Steelhouse Festival Interviews, Galleries And Review 2018

Somewhere just south of Ebbw Vale there is an unassuming farmers field atop a mountain. For most of the year it is just another part of picturesque Welsh landscape, but, for one weekend a year, it plays host to one the fastest growing events in the British Isles: Steelhouse Festival. What started in 2011 has since grown into the self-proclaimed ‘Welsh International Classic Rock Festival’, attracting some of the biggest names in the genre, yet still giving a stage to up-and-coming acts from all over the UK. From the moment Midlands Metalheads arrived on site the sense of pride in this homegrown success story was obvious. You wouldn’t find the founder of Download helping at the gate, greeting the crowd as they arrived, yet the maestro behind Steelhouse, Max Rhead, was out front and seemed to be known personally to many of the crowd, adding to the strong sense of family that surrounds this festival. Here was a place to share a love of all things that rock with fellow music fans, in a more intimate environment than you would expect from a 5000 strong crowd. Whether you were dancing in front of the stage, at the bar getting a pint of Trooper ale, or even warming up with a mug of tea from Motley Brew, everywhere you went there was an air of camaraderie and warmth. A warmth that was extended to all the bands on the bill, not just the established ones, giving you faith that, regardless of what the naysayers think, rock music isn’t dying anytime soon. So, read on for all the interviews, photographs and reviews from Steelhouse Festival 2018, and find out which bands brought the thunder (quite literally at some points).