The final day of Winters End kicked off with the amazing Scruffy Bear. Bringing a mixture of both grunge and heavy blues to the typical rock sound of the weekend was awesome. And the band put on a good show too, especially front-woman Georgy, I don’t think I saw her stand still even for a second! They were a fantastic choice to open up the day and blow everyone’s cobwebs away ready for the rest of the bands. However, they were certainly excellent in their own right and a band I would massively suggest going to see the next time they’re nearby!
Afterwards was blues guitarist/vocalist virtuoso Ashley Sherlock and his band. His stuff comes across a bit heavier live, and I thought the vibe was generally more upbeat and fun than what I was expecting from his studio stuff. He’s a born entertainer and he had a really relaxed swagger about him that made him pretty endearing to watch. And he’s a phenomenal player, performer and writer, as are his bassist and drummer. I found myself getting lost in the set and simply enjoying watching, which is always a good sign. Hopefully we can see him again soon, as his live show was so good!
A more 80s inspired sound followed with Trucker Diablo. I’ve been into the band for a while and they never fail to disappoint. They very much wear their NWOBHM influences on their sleeve and play a modern version of the sound that is great to hear. Of course the crowd loved it too, and plenty were already very familiar with the band and their songs. Another solid band for the last afternoon!
Before the break our friends at The Howling Tides took to the stage. Being the last gig that we saw back in December, their set at The Bodga was still fresh in my mind. They did just as fantastically here as they did there. These four guys really have something special going on, and are going from strength to strength quickly. I can see them being a massive name in the scene sooner rather than later. And sets like this are why. They sounded amazing, put on a hell of a show and had the crowd in the palm of their hands throughout. And it helps that their songs are grungy, heavy blues awesomeness. I get ‘Blue Moon’ stuck in my head rather regularly over the last few months! One of the best bands of the weekend for me, and already want to see them again!
After the break, we returned just in time to see Dead Man’s Whiskey. One of the highlights of Winter Rocks a couple of years ago, I was excited to see them again! Especially with how good their last album was. They were great here, too! The new tracks worked perfectly in their set, while fan favourites like the insanely emotional ‘Make You Proud’ or closer ‘Racing Bullet’ also go down a storm as always. The band are all insanely talented and born performers, playing to a packed out crowd. I’m really hoping they can continue to capitalise on the hype from their last album and grow massive like they deserve to!
We sadly only caught bits of Hillbilly Vegas as we were off eating. From what we saw though they seemed good fun! A more traditional rock n’ roll feel to them and the crowd seemed to be enjoying them. I’d never heard of them before they were announced but they clearly have quite the following, both here and in the US, so I’ll have to check more out from them!
Then, we reached the final headliner and a lot of people’s most anticipated band, Those Damn Crows. Much like Massive Wagons, the band have a phenomenal live reputation to live up to, and they did it effortlessly here. Potentially the biggest band int he NWOCR scene today, they played their incredible songs to a sold out crowd. They could just come out, play songs like ‘Who Did It’ and ‘See You Again’ and leave, and I would still love it. But the fact that the band put on a high energy, fun show to boot is incredible.
Shane is such an effortlessly entertaining and likeable frontman that it’s impossible not to route for the bands every success. And, of course, he found something to climb again, scaling the speakers at the side of the stage. And he counteracted it perfectly with their more slower, ballad tracks, being stuck behind the piano. It was yet another phenomenal set from the band. If you haven’t seen them before, or have still anyway, go and see them as soon as you can. You’ll experience one of the best live shows you’ll see.