After two blistering days of rock ‘n’ roll, Firevolt Rock Festival 2026 reached its final chapter with no sign of slowing down. From the crushing Metal of Pyroclast and the infectious energy of Apriori to the soaring melodies of Cats In Space and FM, Sunday delivered another superb mix of established favourites and rising talent. But it was The Wildhearts who provided the weekend’s defining farewell, with Ginger leading an emotional, triumphant headline performance that brought three unforgettable days to a fitting close.
Firevolt Rock Festival – Sunday 9 August 2026
Words: Dave Bonney
Photography: Richard McCan/Labrat Photos
Mad Haven
Opening the festival’s final day is always the hardest job, I reckon, for any of the bands this weekend. Mad Haven came on stage to a decent reception, albeit from what looked like an audience a little depleted from the previous two days.
Had the previous day’s shenanigans and the heatwave started to take their toll?
This is of course no slight on the band, who put in a sterling 30 minutes of melodic hard rock, just perfect for getting rid of a Sunday morning hangover.
Back from a two-year hiatus, the trio from North Wales have been busy writing new material and Undecided opened up the set, with the hard-hitting rocker giving the crowd an immediate opportunity to join in the punchy, harmonious chorus.
The early birds are here for a reason and eagerly lap up the revolving door of earworms, including Are You Ready, one of the very first songs they ever wrote as 14-year-olds.
A pretty good start, one would say. Preceded by Can’t Let Go, the band’s first-ever ballad apparently, they closed out the set with live favourites Guilty and the anthemic Take Control. Welcome back.
Häxan
Opening up the Trooper stage was another Welsh trio, this time from the South, and the three ladies occupying the stage packed a punch far beyond their weight. I had seen Häxan a couple of times before, albeit not for a good few years now, and their performance today reminded me of what an excellent band they are.
Pocket rocket guitarist/vocalist Sam Bolderson has a mighty voice that has no right emanating from such a small frame, and with the opening song Death Of Me giving off Motörhead vibes, it was enough to wake the dead.
The title track of their 2025 EP was the first of all five tracks included in today’s set and, along with Collide, Thirteenth Hour, Sirens and Burn Alive, represented a heavier, darker direction from what I remembered from the previous gigs I had seen, more befitting of the band’s moniker, maybe.
In between, they managed to fit in Killing Time and the mighty slow-burning Black Sheep into the short set that had the crowd calling for more. I eagerly await my next Häxan show.
Pyroclast
After the disappointment of their no-show at Call Of The Wild festival back in May due to their van giving up the ghost, meaning they did not even make it over the Scottish border, it was great to see Pyroclast back up and rockin again at FireVolt, and damn, do they rock.
The first time I witnessed this band, they went by the name of Tantrum, and they quite simply blew me away. So I promised myself I would keep an eye out for them at future gigs, but the scent went cold.
The reason for that became apparent later on at an all-dayer at the Waterloo in Blackpool when they appeared on stage, this time as Pyroclast. Standing in as a last-minute replacement for Swedish rockers Deville, the band immediately made an impression with their high-energy, no-let-up Heavy Metal, inspired no doubt by the NWOBHM movement, but by adding their own infused heavier modern edge. I believe they have found their niche.
Singer Mark Reid leads the way with his Bruce-like air raid siren, and it would be easy to get lost in the Maiden influence, but there is a lot more going on in the mix here. To these ears, Liam Barrie’s crushing bass tone was the standout of the weekend and coupled with the thunderous drumming of Jack Davenport, they make one hell of a rhythm section machine that propels this band to the top and judging by the crowd reaction, everyone seems to be onside.
Break The Tide from the new album shows the strength of Fractured State, whilst earlier tracks Manifest, Minotaur and W..I.A.L turn the heat up, as if it was not hot enough already.
Chris Horne’s beautiful Solar is built to shred, and that is exactly what he does with it. This guy’s an absolute technician, and in Hellbound Planet, which has a Richie Faulkner-era Priest vibe, he is complemented by excellent riffage from Baz Fitzsimmons. This is a tune!
Ending their far too short set for my liking with Slaughterhouse, Darkest Of Times and the self-titled Pyroclast, where Reid puts the air raid siren to good use, they went out on a massive high.
These guys did not just fill the vacant slot left by Deville; they completely made it their own, and my guess is FireVolt will be seeing the band again sooner rather than later. If you have not yet seen this band, then you really should put that right.
Jack J Hutchinson
If Jack ‘the hat’ Hutchinson is not the busiest man at FireVolt, I will eat my crusty camo shorts. He had already played once today at the small bar stage with his Jam With Jack session, which was the second of two sessions over the weekend, where budding rock stars can get up and join in with Jack playing classics that everyone knows and loves.
It is different shizzle for a festival, and it is great craic, which is well attended for an ungodly 11:15 morning kick-off. As well as being a candidate for the nicest man in rock, Jack is also a fantastic musician whose high-octane bluesy rock ‘n’ roll connects with virtually everyone.
Opening the set with Constellations, Jack J Hutchinson instantly finds his groove, and with Don’t Let The Fuckers Get You Down he was kinda preaching to the converted. Playing a mixture of established songs and new tracks from his upcoming album, including Soul Believer, which is being heavily rotated by Planet Rock Radio at the moment, Jack and his band simply ooze slickness.
Road To Hell literally smoulders in this heatwave, and Days Are Gone and Overdrive were just two of the songs from the well-represented Battles album.
The emotive I Will Follow You, written about his father’s suffering at the hands of dementia, brought a certain hush to the crowd, with everyone paying attention and hanging on every word.
Last song, Call Of The Wild, rounded off a sublime set of blues rock spread right across the spectrum, but not before Jack thanked and gave a shout-out to all the musicians who joined him up on stage for the jam sessions.
A classy move, which is what you would expect from one of the nicest and most talented guys on the scene these days. Until next year Jack.
Apriori
For me, Apriori have got it all. Well, apart from a bass player, that is. The Blackpool three-piece consists of the Lang brothers, Mouse on drums and front man Tony on guitar and vocals, along with Keyboard player Mark Wilson.
Now, the purists need not fret. Though admittedly they are visually different, audibly they are a sonic monolith creating a huge sound which instantly instils four-string amnesia within everyone in attendance.
Add to the mix the fact that aesthetically they are a PR’s dream, what else do they need? Turn It Up instantly raises the temperatures of the front barrier, which consists mainly of adoring females.
There is plenty going on for the fella’s too, with the bands full on sound defying their configuration. These guys knew exactly what they were doing when they wrote Nah Nah Nah Nah, a song which was possibly the interactive peak of the weekend, which saw the audience taking complete ownership of the song.
To these eyes and ears, charismatic frontman Lang sends out vibes of fellow Sandgrownian John Sykes’ persona and guitar prowess with the voice of Myles Kennedy, not too shabby, huh?
Put that together with the relentless, expressive energy of hard-hitting powerhouse that is Mouse and keys man Wilson, who juggles with the band’s atmospherics, creating a wall of sound of huge proportions that propel the likes of Voodoo Love, Shotgun Blues and Making Love To The Devil to dizzy heights.
This set was complete validation, as if they needed it, of the band’s rising trajectory in the UK rock scene, and it surely will not be long until they are considered top tier, a la Those Damn Crows and Massive Wagons.
Roll on the new album from the band. Bad To The Bone drops early next summer, which for many, is far too long to wait.
The Virginmarys
The first time I saw The Virginmarys was at Firevolt ’23, and at that time I did not know what to think. A drummer and a guitarist had me a bit flummoxed, if I am being honest. But three years later and quite a few times on the live circuit, I have definitely been converted. Hallelujah, Hallefuckinlujah, is how the song goes, right?
The duo from just up the road in Macclesfield don’t half make a racket, and this is as raw as it comes. It is not often the drummer is the focal point of a band, but that is very much the case here, with Danny Dolan playing as if his life depends on it.
Championed by Planet Rock, the absolute banger There Ain’t No Future, finds Ally Dickaty literally looking like his head will explode at any minute. The way he screams and spits the words out is pure venom. This guy is intense.
This and When The Lights Go Down are the two standouts for me and are regularly rotated on their airwaves, so pretty much everyone knows the dance.
I think, like me, not everyone gets this band straight away, but resistance is futile, and at some point during the hour-long set, they will get you, and it will click for you.
The Virgin Marys are preaching to the converted, it seems, but if you have not found the faith just yet, your divine intervention awaits. I am not making lists, but these guys were top five of the weekend for me.
Cats In Space
Cats In Space have recently gone through a slight transition, with the departures of Jeff Brown and Dean Howard, being replaced with Chris Childs from Thunder/Tyketto and the illustrious Sam Wood from just about every other band, it seems.
Seriously though, there’s a reason why Sam is one of the most sought-after guitarists out there at the moment, and Greg Hart knows exactly what that is.
Everyone knows what to expect from Cats In Space these days, unless of course you have just dropped in from Mars. Big songs with big hooks, huge choruses and soaring four-part vocal harmonies, overlaid with atmospheric keys, are the DNA make-up of this classic band, and they give it in spades today.
Such are the time constraints of festivals, it is impossible to give everyone everything they want to hear, but they give it a damn good go. Opening with Too Many Gods, Damien Edwards instantly grabs the attention. His astounding voice is almost ethereal and somehow softens the blow of losing Jeff Brown’s backing vocal magic. That’s not to say Jeff is a backing singer by any stretch of the imagination.
New album Suit Of Armour is out on the 6 November, and the first single Miracle, along with Revolution and Not Big in Japan, were all laid bare to a gratefully receiving crowd.
Kickstart The Sun, Thunder In The Night, Greatest Story Never Told and Hologram Man keep up the pomp and grandeur throughout and simply ooze quality songwriting.
Cats In Space are just waiting for the stars to align to send them to the stratospheric levels of stadium stardom that surely beckons.
FM
From one grandiose slab of power pop rock to another with barely a beat missing between them. FM have seemingly been treading the boards forever. In fact, they are into their fourth decade now, with a break of twelve years in between when they recruited Jim Kirkpatrick to replace Chris Overland, so I guess to label them veterans of the stage would by no means be derogatory.
The music, however, still sounds fresh and relevant to this day as it did back in 1984, when the Overland brothers first formed the band. Vocalist Steve Overland is surely a freak of nature, either that or he is a Marvel comic book superhero with a superpower voice. At 66 years old, it literally beggars belief that Overland’s perfectly delivered vocal performance never seems stretched in the slightest at any point during the show.
First song, Digging Up The Dirt, paved the way for an array of classics rolled out one by one to one of the most enthusiastic crowds of the weekend. Killed By Love, Love Lies Dying, and I Belong To The Night had the ladies swooning, and the AOR gem that is That Girl, which was the song of the set for me, predictably brought the biggest cheer of the evening.
The Other Side Of Midnight saw Jem Davis grab the spotlight with his often neglected Keytar, and Let Love Be The leader had the three guitarists, Overland, Kirkpatrick and former Diamond Head bassist Merv ‘The Swerve’ Goldsworthy, all together, stage front, giving the photographers their dream shot.
All My Life, Tough It Out and Turn This Car Around saw out a wonderful hour and a quarter set. In my humble opinion, the only thing that stood in the way of FM joining the big boys of Journey, Foreigner et al, was the geographical factor.
If this band were American, they surely would have burst through to mega stardom in the ’80s. Or maybe if Peter Mensch had bagged the band for Q Prime and took them over the pond with Def Leppard. Now that would have been something.
The Wildhearts
Now, Ginger Wildheart’s health issues have been well documented, not least by the man himself, who has bravely refused treatment for terminal MCL blood cancer. He released a statement back in March which ended with, “I’ll be rocking until the very last moment, no misery please, positivity all the way.”
And that is how it’s been in the three times I have caught him live since then. No misery, only positivity and tonight’s headlining set closing out the festival was no different.
Opening up with two huge anthems in Failure Is The Mother Of Success and the chaotic Suckerpunch was a masterclass in how to grab an audience by their collective throats and demand their attention, not that anybody was not paying attention, by the way.
Ginger waved on a very special guest for the next song, Nothing Ever Changes. Maggie, his beloved Border Collie, was waiting in the wings with his manager and now wife Jane. This is not Maggie’s first rodeo, having bounded on stage at this year’s Download too, and Ginger quips that everyone is more excited to see her than the band.
Maintain Radio Silence and Cheers were both winners in the weekend’s crowd singalong stakes, and you could see Ginger was sucking it all in, loving the moment and feeling the love from the crowd.
He later implored everyone to try and find a little magic in each and every day. He had just found his. Mazel Tov Cocktail carried on the celebrations, again with the crowd in full voice, carrying on when the band had finished.
Spider Beach, Everlone, and Slaughtered Authors paved the way for the final shindig, and the band could not have signed off with a more perfect song than I Wanna Go Where the People Go. The energy from the crowd could have powered a small town for a month.
I am trying hard to find superlatives for what I had just witnessed when really all that needs to be said is what an emotional and poignant performance it was, mixing the fun, energy and triumph with the inevitable sadness the fans are feeling.
Here’s hoping Ginger does a Wilko Johnson and treads the boards for many more times to come.
What a magical end to this year’s FireVolt, which begs the question. How the hell are they going to top that next year?
You can read all MetalTalk’s 2026 coverage of Firevolt Festival at metaltalk.net/tag/firevolt-festival-2026.
The 2027 edition will be from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th August 2027. 3 Days, 2 Stages, One Hell Of An Explosion Of Face Melting Rock. Tickets are available from gigantic.com/firevolt-mcr-festival-tickets. For more details, visit FirevoltFestival.co.uk.
