Maid Of Stone Festival 2024 / Sunday Review, Part Two

Maid Of Stone Festival 2024 – Sunday Review, Part Two. The final afternoon of the final day at Maid Of Stone was upon us. Back over on the Phoenix Stage, a crowd had built for Massive Wagons.

Maid Of Stone Festival

Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent – Sunday 21 July 2024

Massive Wagons

The boisterous Lancastrian rockers are on their sixth album now, and you know exactly what you are going to get. What they lack in finesse, they make up for in enthusiasm and gusto and have always been crowd pleasers, which explains their eternal popularity at festivals.

There is no question of anything half-hearted here as frontman Baz Mills blasts across the stage like a whirlwind, pulling everyone in his wake. The crowd are here for a party, and the Wagons oblige.

Living Colour

Having continued in the footsteps and built on the groundwork of groundbreaking bands like Mother’s Finest and Fishbone, there is no finer band that blends hard rock, funk and soul on the planet than Living Colour.

It is a curious sight, but the vision of a sea of all ages losing their mind to the quartet as they bring their sonic boombox to roaring life is one to lift the heart, people alternately jumping, throwing shapes and dancing whilst headbanging, taxing the coordination.

Favourites in the form of a still angry and apposite Open Letter (To A Landlord), joyous Glamour Boys and the stuttering Love Rears Its Ugly Head all hit the spot.

A run including Kick Out The Jams, White Lines (Don’t Do It), Apache and The Message bring a righteous groove. Of course, there’s always THAT riff to Cult Of Personality to provide the icing on this particular cake and Vernon Reid tears it out as Corey Glover croons words arguably more relevant than ever. Magnificent.

Larkin Poe

To close proceedings on the Phoenix stage we welcomed Larkin Poe who have an excellent reputation in the UK for their special blend of bluesy roots ‘n’ roll heavy with lap steel and coloured with folk influences.

What many people did not realise until this set was how hard they can rock and what a stunning and dynamic live act they are. Rebecca Lovell’s clear, rich voice and overdriven Stratocaster, sister Megan Lovell’s tremendous lap steel and vocals, all backed up by a full band, are absolutely headline-worthy.

With every single song accompanied by a standout riff, the songs from Grammy-winning Blood Harmony, such as Bad Spell, Southern Comfort and Kick The Blues, show how well deserved that award was.

Sheer class and a brilliant show. 

Mr. Big

With two hours until they were due onstage, a Facebook post by Billy Sheehan cast a major question over whether Mr. Big would play, his news that singer Eric Martin was in hospital following an accident causing some major worries.

Thankfully, come show time, all four members of the band were present, with Martin arriving from Maidstone hospital with less than half an hour to show time strapped up and presumably with some good pain relief.

While the backstage area was surrounded by paramedics and an ambulance just in case, Addicted To That Rush was a suitably ballsy opening, Paul Gilbert’s flying fretwork setting the pace for all to come.

As attested to by anyone who caught them on their earlier UK dates, while the band are masters at the art of delicious melodies and hooks, they certainly know how to put the hammer down, and Colorado Bulldog and their take on Talas staple Shy Boy were earth-shaking.

Kudos to Martin for going the distance, being visibly in discomfort at times. What admirable dedication to keeping the show on the road.

With the upbeat Green Tinted Sixties Mind and a gorgeous To Be With You winning hearts and minds, the closing cover of Baba O’Riley brought the night and the festival itself to a glorious conclusion.

They may be on their final trip around the globe, but Mr. Big are still making memories to last a lifetime.

Maid Of Stone Festival 2024 / Sunday Review, Part One

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MAID OF STONE FESTIVAL 2024

The Maid Of Stone Festival 2024 edition will find 39 bands gracing the stage at Mote Park between 19 and 21 July 2024. Gun, Wolfmother and Mr. Big are the headline acts on what has become, over the years, a must-attend event for music lovers.

MetalTalk’s Maid Of Stone 2024 coverage can be found at https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/maid-of-stone-festival-2024.

This year’s MetalTalk team is:

Liz Medhurst

Paul Monkhouse

Photography: 

Robert Sutton

For MetalTalk’s Maid Of Stone 2023 coverage, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/maid-of-stone-festival-2023.

Maid Of Stone Website – maidofstonefestival.com

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