Maid of Stone Festival @ Mote Park, Maidstone 18th July 2026
Day 2 saw a slightly cooler outlook weatherwise, which was, in many ways, a relief to those avid rockers out for their second dose of the weekend.
Häxan
First up on the Inferno Stage were South Wales stalwarts Häxan. This all-female band have been making some serious waves in the industry in recent years and, having seen them at Bloodstock a couple of years previously, I was interested to see how they had developed in the interim.
It’s fair to say I wasn’t disappointed. Today was definitely a day for feisty girl bands with attitude, and they gave it a perfect start with their infectious banter and hard-driving, dark metal approach.
With an album and an EP now out, they are starting to stretch themselves musically. It is clear that the songwriting is getting stronger and they are more comfortable on stage. Yes, they are still learning their craft, but there is a growing dynamism about this band now.
Having been warned about language on the stage, they made the point that, as most of their banter revolves around four-letter words, they probably wouldn’t say much during the set! Realistically, though, this allowed the music to do the talking for them.
Musically, they bring a heavy, old-skool metal approach, although at times they almost border on thrash. Song-wise, Death of Me, the title track from an EP released in 2025, stands out. They are deliberately spooky and witchy, and perhaps the strong sunlight works against the atmosphere they build. Killing Time is a solid slab of ‘in your face’ metal, as is Thirteenth Hour.
It was noticeable how quickly their merchandise area filled after this set, and it is fair to say they were a very popular start to the day.
Xander and the Peace Pirates
Next up were blues masters Xander and the Peace Pirates, a band who have been long-time favourites on the UK festival scene. Guitarist and lead singer Keith Xander was born without a right arm below the elbow and plays his guitar using a prosthesis and hook, with a pick attached at the end. In reality, this should not work, but he is a fine guitarist who knows how to make his instrument seriously scream.
They slow matters down considerably and are quite the opposite of Häxan. Xander’s soft blues rock and gentle soul sounds waft over the audience, creating a more laid-back feeling. That said, when they want to rock out, there is no holding them back.
Xander’s guitar playing is exquisite and he teases the audience with a display of perfect blues mastery. Let Go and Searching for the Light cry out for appreciation, and it is duly received. Towards the end of the set, Dancing in the Light revs matters up and the band are clearly enjoying themselves as they rip up the stage and get into the groove!
Different, but delightful.
Girlschool
Next up on the Inferno Stage are the wonderful Girlschool. Now approaching their fifth decade, they bring us a perfect set of classic, punky-attitude NWOBHM. Despite being without drummer and original stalwart Denise Dufort due to illness – and all at Maid of Stone wish her well – they still produce one of the sets of the day.
This was a set of all-time classics from the girls. Opening with Demolition and following it up immediately with a storming C’mon Let’s Go, they tear up the stage, oozing sass and attitude. Lead singer and guitarist Kim McAuliffe cajoles the audience and, despite forgetting – or perhaps ignoring – the no-swearing rule, proceeds to ensure that the audience and lead guitarist Jackie Chambers, courtesy of knob and pedal issues, are suitably verbally chastised and are not going to forget this set.
They attack their songs as they always have, fast and furious. They have more attitude than many of the newer bands and are intent on showing that they are not here to make up the numbers. Despite having suffered knockbacks along the way, they still provide a storming and confident set. The audience are involved and singing along, and for their endeavours they get one of the largest crowds of the day. Everyone wants a slice of the Girlschool pie today.
There is nothing subtle about Girlschool. They provide a blitzkrieg of battering rock and metal. Kick It Down and Nothing to Lose have the audience punching their fists in the air. Screaming Blue Murder kicks the aggression up a further level before the old Gun favourite Race with the Devil sends the dust flying.
Kim announces, very tongue-in-cheek, that they are going to play a ballad before sending the park into pandemonium with their cover of Motörhead’s Bomber, a song that appeared on the St Valentine’s Day Massacre EP by Headgirl and provides a fitting nod to the next act on the Inferno Stage, Phil Campbell’s Bastard Sons.
The set closes out with long-time favourite Emergency, and it is clear that Girlschool are as strong a force now as they were when they first started. Quite simply, one of the sets of the day.
Rattlesnakes
After hogging the Inferno Stage, I felt it best to see what was happening on the Firestarter Stage and was greeted by Nottingham-based metallers Rattlesnakes. Like many here today, it was the first time that I had encountered them, and I have to admit they left a good impression.
Bringing their own take on classic rock and metal, they brought a dynamic display to the stage. With Rowena Neale on vocals, they have a mighty powerhouse of a vocalist, and she and the band do not hold back as they lay waste to the Firestarter Stage.
Their music is simply good-time heavy rock with a distinct ’80s touch. Yet they bring their own feel to the music, which is well-crafted, well-written and catchy. This is a band with an immense amount of energy between them, and it is clear that they are having a good time as every moving member of the band covers the entire stage. Both guitarists, Josh Brown and George Charleston, provide a scintillating stream of riffs and shredding as they stalk the stage.
With their debut album, Shadows in the Night, set for release in October this year, the set is unsurprisingly built around it, and songs like Forever and the title track certainly showcase their abilities. They are definitely one to watch for the future.
Phil Campbell’s Bastard Sons
Then follows a quick jog back to the Inferno Stage for what has to be one of the most intriguing sets of the day, with Phil Campbell’s Bastard Sons. This is the first live outing of the Sons since Phil Campbell sadly passed away and, although tinged with an element of sadness, there is also a lot to celebrate. The Sons were intent on doing just that. Today was all about Phil, and that is what the baying crowd wanted as well.
Opening with a cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes”, a song also covered by Phil in Motörhead, they set the standard for the rest of the set. The band, with Fury frontman Julian Jenkins on vocals, make it clear that this is going to be one hell of an emotional rollercoaster ride.
We’re the Bastards follows before they tear into the first of the Campbell-penned Motörhead songs, Going to Brazil. This is fast, frenzied and fun.
These Old Boots is a song that was co-written by Phil and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister and, though less well-known, is well received. The obligatory finger and abuse aimed at Tyla Campbell then ensues before the band tear up the stage with a number of Motörhead songs.
Today, though specifically about Phil, is also a further opportunity to pay tribute to the other departed members of the band and, of course, Lemmy as well.
Ace of Spades sees the audience in fine vocal form as they spit the lyrics back to Julian. Born to Raise Hell sees the nearest thing to a mosh pit that we get on the day before Killed by Death closes out the set.
This could have been a difficult show. Instead, it was an absolute triumph. God bless the Bastards…
LN
Next up is a quick trip back to the Firestarter Stage via the bar for Geordie metalheads LN. Now, this is an interesting set and provides completely different fare from the rest of the artists on the bill.
For a start, they look the part, dressed as Vikings with warrior face paint liberally applied, and they certainly bring the famed Viking aggression to the stage as they lay waste to this small part of Kent. They are also the most animated band on the bill and, by a very long chalk, the heaviest.
Their blend of Viking folk metal is enchanting and their songs are deeply rooted in Norse mythology and lore, witchcraft, paganism and ritual. The set itself is crafted so that, at times, it appears to be ritualistic and perhaps, for some of the younger members of the audience, this comes over as a bit disturbing.
Vocalist LN Hirst is a captivating sight. In white death-mask make-up and a simple white peasant shift, she terrorises the stage as she sways and weaves, then lurches and swirls her way manically through the songs.
Donnie the mascot gets a laugh as the severed head on a pole is touted around the stage, while LN shifts her vocals menacingly from clean to death growls.
New single Shield Wall produces a demand to create a wall of death, although this is probably the least successful wall of death I’ve seen, as the wrinkly rockers of Maid of Stone clearly don’t understand the concept and proceed to separate and dance around.
With a bowl of fake blood then materialising, the concept and songs become darker as LN daubs her face, creating an otherworldly caricature. This was certainly one of the more demanding experiences of the day, but well worthwhile. I have a feeling we have not seen the last of this band.
Danko Jones
Back to the main stage and we are greeted by Canadian three-piece Danko Jones. Firstly, it is noticeable that the audience has dwindled for the first time today. Whether it is because we are hitting late afternoon and everyone is heading to the food stalls, I don’t know, but it is clear that Danko and the boys have a lot to do to win over the meagre crowd.
This is a band who know their trade and, with twelve studio albums released over the last 30 years, they have plenty of material to call upon. As a band, they are fired-up and aggressive, bringing their stripped-back, garage-style metal to the Park.
It’s strange to understand why they did not seem to impress. They’ve got the songs, plenty of great heads-down rockers, and their stage presence is electrifying. Frontman Danko Jones is a one-man ball of energy that bursts out when performing.
I’m in a Band, I Gotta Rock and Everyday Is Saturday Night are all great songs and, in this band’s hands, are pulsating, energetic and vibrant. Danko works the audience continuously and, although the arena starts to refill towards the end, I just have a feeling that many people missed out on a quite electrifying set.
Doro
Perhaps they were saving themselves for our favourite German vixen, Doro Pesch. The former Warlock singer has been rocking stages since the early ’80s. Yet time seems to remain on her side, as she hardly appears to have aged and comes over live exactly the same now as she did when she first started.
There is a vivacity and an abundance of good feelings emanating from her and the band. It is clear that they are having the best time, and rolling out a greatest-hits set that encompasses a few of her solo favourites and many Warlock songs is a clear winner today. Certainly, the audience is back and she is a clear favourite. Fists punch the air and arms wave aplenty. If she’s having a good time, then the audience are having the time of their lives.
Yes, the music is definitely old-skool power metal. There are no gentle flourishes here, just pure, balls-to-the-wall anthemic rock. Burning the Witches, Fight for Rock, Raise Your Fist in the Air and Hellbound are all gleefully received by the faithful, who follow every stage direction religiously.
Warriors of the Sea sees Doro strutting the stage, waving a flag of herself. The band throw every clichéd shape and hook in the book, but who cares? It’s a bit corny, but by God it’s great fun. Looking at the faces arrayed around me, there are clearly many who have rolled the clock back to their youth and are fervently re-embracing those years.
Für immer slows matters down as she produces a ballad of breathtaking beauty and provides everyone with a few moments’ rest from the metal onslaught. It’s soft, it’s touching and it’s a beautiful piece. It doesn’t last, and it’s not long until the guitars are swinging, the heads are banging and Fire in the Sky kicks the crowd back into shameless ecstasy.
The set closes out with a cover of Judas Priest’s Breaking the Law, and if you are going to do a cover that will fit the set and assuage the baying hordes, then this is it.
Certainly, today has shown that the ladies own Mote Park. Or do they?
Saxon
As the sun starts to set and the main arena fills to capacity, we settle in, ready for a masterclass from the headliners, the mighty Saxon.
Despite some health issues in recent years, Biff Byford and the boys are still going strong and there is no holding them back. Doro clearly did the right job in firing the audience up, and it is now down to Saxon to seal what is a perfect day. What is there to say about our favourite band from Barnsley that’s not already been said or written?
Tonight’s set is a pure crowd-pleaser. If Doro is anthemic, then Saxon take it to another level. Starting with some more modern tunes – by which I mean not from the ’80s – they warm up the audience. Hell, Fire and Damnation, the title track from their last album, kicks matters off, with Dogs of War and Madame Guillotine following early in the set. In between, they tease the crowd with what is to come, as Power and the Glory and And the Bands Played On hint at future content.
Biff is in good form and former Diamond Head axeman Brian Tatler is now more than comfortable in his position as Biff’s right-hand man.
Biff gives the audience an opportunity to choose a song from either Broken Heroes or The Eagle Has Landed. It is no surprise that an overwhelming cheer goes up for The Eagle Has Landed, and although the famous Eagle lighting rig is not here tonight – it doesn’t fit the stage – the audience clearly do not care.
From that point, and we’re only seven songs in, it becomes a pure greatest-hits set. If you could produce your own setlist, this would be it. Let’s roll the clock back to the early ’80s and the years of the NWOBHM. Heavy Metal Thunder, Dallas 1 PM, Motorcycle Man, Strong Arm of the Law and Wheels of Steel – what more can you ask for as they come one after another, thick and fast, loud and heavy?
Well, perhaps Denim and Leather, as Biff borrows a fan’s battle jacket which, by luck, is a perfect fit for him. He continues the set for a couple of tunes before signing it and returning it to its original owner.
Crusader, Never Surrender and 747 (Strangers in the Night) – the anthemic blitzkrieg continues. If there is a band who know how to keep an audience entertained, then it is Saxon. There were very few slipping away early tonight.
Is there any more? Well, perhaps they can squeeze in Princess of the Night.
Now that is the perfect end to a perfect day.
WORDS: ADRIAN STONLEY PHOTOS: ROBERT SUTTON
FULL DAY TWO GALLERY
