By The Riff Report Blog – screaming into the void since Lemmy turned it up to 11 🤘
After Friday’s inferno of face-melting madness, Saturday at Maid of Stone roared to life like a phoenix made of Marshall stacks and BBQ smoke. If you thought you’d have time to recover — HA! Not a chance, butt. Saturday was full throttle from the first chord to the final encore.
Here’s the lowdown on a Saturday that made the flames on the poster look like a scented candle. 🔥🎸
🏆 SATURDAY HEADLINER: UGLY KID JOE
Genre: Hard Rock / Funk Metal / ’90s Mayhem
Oh. My. Dio. These Californians rolled in with nostalgic swagger and left zero prisoners. Frontman Whitfield Crane brought buckets of energy and a massive grin as the band tore through hits like “Everything About You” and “Cats in the Cradle” — and the crowd sang every bloody word like it was 1992 all over again.
🎤 Crowd Highlight: A mass singalong that could’ve summoned the ghost of Freddie Mercury.
🔥 Riff Rating: Filthy and FUNKY.
🤘 CO-HEADLINERS: THOSE DAMN CROWS
Genre: Anthemic Welsh Rock
The pride of Bridgend were back to burn the place down, and they did just that. Shane Greenhall’s vocals hit harder than a rugby tackle on Black Mountain.
Crowd surfing? Check. Fist-pumping choruses? Check. Welsh flags flying everywhere? Lush.
🏴 Shoutout: When Shane belted out “This Time I’m Ready”, grown men wept into their pints.
💀 Merch spotted: “Crows Before Bros” T-shirts everywhere.
⚡ MAIN SUPPORT: STONE BROKEN
Genre: Modern Hard Rock
Punchy, polished, and primed for stadiums, Stone Broken proved exactly why they’re one of the UK’s best rising live bands. Tight as hell and catchy as sin.
🎶 “The Only Thing I Need” had the crowd bouncing like it was the Download main stage.
🎸 Guitars? Chunky. Hooks? Hookier than a pirate convention.
🔥 MIDDAY RIFF-FRENZY
🎵 THE TREATMENT
Genre: Classic Rock Revival
These lads channel the spirit of AC/DC with modern bite. Riffs that make your head bang involuntarily and choruses designed for car stereos.
🎵 GIN ANNIE
Genre: Sleaze Rock
High kicks, tight pants, and guitar solos that smell like Jack Daniels. Enough said.
🎵 RUTHLESS
Genre: Heavy Metal
A surprise banger. Imagine Judas Priest and Metallica having a riff-off in a burning pub.
🧨 SATURDAY SURPRISE: DEAD MAN’S WHISKEY
They weren’t on everyone’s radar before, but holy hell they should be now. These boys brought the grit, the growl, and the glory, ripping through their set with dirty riffs and whiskey-soaked vocals. One of the breakout sets of the entire weekend.
🎤 “Racing Bullet” = absolute banger.
💬 Crowd review: “They just turned me into a fan. And I lost a shoe.”
🎪 SECOND STAGE RIOT:
Don’t sleep on the second stage – it was an absolute warzone of rising talent and riff carnage:
- SOUTH OF SALEM – Horror glam + face-melting solos = crowd chaos.
- WHITE RAVEN DOWN – Modern groove-metal goodness.
- TOM KILLNER BAND – Bluesy, raw, and totally rock ‘n roll.
- EMPYRE – Atmospheric, brooding hard rock. For fans of Alter Bridge and epic vibes.
🍺 SATURDAY STATS
- Jägerbombs consumed: Scientists are still calculating.
- Flags waved: 32. Mostly Welsh. One with a cat playing a banjo.
- Mosh pit injuries: Minor bruises. One dislocated air guitar.
- Volume Level: Somewhere between “LOUD” and “CALL AN EXORCIST”.
🎤 FINAL VERDICT?
Saturday was a day of legends and new heroes. From the iconic swagger of Ugly Kid Joe to the Welsh anthemic power of Those Damn Crows, this was a line-up that hit every corner of rock and left us gasping for air and begging for more.
The riffs were heavy. The beer was flowing. The crowd? Utterly electric.
We came. We moshed. We conquered.
Tell us in the comments:
Who was your band of the day? What moment gave you goosebumps? And did anyone else see the guy dressed as Lemmy on stilts? 🤘🔥
#MaidOfStoneSaturday #UglyKidJoeChaos #ThoseDamnCrowsFlyHigh #StoneBrokenTheStage #FestivalOfFire
