Mosborough Music Festival 2023 – Festival Review

Mosborough Music Festival
Don Valley Bowl, Sheffield
3rd June 2023

Mosfest returns to Don Valley Bowl after a three year absence

In a valley which was once the beating heart of Sheffield’s steel industry, often shrouded in smog and reverberating to the thud of the giant hammers shaping the white hot steel, festival goers poured in their thousands. They had turned up to witness 21 incredibly talented bands making an altogether different noise, performing on two stages in the beautiful grassy arena of the 10th annual Mosfest.

After a three-year break, the sense of anticipation to see favourite bands perform and appreciate the new talent coming through was palpable. The organisation and facilities were spot on with many people arriving by tram, plenty of food vendors, toilets and bars all at reasonable prices, and with the sun streaming down we had the perfect setting for a musical feast.

The Away Day Radio Stage was opened by Cruz, a four-piece local alt rock/indie band, with a swagger belying the fact that they only formed in 2020. Sam Thatcher, the singer songwriter met Tom, lead guitarist, whilst at university in Sheffield, and they were then joined by drummer Ethan and bassist Jamie after Covid. Their catchy guitar riffs which have influences from the Artic Monkeys, Strokes and Viola Beach quickly got the crowd in the festival mood. Their debut single Life of Misery, despite the title, is very upbeat and its message is all about taking chances and making the most of your opportunities; it was well received by the growing numbers at the Festival.

Niall Ogley the charismatic front man of The Denabys, another four-piece indie band, told me they were “making their Festival debut”, but judging by the reaction of the crowd they had very quickly built up a loyal fan base in their one and a half year existence and delighted their followers with their already extensive back catalogue including My Life, Sunshine and Good Time. He added that “they’re heading back into the recording studio to thrash out some new material in July”. Definitely on an upward curve and ones to watch for the future, I for one will certainly be tracking them down again.

Meanwhile, over on the Main Stage, The Assist, formed back in 2014 who have shared the stage with The Happy Mondays and played in front of 12,000 fans as far afield as Russia certainly have a longer pedigree and describe their music as “upbeat and in your face” and they aren’t wrong. Their soaring indie anthems and song writing have been inspired by Dua Lipa with hip hop beats. A great set was delivered with attitude by the front man Mikey Stanton with many tracks coming off their debut album Council Pop released in April last year, seven years in the making with the highlight for me being Water. Also, hot off the press I’ve just heard that they loved the reception so much here in South Yorkshire that they’re travelling up again from Walsall as they’ve just booked to appear at @sidneyandmatilda on the 3rd November, a great little hidden gem of a venue here in Sheffield. One not to miss.

As the sun climbed higher into the cloudless blue skies and the mercury continued to rise, Dirty Sterling took to the stage. They’re a five-piece band, having recently added Nick Battles on keys and saxophone to give a richer, edgier vibe. On the drums is David Gammidge, bass is James Davey, lead guitar is Callum Davison and on rhythm and vocals is frontman and songwriter Mark Donaldson, who said “playing passionate, honest, gritty rock’n’roll is what we are all about” Over their 30-minute set they did not disappoint and their raw energy and intense passion of the band left the crowd wanting more and for good reason.

Chatting with Mark afterwards he said they “… originated purely by chance over 10 years ago and after the release of first album Call It What You Like we seemed to hit the ground running. With great support slots working with some of the big names in the industry, all was going well, but sadly due to work commitments and family commitments, we eventually had to step back from music. Following a 5-year break, once again by chance, we had an acoustic gig booked in the local pub, and within a few weeks, that small gig turned into a sold-out Dirty Sterling gig. Just for the love of it, we put on a free gig following the success of the first one just to see if people still wanted it… and they did! Around 350 people turned up and packed out a local venue from around the country to sing and dance in full voice and with absolute passion”

Since then they have started writing their second album and have booked in the biggest, and some would say ballsiest, gig to date for June next year at the Baths Hall in Scunthorpe. Over the next 12 months people can expect Dirty Sterling to be making some serious noise with gigs and releases as they now have the freedom and time to have a second run at playing to the masses, an opportunity they intend on grabbing with both hands and are eternally grateful to their ever-growing Dirty Army which was evident today.

One of the many highlights I was looking forward to was catching The Rosadocs, another local band clearly influenced by fellow Sheffielders The Arctic Monkeys as well as, to a lesser extent, The Killers. It was soon clear that they had many adoring fans in the crowd as frontman, Keelan Gravey, launched into a brilliant set that had the crowd singing and swaying along to such anthemic rock favourites as Run Away and No. 54, which have both streamed over 100,000. This five-piece indie band who formed in 2017 have all the hallmarks for success and are certainly going places.

I managed to briefly catch Marseille, five lads from Derby who have been influenced by the Madchester scene of the ’90s and even go back to a little dash of psychodelia from the ’60s in Liverpool which shines through in their music. They played a tight set which included tracks off their latest EP Freedom and are playing the IOW Festival in June.

If you’re into catchy tunes, like to dance and especially to ska music then Jungle Lion are a must see. They are an incredibly tight band of talented musicians and vocalists who belt out tunes from UB40, Madness, Selector, Bob Marley and the list goes on, and to add even more credibility they have supported most of these bands. Perfect festival anthems on a hot day and when the 12-piece ska band took to the stage the crowd immediately reacted, singing along, swaying to the beautiful harmonies and punchy brass section. Clearly they have built up an adoring and appreciative fan base; I for one cannot get enough of their superb vocals and their energy on stage is mesmerising.

One of the many indie bands who impressed were The Jack Fletcher Band who have supported McFly. The four-piece hailing from Wolverhampton grabbed the attention of the appreciative audience with their energy and stage presence playing Young Man At Heart and the more recent Phoenix. Talking to Jack after the gig he told me what was in the pipeline:

“So we’ve been in the studio these last few months working on two new tracks that will be coming out over the next few months; Your Pocket which is a stripped back piano track which is so far away from anything we’ve ever done before but music is about being experimental, and we have Black Country Boy coming out as well which we just played, paying homage to some of earlier material but with lyrics that sit in the modern climate”
When quizzed about their favourites …

To be fair we love all our set and we feel they all sit well with our audience, Has it Gone Wrong & What are you waiting for are always a crowd pleaser as it’s gets that crowd interaction and it’s the reaction of a crowd now being part of that song, we introduced Cum on Feel the Noize as part of an encore when we toured last year and that’s become a favourite, being from the Black Country we can’t distance ourself from Slade as they are musical royalty but it’s a track that everyone can go wild, wild, wild for!”

They have a few quiet months ahead as they plan to get back in the studio but they will be playing at Tramlines Fringe in Sheffield in July and then Lincoln to support Gazelle.

Risky Heroes, a raw charismatic indie rock four-piece band, again from Sheffield, really got the crowd bouncing with their track Fire and it was obvious that they had a big fan base built up over the past 10 years. They have a couple of sets coming up at Barnsely Live on the 17th and then a day fest at Oakstock in Mosborough on the 8th July.

Since launching their debut single Movin’ On in 2018, Marquis Drive have attracted a great many high profile fans. There are definite echoes of the early days of the Britpop movement but with a twist; they are a seven-piece band with four vocalists, a bank of guitars, bass and percussions leading to an explosion of punchy, intoxicating anthems which got the crowd bouncing right from the first note. To date there have been over 310,000 downloads of Movin’ On, give it a listen, they can’t all be wrong…

As the shadows lengthened and the sun dipped down behind one of Sheffield’s seven hills, just like Rome …as the locals like to point out. The crowd eagerly waited for Lottery Winners take to the Main Stage. Their music has been described as ”jingly-jangly” indie pop, but whatever it is, it’s led to their album Anxiety Replacement Therapy getting to #1, plus collaborations with Boy George, Frank Turner, Nickelback, Sleeper and Shaun Ryder – plus they are said to be probably the best live band in the country so they are definitely doing something right.

They poured onto the stage with Tom Rylance, the larger than life charismatic front man, leading the way to a passionate reception by the now huge audience. The set includes such crowd pleasers as Rockstar Sea Shanty and Headlock, but peppered throughout the set Tom continued to connect with people of all ages with enthusiasm and energy. My particular favourite was his Freddy Mercury impression. where everything had to be repeated back to him by the crowd which had total participation by everyone. Brilliant, it left everybody smiling.

There must be something in the water in Sheffield, Matilda Shakes are yet another quality local indie rock band tinged with a bluesy vibe which shone through in Fairground. The band line up is James Hallam (Vocals & Guitar) Jack Poulson (Guitar) Kyle Sales (Guitar) Sean ‘Spen’ Yeardley (Bass) & Joel Haddon on drums  They launched into their half hour set and immediately connected with the crowd with their punchy drumming and superb vocals backed up with some great riffs, a real feast of indie bangers. Up All Night and Fastlane were other standout songs, plus a powerful cover of Seven Nation Army. What a treat and definitely worth tracking down if you haven’t done so already. Talking to James afterwards he said “We’re looking at releasing our highly anticipated new single around the end of July start of August” and then he told me they’re doing a secret gig in the Frog and Parrot (S1 4GF) before Tramlines on 20th July.

Next, one of the big draws of the festival, the ska and Two Tone legends that are Bad Manners with the larger than life character and front man Buster Bloodvessel. He was greeted with the usual affectionate chants of “You fat bastard” from his adoring hard core followers, gave his usual big grin and launched into the set totally unperturbed and the crowd erupted. For an hour we were treated to classics such as Can Can, Special Brew, My Girl Lollypop, and the one that really got everyone dancing, Wooly Bully. It’s a winning formula that fired the crowd up into a frenzy so much so that I got showered with beer in the pit; at least it smelled like beer. But more seriously, a few glass bottles were thrown, one landed in the pit near to me and another nearly hit the drummer. Something maybe for the organisers to take on board for next year? Nevertheless, the usual brilliant set that left everyone out of breath and wanting more but smiling.

The next band that I caught up with were Inspiral Carpets, who along with The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses formed the backbone of the Madchester era and are pop royalty. The bands line up has changed over the years, most notably with Steven Holt returning as the front man and John Cooper Clarke on the drums. There was a poignant reminder printed on the bass drum skin that this is the first tour without the original drummer Craig Gill, who tragically passed away in 2016.

They launched into their wonderful back catalogue and transported many people back to their days at uni with the Carpets blasting down the corridor or at a school disco. The crowds swayed, danced and sang along to such indie nuggets as Saturn 5, She Comes in the Fall, Keep the Circle Around and the iconic anthem that is This is How it Feels. Very nostalgic, ”this is how it feels to be lonely, this is how it feels to be small” drifted through the still night air. Magical.

The final band appearing in the Away Day Radio Tent just blew me away, I was mesmerised by their set and cool swagger. Meet The Skinner Brothers, a band that define raw energy. They’ve played around the country at most of the major venues, and been main support to Kasabian on their UK tour.

They are a 4+1 piece rock’n’roll/indie band and frontman Zac told me “The line up’s always changing, me, the drummer (Alfie) and the Buzzard (+1) are the only consistent members” he added that their “main influence used to be Frank Zappa but now I don’t care man, I just don’t want to go back to work”.

They launched into their set with a kick ass rock’n’roll attitude with rasping vocals and driving beats, instantly engaging the crowd and that is where the Buzzard fits in. Dressed all in black, topped with a beret and holding a camera on an extension pole, he strutted about the band, conducted the crowd and dived in and out, organising the biggest mosh pits of the festival as people pinballed around. A flare went off filling the tent with smoke, security were doing the best to stop people getting on each others shoulders, it was pure rock’n’roll theatre. The Buzzard emerged unruffled and smiling, with a cut on his nose. Genius, you must track down this band.

Closing the festival were local icons Little Man Tate, a Sheffield institution, formed in 2005, broken up in 2009 and reformed in 2020. The four-piece indie rock group fronted by Jon Windle launched into an 11 song set to a very appreciative audience. Most were old favourites such as Sexy in Latin, but they did experiment with some new songs such as Down In The Gutter which was very well received. However, the biggest cheer of the night was for the first few bars of House Party At Boothy’s, a real crowd pleaser and a perfect finale for a memorable day of musical talent.

As a footnote, I’d like to say what a wonderful job Mr Mosfest has done a.k.a. Steven Cowan who is the powerhouse behind the Festival but also the hundreds of volunteers, and of course the bands – who I’ve been told happily reduced their fees so more money will go to the charity The Smile Foundation.

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