HOLY CRAP, THAT IS HOW YOU DO A FESTIVAL SLOT. Geordie pagan metal band LN blew the absolute roof off the place, and were a lot of peoples band of the weekend. It was clear the crowd had reservations when the band came on stage; they certainly aren’t the sort of style the festival usually books! However, the sheer talent, stage-presence and work ethic of the band won everyone over in no time! Frontwoman Ellen in particular was phenomenal, embodying her character and stage persona perfectly and really had the crowd loving it and interacting plenty. I’d never heard of the band before that day, and honestly was a little bummed that I wasn’t getting to see Any Given Sin, but I’ve come away as a HUGE fan of the band, and already have plans to see them again in June. Easily one of the highlights of the weekend.
Having a very tough act to follow, Devere were completely different and did a good job winning fans back over to the more glam/AOR style of the festival. The band’s sound and style feel ripped right from the 80s, in a good way, but did also get surprisingly heavy at times. They were a lot of fun to watch and put on a great show in their own right. As I said, they were a little more the crowd’s speed, and definitely held everyone’s attention. Think Motley Crue meets Guns’n’Roses, but with a more modern edge to it. It was great stuff, and it’s certainly made me check them out on track!
Serpentyne sadly had it a little rough. Between another curse of the backing tracksand them having a lot of moving parts anyway, their sound wasn’t great and they ended up going on late. I think because of this, it did discourage the band just a tad. Because of that, the set felt a little low energy. It’s a shame too as I really quite enjoyed the band on track. They’ve been going for years at this point so clearly have a proven track record, but I didn’t quite get it here, sadly!
After a short break, our good friends Muddibrooke took to the stage. You wouldn’t have thought they’d drafted in a stand-in drummer last minute with minimal prep time, as they sounded as fantastic as ever. Ripping through an awesome set of punk and grunge-tinged rock music, they had the crowd on their side from start to end. The band are really going from strength to strength at the minute, and that really feels thanks in large part to their incredible live shows. Their high energy and genuine likability is infectious, and both Harriet and Anna are incredible performers. I have a great time every time I see them, and this was no exception!
We’d sadly missed most of Beaux Gris Gris and the Apocalypse at The Long Road a couple of years back, only catching a couple of songs, so to finally get to see them live fully was awesome! The fact that they were THIS GOOD too was even better! They are the very definition of a good time, and have come so far since I last saw them, it feels! Whether it was slower, ballady-er stuff or more up-tempo stompers, it was all performed amazingly and sounded fantastic. Plus, their cover of QOTSA’s ‘Make it Wit Chu’ is arguably better than the original! She’s a hugely charismatic front-woman who held the crowd’s attention throughout, and really performed her ass off. But that’s not to take away from the rest of the band either, who sounded great and fit the parts well. They were another band that I wasn’t sure how well they’d go down on the bill, but the crowd turned up for them and loved every second, just like I did! Another strong highlight of the weekend!
I love Laurence Jones. I’m a big blues guy, so of course I do! He’s an exceptional guitarist and showed that off in spades throughout the set. He’s also a damn good vocalist and songwriter. However, I do think this was the wrong spot for him on the bill. Having a slower, lower, stomping blues guy on the last night, sandwiched between a high energy Louisiana rock band and a power glam band felt a little like mood-whiplash. Laurence has more than earned his spot, but putting him a little earlier on in the day and kept the party vibes going through the evening may have helped. However, that certainly shouldn’t take away from the set itself. All three of these guys performed amazingly and I loved every second!
I’d been waiting to see HEAT for years, and they certainly didn’t disappoint! I absolutely adore this side of rock music, and HEAT are easily one of the best to do it in modern times. From the moment they took to the stage to the very last note, they were amazing. The crowd loved every second too, singing along and going nuts throughout. Whether it was brand new songs like ‘Disaster’ or ‘Bad Time for Love’ to crowd favourite hits ‘Living On the Run’ and ‘Dangerous Ground’, it was an awesome set through and through! They even brought out their incredible tour support Chez Kane to duet ‘In and Out of Trouble’; a huge high point in the set as both vocals worked so perfectly together and they looked like they were having a blast. The sound was incredible, the power of the band in general was awesome, and you could tell they were all enjoying themselves being up there, only adding to the set. It was, if anything, the perfect set to close out one hell of a weekend!
And there we have it, folks, another edition of Winter’s End in the bag. It was a fantastic weekend packed full of awesome bands and music from bands that we already love, or love a lot since! I’d recommend absolutely every band we checked out, be it live and on track, as I feel everyone would love all of them! Strangely, they haven’t mentioned a 2026 edition yet, but we’ll certainly keep our eyes peeled as we loved this one!