Hinckley Music Festival 2014
Page last updated: 28th July 2014
See a slide show of photos from the festival taken by Kevin Gaughan ∏
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Review by Kevin Gaughan
Friday 11th July 2014
The Bench that Rocked, Stage 2 @17:00
With the un-enviable task of opening the festival for the weekend, were The Bench that Rocked, a young, but extremely talented group of four lads from Leicestershire playing rock biased music.
Sporting a brand new drummer, the band were on top form and played mostly covers with a couple of their own songs. As they were the first band on for the weekend, the crowd was minimal, but that didn’t stop them from making a damned fine sound, if a bit more self-conscious than I’ve seen them before.
Internal Conflict, Stage 1 @ 18:15
Opening the main stage for the weekend were Internal Conflict, a five piece hardcore/metal core band from Leicester.
With Adam Kyle on lead growling duties, this band performed with the ferocity and showmanship of a solid hardcore band who clearly mean business. Making sure Hinckley, and most of Leicestershire, for that matter, are in no doubt that Hinckley Music Festival 2014 has started!
Nuala, Stage 3 @ 18:20
Meanwhile, a quick hop into the acoustic marquee revealed Nuala, a talented singer-song-writer from the nearby village of Earl Shilton.
Although small in stature, Nuala’s voice seems much greater than the sum of its parts, meaty, powerful, and full of emotion, hard to believe it is emanating from such a petite frame. Nuala enchanted the small but growing crowd with some of her own songs which are a pleasure to listen to and very catchy in nature.
My first visit to the acoustic tent was a pleasant one. As well as Nuala, I spotted the bar in the far corner which served a couple of locally brewed ales as well as cider and lager.
Spirytus, Stage 1 @ 21:00
A five-piece ‘groove metal’ band from Nottingham. If this is ‘groove metal’ then I like it! A fusion of rock/funk with some screamo and notable bass playing with oodles of enthusiasm was hugely entertaining to watch.
The pounding bass and rock riffs were immensely addictive and provided some good sounds to get the crowd going.
Saturday 12th July 2014
Moretallica, Stage 2 @ 12:30
Starting off the proceedings on stage two on Saturday were Moretallica, a four piece Metallica tribute band from Leicester.
Performing songs from across Metallica’s 30 year back catalogue, Moretallica performed them true to life, hitting the Hinckley Music Festival audience hard and heavy, especially for a Saturday lunch time. Sounding authentic and looking like they mean business, although nothing like the real McCoy. They were a treat to my heavy metal ears and a great way to start a Saturday.
The Furies, Stage 1 @ 13:15
Mellowing the pace down a little were The Furies, a four-piece indie/rock band from Leicester who may or may not be splitting up soon.
The Furies, with their commercial-sounding rock, featuring notable vocals from Mr Alex Beattie performed some impeccable songs, all with catchy riffs which went down well with the growing audience.
Resin, Stage 1 @ 16:00
Resin, a five-piece grunge/rock band from Leicestershire are rapidly growing in popularity. Also well-known for performing their rather seductive acoustic set, today they performed their rip-roaring guitar solo infused electric set. Resin was on top at Hinckley Music Festival, performing a mix of their own Queens of the Stone Age and Seether inspired songs as well as a couple of carefully chosen and definitely not the usual run-of-the-mill covers.
The sun was scorching at this point and so was Chez’s guitar as he churned out some mesmerizing guitar solos as you can see in the video of the classic Pearl Jam’s Alive (below).
Next stop for Resin, as they are quite rightly very proud of, is supporting Down, Megadeth and Saxon at Bloodstock 2014 and then on to support Marilyn Manson, The Cult and Gary Numan at Alt Fest in Aug 2014.
Skam, Stage 1 @ 17:15
It was one of Leicester’s long-established and finest rock bands, Skam’s turn to obliterate the main stage.
With their take on NWOBHM, Skam are never short of a blistering guitar solo in pretty much all of their songs. Coupled with on-stage antics, these guys make for compelling viewing. Skam, a three piece from Leicester, performed mainly their own material, complimented by a cover of AC/DC’s ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’ which went down well with the air-guitar wielding rockers in the crowd.
Steve Faulkner, Stage 3 @ 19:35
Renowned Leicestershire singer-songwriter, Steve Faulkner, was having a busy weekend at Hinckley Music Festival. Not only was he organising all the bands and musicians for the weekend, he also performed in his own right in the acoustic marquee, otherwise known as stage 3.
Putting in an energetic and lively performance, it was a joy to watch this talented young man. He clearly puts his all into his performance as you couldn’t help but feel the heart-felt emotions of every song. My highlight was when Steve performed the classic, Billy Jean, by Michael Jackson (see video below).
Watch this video of Steve Faulkner.
The Social Ignition, Stage 1 @20:30
The Social Ignition were the first of two Ska bands to headline stage 1 on Saturday night. An eight-piece band from just down the road in Hinckley, the Social Ignition got the Hinckley Music Festival crowd on their feet, skanking to the great fun Ska sounds from this band.
It was good to see all eight members of the band clearly having a good time which was echoed by the audience. Dick, on vocals, chose to sip his beer while performing which he then ended up wearing when a football was kicked from the audience (see video below) which provided for a humorous turn of events. All in all, however, it was a good fun, lively set by The Social Ignition, hugely appreciated by the audience.
See also:
Leicester Music Festival 2014, our report
