Maid Of Stone Festival – Saturday, Part One. Saturday in Mote Park saw the temperature drop several degrees to a perfect warm day, an escape from the oppressive heat of the day before. The site filled up early, which is one of the benefits of having a lineup packed with high-quality acts. You can read Part Two here.
Maid Of Stone Festival
Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent – Saturday 20 July 2024
Daxx & Roxane
Kicking off the day on the Inferno stage with some primal rock ‘n’ roll, Daxx and Roxane are a blaze of sound and fury, armed with numbers like Evil Eye. The Swiss rockers, now firmly part of the London scene, have embraced the spirit of the music and it comes from every pore.
Hyper-kinetic, guitarist Cal Wymann is a shape-throwing blur as he charges around the stage and Cedric Pfister has the perfect set of whisky-soaked pipes for this brand of biker clubhouse boogie, the band setting a very high bar for everyone to follow.
Scarlet Rebels
With their new album Where The Colours Meet due next month, Scarlet Rebels were out to impress. With dates with Vintage Trouble, amongst others, under their belts, these boys from the Valleys certainly know what they are doing.
Driving and anthemic, this is premier league aspiring hard rock that shows the band are real contenders. But they also bring lyrics with something to say well beyond the usual tropes.
With the ills of society and anger at the previous government in their sights, Dive And Conquer, Take My Breath Away, Secret Drug and new single Let Me In mix loud guitars with big subjects and are not afraid of boundaries. 
The Commoners
The Commoners were on most people’s lists to see, having made quite an impression with their current album, Restless. The Canadians with the southern rock sound are heavy with groove and melody, and the chemistry and connection between band members suggest they were having as good a time as us.
Devil Teasin’ Me and Body And Soul were highlights in a packed set, getting down and dirty and a bit sultry. It’s definitely hotting up in here.
They have got the songs, got the stagecraft and got the rock sensibilities. Nothing common about this, it’s pretty elite stuff. 
South Of Salem
The fires burned as South Of Salem took to the stage – quite literally as the pyro was liberally sprinkled throughout the set. The Bournemouth band really put on a show. It’s dark and gothic but you can sing to it.
They even have cheerleaders, the chant of “F-U-N-E-R-A-L! Lying in a coffin going straight to hell!” in Death Of The Party being one of many highlights.
There are some monster rhythms and major riffs going on, adding up to a powerful and immensely likeable display as frontman Joey shines but never overshadows the rest of the band. There are a lot of crowd pleasers in their set such as Vultures and Let Us Prey, proving that there is plenty of substance to match the style.
VIP bar
It’s not all about the two main stages, of course. Over in the VIP bar, acoustic sets from bluesman Connor Selby and rocker Kim Jennett went down well, a treat to get up close and personal.
With set timings staggered throughout the day, the only clashes were overlaps with the Firestarter stage in the corner of the site, a very refreshing change to be able to catch most of the day’s proceedings.
It wasn’t possible to see all of the cream of emerging bands on the circuit – those we did manage to catch a part of put on great sets. Spyder Byte brought the sleaze of the Sunset Strip to the Kent lunchtime, Blind River grooved hard and heavy, while The Hot One Two leaned into their modern take of the traditional hard rock sound.
Crowley brought their heavy sounds with precision and a steamroller unstoppability. Ashen Reach mixed brutality with soaring choruses, and Ward XVI’s storytelling was executed in a welter of costumes, props and acting that puts you on their nightmarish rollercoaster.
When Rivers Meet
Blues phenomenon’s When Rivers Meet brought their earthy stomp and electricity to an enraptured and swollen audience. It was unfortunate that technical gremlins meant that their set was cut short massively, only allowing for a few songs.
It’s a rare festival that is not hit by problems at some point, but husband and wife team Grace and Aaron Bond and their band delivered the goods in the short time left.
MAID OF STONE FESTIVAL 2024
The Maid Of Stone Festival 2024 edition will find 39 bands gracing the stage at Mote Park between 19 and 21 July 2024. Gun, Wolfmother and Mr. Big are the headline acts on what has become, over the years, a must-attend event for music lovers.
MetalTalk’s Maid Of Stone 2024 coverage can be found at https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/maid-of-stone-festival-2024.
This year’s MetalTalk team is:
Photography:
For MetalTalk’s Maid Of Stone 2023 coverage, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/maid-of-stone-festival-2023.
Maid Of Stone Website – maidofstonefestival.com
