As Spring approaches, music fans all gleefully pack up our fancy dress, air guitars, lady petrol [booze], budgie smugglers and rock T-shirts, excited for the first big festival of our calendar, Legends Of Rock. The exodus to Great Yarmouth’s Vauxhall Holiday Park for the Legends Of Rock Festival has well and truly begun.
Legends Of Rock Festival 2024 – Thursday
Words: Sara Harding and Gavin Archer
Photography: Sally Newhouse
Legends Of Rock 2024: Thursday – Friday – Saturday – Sunday.
This award-winning event, in its twelfth year, is run by rock fans for rock fans and is a mecca for thousands of live music fans from all over the UK. A meeting of bands and rockers where we all live and hang out together in harmony.
With over 50 acts playing over four days, it’s a full-on rock festie (guaranteed no sleep) at the 5-star Vauxhall Park in Great Yarmouth. Set in a lovely woodlands park with a tropical swimming pool, restaurants, arcades, plenty of bars, games rooms and lovely lodges, it really is the place to holiday and party. There is a huge arena that is juxtaposed with the more intimate V lounge, with bands playing non-stop from 11 am until 4 am.
And then there’s the music. The Yates family, lovingly known as The Bastards, cherry-pick the line-ups from the best of the world stage’s breaking, covers and established bands.
If it wasn’t for Legends, I would never have had the pleasure of witnessing These Wicked Rivers, Blind River, Collateral, Brave Rival or living legends like Uli John Roth, Devon Allman, Scott Gorham, Stray or Alabama 3.
The late-night jams feature the creme de la creme of the music scene. Then there are the tribute bands that are so authentic that it’s like witnessing the real deal. They cover everyone from Iron Maiden to Led Zep, from Nirvana to Van Halen. There really is something for everyone, making it a one-stop show for all things rock.
The fans really do make this festival. We are all now firm friends, and any newbies are welcomed instantly. Part of the entertainment is visiting each other’s lodges/caravans to party, jam and play. Our lodge is famous for our curry night mixed with games involving plenty of shots, the odd famous face popping in to play an acoustic gig or challenges to eat the world’s hottest chilli.
The whole shebang kicks off on Thursday with Mr Spanky and the Hipthrusters. This party band featuring the Rev Kenny Petrie, who recently appeared on Britain’s Got Talent, really entertains with a setlist featuring the ultimate musical foreplay to get us all going.
The arena is absolutely packed for this first set of bands, which feature authentic tributes to T Rex, The Beatles and Slade.
All the MetalTalk Legends of Rock 2024 coverage can be read here.
You can relive Legends of Rock 2023 by visiting this link.
For Heavy Metal Legends Of Rock news, click here.
For film at Legends Of Rock, visit Punkrocksal on YouTube.
