Review and photos By Jess Bea
Today I had the pleasure of having a random weather chat while standing in what felt like the longest coffee queue in human history at Maid of Stone Festival… with three rather good-looking Scottish blokes.
It all started because I accidentally answered a question that definitely wasn’t aimed at me.
“What’s that stage over there?”
“Oh, that’s the VIP stage.”
Cue the jokes about how none of them were famous enough to be allowed anywhere near it.
As the queue continued to move at the speed of a slug trying to avoiding salt granules, we started chatting about how there was a genuine chance they might miss their 4:30 set on the Firestarter Stage waiting for a caffeine fix. I told them not to worry I’d happily be their PA and run them over if need be. (I’m still available for tour manager duties, by the way.)
That was my first introduction to Anchor Lane.
After we eventually escaped Coffee Queue Purgatory, I did what any normal person would do… immediately stalked them on Spotify. I was photographing their set later and figured I’d see if they were my kind of band.
Well… turns out they absolutely are.
Not only are they three genuinely lovely, down-to-earth, stereotypically Scottish lads who were just enjoying the festival like everyone else, but they can also rock the absolute hell out of a stage.
I even joked that I don’t trust a bald frontman… thankfully for Conor, that’s not something he has to worry about.
Their set was phenomenal. Conor had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, while the bass and drums drove everything along with ridiculous energy. Honestly, take me back 16 years and I felt like a teenager discovering my new favourite band all over again. (Stutter is one killer song!!)
Their performance at Maid of Stone was hands down the highlight of my day.
They were funny, humble, approachable, and then completely blew the roof off the Firestarter Stage. That’s a pretty impressive combination.
In fact, I bought their CD afterwards… which says everything, considering I don’t even own a CD player anymore.
And yes… of course I’ve already done the next level of stalking. I’ve checked when you’re back in Kent, and you can bet I’ll be seeing you again in Gravesend in November. One festival set was clearly not enough!
Thanks for making the coffee queue far more entertaining than it had any right to be, and thanks for absolutely smashing your set.
Keep doing what you’re doing, lads. You’ve definitely gained a new fan.
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