The bar for the day is immediately set very high with Wailing Banshee opening Sunday’s shenanigans. Blessed (at least for the time being) by the weather gods, this fine young metal troupe pull an appreciative early crowd lured by the sound of their traditional metal approach, the band capitalising on the time they have to maximum effect.
Read MoreLuna Marble kick off the first full day of this year’s SOS Festival and despite the heavens opening the moment they hit the first note, they don’t let little things like inclement weather dampen their enthusiasm or performance. Delivering a thoroughly engaging groove laden, psychedelic performance both in musical and aesthetic terms, theirs is music suited to the blissed-out Summer’s Day that we should be experiencing were it not for the vagaries of the English climate.
Read MoreTraditionally the beginning of July marks the halfway point in the year, however modern traditions denote it’s also time for SOS Festival. This year is the 15th edition of this annual celebration of rock and metal music in North Manchester, an independent festival run by Lynne Hampson, Mark Appleton, Luke Appleton, Chris Appleton and an army of loyal volunteers.
Read MoreSOS Festival 2023 (30th June to 2nd July 2023 at Whittles@Tokyo, Oldham) – Is it a local event for local people?
Well no, not really. In these days of austerity and the cost of living crisis it’s always handy to have a reasonably-priced festival with a good selection of bands available pretty much on your doorstep.
But what is SOS? Where did it come from? What does it offer? Pull up a chair and get comfortable, and I’ll tell you all about it.
Read MoreSaturday starts for me with Scarsun, a fairly generic alt metal female fronted band. They are doomy and gothy and it turns out this is only their second gig with this singer. She's actually really rather good and it's not bad at all in a gloomy melancholic sort of way.
Read MoreSOS Festival has moved since last time I was able to attend it, and now takes place at Whittles in Oldham. This gives them better staging, but overall slightly less space, and I’m still undecided on if this is a good thing or not. On the plus side,: there is a cheap bar, a food van, plenty of merch space and even room for a couple of traders. The minus is that o
Read MoreWow. These festivals are coming thick and fast now. After working a non-rock/metal festival last weekend (followed by a failed attempt to get to a christening on Sunday and a two-day wedding), I find myself awake mid-morning Friday with a full weekend of SOSFest at Whittles and Tokyo in Oldham to look forward to.
Read MoreDay 3 starts with a stonking set from Atlas. I reviewed them at some length fairly recently so I won’t bore on about them too much. Suffice to say they were just as good as last time, Craig still has a fabulous voice, I still think they would be improved with more backing vocals and I enjoyed them very much. My friend said that although their songs are good they have not yet written their That Song, and I kind of agree.
Read MoreAnother mad dash up the motorway for me, and much to my delight I managed to catch all bar the first song of openers Hell’s Gazelles. They are a young band from Oxfordshire who play traditional metal – big riffs and soaring vocals abound. There’s been a line-up change since I saw them last but stalwarts Nate (guitar) and Cole (vocal) are still holding the whole thing together nicely.
Read MoreThis year sees the 12th edition of Manchester’s SOS (School’s Out for Summer) Festival, and it will be the 5th one I have attended. The festival was originally envisioned by Lynne Hampson from Rocksector Records to be a family-friendly indoor gig. It continues on that basis to the present day, providing a platform for local bands whilst also adding some national and international acts into the mix.
Read More
