The full line-up for this years MONSTERFEST which takes place at the Ironworks on Friday 15th/ Saturday 16th November has now been confirmed.
Joining headliners GUN will be one of the ‘bands of the moment’ – Massive Wagons who have recently been announced as Friday headliners at the Steelhouse Festival in Wales. The Lancaster band sit neatly in the much touted ‘New Wave of Classic Rock’ that has seen an upsurge in good quality, straight down the middle rock music.
The quintet have been active for a decade now and 2018 was the year the band truly made their mark on the music industry, touring with Status Quo, Dead Daisies and The Wildhearts, and landing at No. 16 in the UK Top 20 with their fourth LP, ‘Full Nelson’. “We’ve always been a band that wanted to be on some kind of upwards trajectory, and if it wasn’t going places, we’d probably knock it on the head,” begins vocalist Barry Mills. “The other years have all been brilliant, but 2018’s been much more productive and professional. We’re really hitting our stride at the moment, it feels great.”
Massive Wagons have come a long way since their humble beginnings. A steady release schedule since day one has certainly not hindered their progress (chalking up an impressive discography with 2011 debut ‘Fire It Up’, 2014’s ‘Fight The System’ and 2016’s ‘Welcome To the World’), the thought that they’d one day be sitting pretty in the charts alongside their childhood heroes seemed like a far-off pipe dream just 12 months ago.
“Our goal when we started was to get a gig in the local rock pub we all drank in,” Barry beams with his trademark humility. Unconcerned with being fashionable , the band share a similarly unpretentious outlook, and are eager to bypass any extraneous bullshit that gets in the way of what ultimately matters; the riffs.
For some of the best Classic Rock from the 1980’s, original Saxon songwriters and members Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson bring Oliver/Dawson Saxon. Formed back in 1995 the band mostly concentrate on Saxon covers following a fairly acrimonious split with Biff Byford’s band.
Those Damn Crows recently released their debut album ‘Murder and the Motive’ on Earache records and bring a slightly heavier sound to the festival, one that fans of Alice in Chains and Creed will undoubtedly appreciate.
Popular Irish rockers Trucker Diablo and Aberdeen blues legend Gerry Jablonski and his Electric Band also join the bill along with
Romeos Daughter who will go down well with anyone who likes a bit of nineties AOR. Completing the line-up are Glasgow’s up and coming Anchor Lane. Described as having, ‘explosive hard rockin’ sounds from a young band with some unforgettable riffs,” by Jim Gellatly they’re a worthy addition to the lineup that is again focusing on blossoming Scottish talent
Dead Man’s Whiskey make their way up from London and are another young band who will be hoping to make an impression on Inverness audiences. Local flavour is also well represented and our own King Kobalt will be sure to beat the crap out of your eardrums with the ferocious live shows that they’re becoming well known for.
On the Thursday night you will be able to catch the Susanna Wolfe Band along with last year’s local representations at Monsterfest, Bad Actress, Annakii and Devils Queen in a special fringe gig at the Tooth and Claw.
Weekend tickets are £55 plus booking fee and are available online from Monsterfest at or at the Ironworks. Saturday tickets will go on sale at a later date.
