm waving throughout.  The sound wasn’t perfect for the first couple of songs, but that got sorted and they played multiple tracks from this album and included a newbie Sundance to Sundown into the mix, to finish superbly with ‘This Is Rock n Roll’ from their 2019 EP of the same name.   It’s definitely hot in the room so worth getting some cool air and a little time out because the high energy train we are on is not stopping any time soon.

Coming up next we have one of my all time faves and very good friends of mine, all the way from Durham, the epic Twister.  They’ve been working hard to nail the line up and I’ve been super excited to see the results of all the work they’ve put in and with newbie James on guitar the four piece are solid as a rock and tight AF. Even without all the fancy video screen Marshall stacks they usually have on stage, the intro sets the scene and builds up the anticipation for the band to kick off heavy and hard with Number One single Secrets and Don’t Play Nice from their 2022 EP – Only The Strong Survive. It was also great to hear Own Worst Enemy from the same EP back in the set as well as the classics that we all love from their debut album Cursed and Corrected.  Personal faves such as Trading Hearts, Call To Arms, Monroe and Fist Fight are always crowd winners and I took the time to mooch through the crowd a bit to feel the vibe and the vibe was bangin.  Again, with this band I could always take more than 40 minutes no matter how many millions of times I’ve seen them.  It’s fast paced, hard rock with melodic, anthemic choruses tightly arranged to keep it fresh and engaging throughout.  Frontman Stevie looks to be in his element as the packed crowd sings the lyrics right back. I sang and danced my ass off with my friends so I didn’t even make notes on the exact setlist, but as always they finished strong and left us wanting more, with the far too relatable anthem 64 White Lies.  One night, one goal for the love of you all, they came and they conquered and they thoroughly deserved the massive reaction from the crowd.

This is undeniably the friends of Caz Parker section as more of my buddies take to the stage, all the way from Scotland next up to hit you in the face and ears is She Burns Red.  Probably the tallest rockstar to take the stage today, frontman James is always unmistakable with his red face paint and kilt and somehow manages not to hit the low ceiling despite his classic high jumping moves.  This is a strong set that showcases the twin vocals of James and Andy, starting with Touch and Rise And Fall, and then the more familiar Gone and Copernicus Falls from 2020 EP Take Back Tomorrow and Crosshairs just released this month from their eagerly awaited debut album Out Of Darkness.  They always give 100% energy and passion to their performances and today was no exception, the crowd fed that back to them and it’s always great to see James smiling, as he enjoys it as much as we do.  Again, I was dancing and singing with my friends, so I didn’t take many notes, but I always love hearing my fave Killing Time, and Out Of Darkness finishes the set fabulously.  Keep an eye on these guys, and you’ll see them out on the road in the near future with the next band as well, so no excuses for missing out.   And that’s a perfect segway as She Burns Red will soon be on tour supporting the amazing South Of Salem.  Another band that ideally need a bigger stage than this one, but this is no issue for them, they play like they’re in a stadium whatever stage they take to.

And today is no exception. The room couldn’t have been more packed and the atmosphere is electric! I always assume that everyone has seen South Of Salem by now, but if you haven’t they are just a great hard rock band with a gothy edge.  Anthemic songs with hooky choruses and plenty of opportunity for crowd participation.  Frontman Joey Draper has the audience in the palm of his hands, he looks everyone right in the eye and always gives his cheeky smile, so we can see exactly how much he loves what he does.  They kicked off with Let Us Prey, a few sound issues soon got ironed out and they continued with my personal faves The Hate In Me and Made To Be Mine, with added audience participation of course.  It was great to hear a couple of tracks from the highly anticipated forthcoming second album, Static and the title track Death Of The Party, which kept the set nice a fresh for those of us who have seen them many times before.  But we’re never going to argue with Pretty Little Nightmare and Cold Day in Hell as epic closers.  I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t want to be the band that follows South Of Salem because they have the room rocking from front to back and side to side, but there are no egos here, they do what they do and they do it superbly.  Big love to the boys, they deserve every bit of success that comes their way.

And it’s Cambridgeshire band Hollowstar that have the unenviable task of following, however they bring a totally different vibe, so it’s not comparable.  These guys have a bit more room on stage being a three piece, this is hard fist pumping rock, tight AF with incredibly well crafted songs.  I’ve not been able to see Hollowstar properly until now, so I’m not as familiar with their set, but it’s clear to see there’s excellent musicianship here and I’ll definitely be catching them again. Kicking off with Take It All and Let You Down from their debut 2019 album, the set navigated through to a superb cover of Simple Man that captivated the crowd and finished strong with fan favourite All I Gotta Say.  They kept the crowd happy and left a great vibe in the room ready for the headline act.  And after a day of high energy, superb musicianship it needed a band that would pack a punch and bring a party to close things off and I don’t think there was any doubt that The Treatment could pull this off.  By now, I’m barely taking notes I’m afraid, I’m having a lovely time and not concentrating so hard because I’m just full on enjoying myself.

The Treatment did bring the party, they were on fire tonight as I heard so many people say.  They got straight in with Let’s Get Dirty released in 2018 and then followed with Let It Begin from the Generation Me 2016 album and on to newer tracks Eyes On You and Vampress. There’s high energy from the whole band on stage and plenty of hair flying around so it’s as much a pleasure to watch as listen to.  The encore tracks Get The Party On and Rat Race did a fine job of leaving everyone on a well deserved high after a fabulous day of epic music.   In summary, I’m so glad I made it.

I’m starting to love small festivals much more than the massive ones, mostly because everything is so easy and convenient and that’s something I really appreciate.  When you get that combined with such a stellar line up, I want to thank Prometheus Promotions for making this a superb and enjoyable experience and for all the hard work they put in to making it run so smoothly.  And for having staff that are all friendly and welcoming, things like this matter and make it somewhere I would definitely return to.  I also massively appreciated the kitchen being open for breakfast the following morning to help me wake up properly before heading home. Thank you for doing what you do, keep up the good work, I look forward to seeing what 2024 will bring!