Day two of Winters End started off with a bang thanks to the utterly fantastic CROWLEY. I’d not heard of the band before, but they gained a massive new fan in me. Their doom-soaked blues/hard rock sound is incredible, and made them one of the heaviest bands of the weekend. Their swaggering stage presence made it almost impossible to take your eyes off the band, too. Of course, Lidya Balaban’s powerful, incredible vocals were a clear highlight, but so were the riffs and the overall stageshow. The whole band are massively talented and I cannot wait to hear more from them. The three singles they have out aren’t enough! They’re gonna be huge, and I’m so glad I got to see them before they explode.
Next up were a local pop-pink-ish band, Ortario. Though they’re not typically the sort of band that would play this festival, they smashed it. I thought they were awesome. They brought a lot of energy to the stage and to the hungover crowd, and their charisma was off the charts. The band were clearly happy to be there as they looked to be having a blast. Every track they played was awesome, and the banter between tracks was a lot of fun. I’m gonna have to see more of the band so hopefully they tour the midlands soon enough!
Another band that we’re familiar with here at Overtone were up before the break; Doomsday Outlaw. We were huge fans of their last album, so to hear a lot of that finally in a live setting was amazing. Phil sounded just as amazing as always and his charisma and performance was amazing. The rest of the band matched his energy, putting on a great show and, more importantly, looking like they were having a blast! Their brand of sleazy southern/country rock is amazing. I’d have happily taken a full 90 minute set from them, but had to sadly settle for just half an hour. Whether it’s newer stuff like ‘Turn Me Loose’ or older classics like ‘One More Sip’, the crowd ate up every second. The band are incapable of having a bad set these days!
Next up was a bittersweet set. King Herd made it onto the bill due to the very unfortunate break taking of The Fallen State. However, they were a fantastic replacement found last minute! The more grungy, slower, moodier sound of the band fit perfectly with the band billed after them. The crowd were big into them, too. I’d never heard of the band before but have been checking them out a lot the last couple of days since I got back. Having only done one album so far, and it being just last year, these guys are gonna get big fast, and I’m certainly a big new fan!
We’ve seen Empyre a lot over the last few years. To say they’ve gotten better and better feels like an understatement. When I first saw them at Rockin’ the Bowl back in 2021 compared to now, they almost seem like a different band. I say almost as they have and always will be a dark, moody rock band. However, the professionalism and polish the band seem to have gained since the release of their latest album is nothing short of incredible. They feel like a band made (and now surely destined) for a huge arena stage. However, their show also so readily fits into a venue like this.
And the crowd were with it from start to end, too. I’d seen lots of their merch around that day, but it felt in the moment like almost everyone was there to see them. I still cannot get over quite how incredible Hendrik’s vocals are, blowing me away every time. Everyone else plays their parts to perfection too, though. There isn’t a doubt in my mind they’ll be headlining these sort of festivals the next time round, they are that good. Another of my bands of the weekend for sure!
Headliners of the Saturday were Stone Broken. The band had taken a little bit of time off after their last album. So, outside of a warmup gig in Blackpool this was their grand triumphant return. It was good fun! The band’s radio-rock sound worked well for the venue, the festival and the crowd as a whole! Rattling off plenty of fan-favourite tracks like ‘Let Me See it All’ and even debut single ‘Save Tomorrow’ alongside a smattering of their latest stuff, it was a great setlist. Being one of the OGs of the NWOCR movement too, the crowd were big into it. And the band put on a generally good show, even complete with some of that weird smoke-pyro substitute. I have to admit that something about it didn’t quite do it for me, but they were still a damn enjoyable watch and worth seeing if you can!