Maid of Stone Festival Day One @ Mote Park, Maidstone 17th July 2026
So, Day 1 of Maid of Stone, Kent’s niche rock and blues festival, is upon us. The sun is shining, the temperature is hot, hot, hot, and the atmosphere is perfect for what is usually a perfect three days of great music, happy vibes and rocking and rolling. Although, realistically, for some of us these days, the rolling involves trying to get up off the ground to get moving again.
As for the music, this is the start of three fantastic days of great rock involving those amongst the rock hierarchy and new, up-and-coming bands to discover. With two stages this year, it is fair to say the Punkinfocus team spend a lot of time on their feet.
Cassidy Paris
First up on the main Inferno Stage for the early risers is Cassidy Paris, who hails from Melbourne in Australia. She is the perfect start to the day, feisty, enthusiastic and very exuberant. She plays classic hard rock, mainstream and radio-friendly. Yet she knows how to work the crowd and receives the plaudits for her hard work. The first set of the day at lunchtime is never an easy one to fill, yet she pulls it off with aplomb.
With songs played from her two albums, she sways the audience and the empty spaces fill rapidly. Songs such as Stronger, from Bittersweet, and Here I Am, from her first album, New Sensation, show what she is about as her band rip up the Inferno Stage. Butterfly sees her high-kicking her way around the stage before Watch the Fire closes out the set. Quite simply, an invigorating start to the day.
Anthony Gomes
Next up is guitarist Anthony Gomes from Canada, who provides a more blues-based set. Anthony is quite simply a phenomenal blues-rock guitarist, and the band are clearly built around him as foils for his expertise. Hitting the stage with a bang, they provide a well-tailored set of shredtastic tunes, with Anthony not only likely to win the shred god award for the day, but also the strangest expressions award as he gurns his way throughout the set.
However, it is clear he knows his trade and is well received by the growing audience. Fur Covered Handcuffs is a tongue-in-cheek tune; Praise the Loud is the title track from his latest album and sees the audience singing along to the chorus; and White Trash Princess, preceded by a monologue regarding a girl he met in Tesco’s, is a fine piece of heads-down rock ’n’ roll. He then comes to the ‘Musical Climax of the Programme’ as he closes out the set with a frenzied cover of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love. Certainly, the day is now starting to warm up, not only weatherwise but musically as well.
DeVere
I decide it is now time to switch stages and walk over to the Firestarter Stage to catch DeVere. If there is a band on the bill today that looks as though they’ve rolled the clock back to the eighties, then this is it. They look like everything a rock band should be. The question, of course, is: can they deliver the goods? The answer is a quite resounding… Hell yeah.
This is a band who aren’t afraid to wear their musical colours on their sleeves, and they produce a short but classy set of great old-skool heavy rock tunes. Songs like Empire, Like Lightning and Until the End are strong examples of their ability to craft a song. The songs ring true, providing a refreshing take on the genre. This is a band who are clear on their approach and have a wider plan for how they are approaching their music.
Yes, there is a Rob Halford/Bon Scott feel to some of the vocals, but they very much make these tunes their own, as opposed to sounding like a wannabe band. Having already been successfully received at a number of festivals across the UK, they clearly intended to conquer Maid of Stone, and it is fair to say they succeeded. Definitely one to watch for the future.
The New Roses
From the Firestarter Stage, it is a quick dash back to the Inferno Stage to catch German soft rockers The New Roses. Anyone who has seen this band before knows they are going to be in for a good time. They have all the trademarks of our Teutonic metal cousins and are definitely here to light some musical fires. Opening with Bring the Thunder, they then pile into a raucous cover of Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World, which instantly wins over the audience.
Yet it is their own songs that really stand out. They are renowned for punchy, anthemic tunes, great melodies and providing good-time party vibes. The New Roses are a pure party on their own, and it takes little for them to win over a multitude of new fans.
Admittedly, there is a strong feel of the 1980s about their tunes, and it is as though the eighties have never ended. Perhaps in Germany they haven’t, but there is nothing bad about this. The New Roses are a band with no cruise control. They just pour out full-throttle, good-time rock ’n’ roll with boundless energy.
With songs like The Usual Suspects and Down by the River, it is clear that they were intent on bringing a party to the Park and in that they certainly succeeded.
FM
Next up came all-time rock legends and festival favourites FM. It’s now forty years since they released their stunning first album, Indiscreet, and they have never looked back since, although it is quite astounding that they have never been quite as big as they deserved to be. That said, following on from The New Roses, everyone knew that they would have to pull out all the stops. Of course, if there is a band that is more than capable of that, it is FM, and no one was surprised when they did exactly that.
Producing a greatest-hits set was the perfect festival scenario. FM are a band who are crowd-pleasers, always have been and always will be. You always know that if they are on the bill, then you are going to be in for a good time, and today was no different. From starter Digging Up the Dirt, through older tunes such as That Girl, I Belong to the Night or Tough It Out, there is something special for everyone. These songs are timeless. The band know what the audience want and they deliver in spades.
There is no such thing as a dull time during an FM show. From start to finish, it is pure good-time vibes and quality rock ’n’ roll, and today was no different. Definitely one of the acts of the day.
Morganway
A quick scuttle back to the Firestarter Stage and I was just in time for Morganway. I had heard good things about this band, so it was a set that I was looking forward to seeing and hearing. They certainly did not disappoint. Their blend of Americana-styled rock with some folkish flourishes ensured that there was some variety from the standard blues-rock fare that we had received to this point.
Morganway were a change from the standard fare and clearly were popular. Vocalist SJ Mortimer has a voice that can switch from soft and ethereal to gritty and tough. She can manage the emotion of a song and, with her vocal techniques and abilities, can take the listener on a variety of journeys.
The band switch from hard-driving rock to softer, more folky sounds, although when Nicole J Terry opens up on her fiddle, the world steps into another place as she tears through the tunes. This variety is what made this set stand out and was completely refreshing. Certainly, this came to the fore during a snippet of Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain. Everyone knows the famous bass bridge in the song, but with the guitar break taken over by the fiddle, it produced a quite remarkable version.
Standout tunes included Hurricane, which was an absolute ripping piece and had the audience dancing around like loons. You know you’ve seen a good set when the time flies, and the show is over before it had seemed to start. This is definitely a band to catch in the future.
A Thousand Horses
So, after a storming set from Morganway, we made our weary way back to the Inferno Stage just in time for the arrival of A Thousand Horses. This band, hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, are one of the latest country-rock bands hitting our shores and more than hold their own with the likes of Blackberry Smoke and The Cadillac Three. Country rock, or Southern boogie, whichever term you prefer, generally means you are going to be in for some good-time, foot-stompin’, ass-shakin’ rock ’n’ roll.
With three studio albums now under their belts, they are no beginners anymore and have a plethora of material to draw from. There are no surprises here. A Thousand Horses are here to party, and that is exactly what they do. With a new album released this February, White Flag Down, they open with Dead Man Walking from that opus. They play three songs from the new album, including Voices and Shadows, with the rest of the set pulled from their other albums. A Thousand Horses are one of those bands who are exactly what it says on the tin.
The Tennessee drawl is prevalent and lends itself to the sound of the band. The guitars are synchronised, and the bass and drums provide the perfect country backbeat, yet harder, rougher and tougher.
They have only visited the UK for a couple of tours previously, so this was a good opportunity to show us what they are all about. They certainly succeeded at that, even throwing in a refrain of Champagne Supernova for good measure. Somehow it fitted.
They close out their set with a manic and frantic Highway Sound, a song that provides the sort of drawn-out guitar battle at the end that many Southern bands favour. The party may have started earlier in the day, but A Thousand Horses certainly kept it fired up.
The Temperance Movement
Finally, we come to the headliners, the re-formed The Temperance Movement. There were a few questions buzzing around the site as to whether they were yet headliner material, but it is more than fair to say they took their opportunity and definitely won over the doubters. Even if you weren’t completely familiar with their material, there was plenty to enjoy and get to grips with in their set.
Frontman Phil Campbell is a whirling dervish of high-octane energy and enthusiasm, quirky and energetic. Imagine a supercharged Mick Jagger on speed, and you’re still only halfway there.
With a new album, New Promise Land Incorporated, due out in October this year, they have something to prove, and we are introduced to three new songs from this. These new songs fit perfectly into their set, and it is as though they had never been away.
Musically, they provide a perfect slice of good-time British blues rock. At times, it is as though Faces are back; at others, there is a more indie feel. Whatever the mood or the song, there is something here for everyone, and they do not hold back tonight. The show is a complete success.
With classics like Caught in the Middle, Magnify and Take It Back, they crank up the energy. Smouldering slows matters down into a soft blues ballad for a while, but the temperature is raised another notch with a barnstorming Get Yourself Free.
There is no stopping the band tonight. They aren’t smouldering; they are completely on fire.
They close the main set with new single Eat You Alive, before squeaking over the curfew with one encore, Midnight Black.
All in all, a fantastic day’s music and a great way to end the night. Roll on day two.
WORDS: ADRIAN STONLEY PHOTOS: ROBERT SUTTON
FULL GALLERY FROM DAY ONE
