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When KR Rocks 2024 tore the roof off the Ship and Anchor pub, Southport wasn’t in the collective conscience. Perhaps as a fondly remembered childhood seaside visit or a Victorian heritage spot - but as a local, you’d pull the “wool” thing of telling people at university you’re from “near Liverpool”. In recent news, however, Southport has drawn attention for all the wrong reasons, as a town in mourning, and in chaos from far-right aggressors.
One thing that seems to be overarching the residual narrative, however, is the true close community of Southport. I saw this in full force at KR Rocks: a small, but fierce, community of local rockers banding together for a common cause. The festival is in its fifth year under its current iteration, raising money for the Southport Kidney Fund in local fundraiser and rocker Debbie Adams’ memory.
The first day was the most full-on, with an absolutely stacked line-up ranging in genres. A succession of cover bands homegrown in Southport opened the day – the first being KR Rocks alumni “Debz’ Angels” (formed of friends of Debbie), performing renditions of hard rock classics. The festival, originally Debbie’s project, has been carried forward after her death by longterm friend Ashley Strom. Upon her fifth year as organiser, Ashley said: “it’s been an honour: following discussions with others close to Debbie we decided to continue her event in her memory. It’s been really nice to be able to remember her legacy”.
There was something for everyone today. Providing some sonic diversity with some indie hits were Southport-grown “The Violets”, a band formed of kids from college. They have an impressive repertoire already, having just played the first ever Southport Pride. “The Violets” played with a compelling togetherness, and for their few original songs, especially “Chemicals”, it felt like we were front row to the birth of a classic.
The whimsical “Vendetta” took to the stage, with their Fleetwood Mac-heavy set bringing along long skirts and tambourines to boot. Some superb maracas work here (a criminally underutilized instrument) and a full set of absolutely nailed tunes.
I was sat in the beer garden when my friend came outside exclaiming “You’ve GOT to come back in here, this guy is spinning his guitar around his head!!” I returned inside to see “Sandbags at Dawn” (one word of the band name emblazoned on each of the three musicians’ shirts) giving the crowd absolutely everything they were worth. Massive amounts of energy emanated from their set of fun, jaunty songs – getting close to pioneering the genre of pirate shanty metal. Whilst they went down an absolute storm with the crowd, it definitely seemed the band were powered by the fun they were having themselves up on stage first and foremost, making their trip from Manchester well worth it.
One of our favourites of the night was “Chaos Bleak”, the goth-rock trio (performing this time as a duo) with a penchant for darkness. Their synths absolutely permeated the pub, rattling its walls and putting a chic edge on doom and gloom. Trevor and Piers look forward to playing with bands who “[they] only ever see at KR Rocks” year by year, and prove popular with the usually-metal clientele. They also proved popular with a woman at the service station, who somehow pegged them as musicians based on their all-black goth attire and asked for a CD: we hope that Angela from Knutsford services enjoys their new single Death Train.
Headlining the Friday were “Last Agony”, metal with bells and whistles. They were extremely technically gifted, clearly having played together as a band for long enough to let the beats of their music flow seamlessly. This hasn’t squashed the passion for the clearly well-trodden paths of these songs: they gave it their absolute all and did not relent, not even during their 9-minute thrash metal hullabaloo which filled the room. “Last Agony” are one of those bands you absolutely have to see live, as it’s a shame to not feel the music and let the bass nearly shatter your sternum.
Saturday was a real homecoming for the festival, opening with “Alfie Stix”, a young boy who has grown up drumming with the festival this past few years. The “KR Rocks All-Stars” celebrated this community aspect – a supergroup of musicians and friends of the festival who played live together excellently (with no rehearsal!) for the first time that evening.
Currently on an upwards trajectory in the wider rock scene as Planet Rock Fest hopefuls, “Attic Theory” played with a sense of humour as well as pure talent. After the first, the audience clamoured for a second rendition of their metal-reprised Country Roads. Their drummer, Norm, has stuck with the festival since its inception, aiding to keep the memory of Debbie alive.
“Second Cities” were unashamedly and undeniably emo – giving a refreshing reminder that the scene is still well and truly alive. Much of emo can be reminiscent of artists gone before, but “Second Cities” have a distinct identity, incorporating electronic elements of industrial with fearsome screams straight from the soul. They made full use of the small venue, taking microphone stands and guitars into the crowd to envelop everyone in their sharp-toothed riffs.
The Saturday headliners, Bristol’s “Adam and the Hellcats”, were more than deserving of the spot, demanding the pub’s attention the second they took to the stage with their rallying theme of Tom Jones’ “What’s New, Pussycat?” The whole set was on brand – songs such as “What The Cat Dragged In” thundered through the Ship and Anchor with an enviable cohesion among the musicians and stomping stage presence. Vocalist Cirwen (decked out with cat ears, whiskers, and special cat-faced Mary Janes) carried the force of the band, ripping the venue to the floor with the voice of a thousand Halestorms. The Hellcats’ set was truly impressive, and they had the whole pub moving complete with possibly the world’s first macarena moshpit.
Adam had a real conviction to learn guitar: “I’m autistic – once I get a thought in my head, it’s happening.” He’s been appointed lead organiser for next year, and his barrel-at-the-wall attitude bodes well for the future of the fest. Himself and his dad, the drummer for the Hellcats, are huge advocates for “little festivals in backstreets”, expressing that “to support original bands, and original music, is a great thing”.
The full scale of the rock and metal community in Southport was employed at KR Rocks, notably with help from the Ship and Anchor pub, and Legacy Records. They’re a local record shop partnering this year, present at the event with a piled-high merch table. Contributions from bands far and wide were raffled at the end of the night – and overall, the weekend managed to raise over £450 for the Southport Kidney Fund. This was an unticketed event, and so this total is entirely from the pockets of generous attendees at the small pub. KR Rocks has stood as an impressive and inspiring show of local fundraising tenacity for five years, promising only bigger and better in what’s to come. It’s a promise of great music, a great cause, and a great chat over a pint.
Words: Erin Strom
Photos: Ava Glass
Erin has been one the first contributors to OOR, and is a Southport local. They have lived in the town for their entire life in the same house. Erin has been involved in K R Rocks through family connections for the past 5 years, since the first iteration of the festival in Skelmersdale.
With their friend Ava, they covered the festival days before the tragedy in the town. By publishing this review, Out Of Rage want to empower and celebrate the amazing Southport community.
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