Well then, butt…

WE’RE GOING BACK UP THE MOUNTAIN! 🔥🎸

The Riff Report Blog is officially heading to STEELHOUSE FESTIVAL — and if there’s one festival that feels properly close to home for us, it’s this glorious rock ’n’ roll gathering high above the South Wales valleys.

Forget fancy city-centre venues.

Forget sensible footwear.

Forget flat ground entirely.

This is Steelhouse.

Rock music on top of a bloody mountain. 🏔️😂

And The Riff Report will be there covering the whole beautiful, loud, unpredictable weekend.

🏴 WELCOME BACK TO THE MOUNTAIN

There’s something genuinely special about Steelhouse.

You make the journey up the mountain, eventually reach the top and suddenly find yourself surrounded by thousands of rock fans, tents, battle jackets, Welsh flags and one absolutely magnificent stage.

Then the guitars start.

Tidy.

Steelhouse has built a community and atmosphere that feels different from the giant festivals.

It’s intimate enough that you keep bumping into the same people.

Big enough to attract some cracking bands.

And Welsh enough that the weather can go from glorious sunshine to “WHERE’S MY BLOODY WATERPROOF?” without warning. 🌧️😂

For The Riff Report, this isn’t just another festival.

This is home turf. 🏴

🎸 WHAT WILL THE RIFF REPORT BE COVERING?

Basically…

EVERYTHING WE CAN GET OUR RIFF-LOVING HANDS ON.

We’ll be wandering around the mountain bringing you the bands, the people, the atmosphere and all those ridiculous little moments that make Steelhouse weekend so special.

🤘 LIVE BAND REVIEWS

First and foremost…

THE RIFFS.

We’ll be watching bands throughout the weekend and bringing you our thoughts from the mountain.

From the opening acts through to the huge evening performances, we want to celebrate the artists giving Steelhouse everything they’ve got.

Expect riffs, solos, crowd singalongs, massive choruses and plenty of:

“BLOODY HELL, THEY WERE GOOD!”

And because Steelhouse has one main stage, there’s no sprinting across a festival site desperately trying to catch two bands playing simultaneously.

Pick your spot.

Grab your drink.

Watch the bands.

Proper job. 🍺🤘

🎤 INTERVIEWS

We’ll also be looking to catch up with some of the artists appearing across the weekend.

We want to talk new music.

Touring.

Steelhouse.

Welsh crowds.

Festival stories.

And whatever else happens once the sensible interview questions inevitably disappear. 😂

There’s something brilliant about chatting with musicians at festivals because everybody is living in the same little rock ’n’ roll world for the weekend.

🎸 THE BANDS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Steelhouse has always been brilliant for discovery.

You might arrive desperate to see one of the big names…

…and leave talking about a band you’d barely heard of before the weekend.

That’s exactly the stuff The Riff Report loves.

We’ll be shouting about the established favourites, but we’ll also be keeping an eye on the artists further down the bill.

If somebody walks onto that stage and absolutely tears the mountain apart…

you’ll hear about it from us.

📸 LIFE ON THE MOUNTAIN

Steelhouse isn’t just the bands.

The location is part of the festival.

There aren’t many places where you can watch rock bands while standing on top of a Welsh mountain surrounded by some absolutely gorgeous scenery.

When you can actually see it through the clouds, obviously. 😂🌧️

We’ll be capturing the atmosphere throughout the weekend — the crowds, the campsite, the views and those little Steelhouse moments you simply don’t get anywhere else.

🏕️ CAMPING CHAOS

There is festival camping.

And then there is…

STEELHOUSE CAMPING.

You’ve made it up the mountain.

You’ve found somewhere for the tent.

The camping chair is out.

Someone nearby has already opened a beer.

And suddenly you’ve got neighbours you’ve never met before who’ll probably be your mates by Sunday night.

That community spirit is a huge part of Steelhouse.

We’ll be getting amongst it.

🍔 FOOD, DRINK AND FESTIVAL FUEL

Watching rock bands all day requires serious nutritional planning.

By which we obviously mean:

“Where’s the nearest burger?” 🍔

We’ll be checking out what’s available around the festival for those moments when your body finally informs you that beer and guitar solos don’t technically count as a balanced diet.

Coffee will also be important.

Very important.

Festival mornings are cruel things. 😂☕

👕 MERCH, TRADERS AND THE INEVITABLE T-SHIRT PURCHASE

Every year we tell ourselves the same thing.

“We don’t need another band shirt.”

Every year that statement lasts approximately seven minutes.

We’ll be checking out the festival merch, band shirts and traders around Steelhouse.

If you see us walking around on Sunday carrying enough merchandise to open a small shop…

Mind your business. 😂🤘

🤘 THE STEELHOUSE FAMILY

More than anything, we want to celebrate the people who make Steelhouse what it is.

Because this festival has developed a proper community around it.

You recognise faces.

You bump into people from previous years.

Strangers start conversations about bands.

Someone offers you a drink.

Someone else helps with a tent.

And before you know it, you’re standing together singing your lungs out.

That’s rock festivals at their absolute best.

We’ll be chatting with festival-goers, sharing stories and capturing that brilliant Steelhouse spirit throughout the weekend.

📱 FOLLOW THE RIFF REPORT FROM THE MOUNTAIN

We’ll be sharing plenty of festival madness across The Riff Report Blog and our social channels.

Expect photos.

Videos.

Quick reactions.

Band highlights.

Behind-the-scenes moments.

Festival updates.

And probably several increasingly sleep-deprived posts as the weekend progresses. 😂

Then we’ll be bringing everything together with our full coverage from the festival.

🏴 PROUDLY WELSH. PROUDLY LOUD.

There’s another reason this one means so much to us.

Steelhouse is Welsh.

And so are we.

The Riff Report was built to celebrate rock and metal culture with a distinctly Welsh flavour, and having a festival like Steelhouse sitting high above the South Wales valleys is something worth shouting about.

This is our scene.

Our community.

Our mountain.

And we’re bloody proud to be covering it.

🏔️ STEELHOUSE — WE’RE COMING BACK!

Get the tent ready.

Charge the power banks.

Find the waterproofs.

Pack the sun cream too because Wales enjoys keeping everyone guessing.

And make sure there’s enough caffeine to resurrect us every morning.

Because The Riff Report is heading back up the mountain.

We’ll be there celebrating the bands.

Supporting the artists.

Talking to the fans.

Capturing the atmosphere.

And bringing you as much Steelhouse Festival madness as physically possible.

STEELHOUSE FESTIVAL…

THE RIFF REPORT IS COMING! 🏔️🔥🤘

See you on the mountain, butt.

YESS MUN! 🏴🎸

🏴 Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud.

🎸 The Riff Report Blog