Loverocks IX, Ferndown, Dorset 18 – 20 June 2026 – Day One

review by Tim Marcus with photos from Sam Conquest Photography

We’re back at the St Leonard’s campsite just outside Ferndown in Dorset for the ninth edition of Loverocks, and a fifth consecutive year for us here covering the event. As we exit the conveniently positioned car park and make our way towards the campsite office to collect our wristbands and press passes for the weekend the one thing in our minds is that this evening’s opening salvo of four bands set to warm us up ahead of two further full days, is going to be all about the night’s headliners, the fabulous Blue Nation. Or so we think.

Opening things this year, bang on 5:30pm are a local band from just down the road in Bournemouth, Tarraska. Coincidently, Tarraska made their Loverocks debut back in 2023 when they preceded Blue Nation (who were also making their Loverocks debut that year) onto the smaller of what was then a two stage set up. No surprises during this opening set as Tarraska, a four piece classic rock band deliver as expected. If I’m honest, not a band that I’d travel miles out of my way to go and see, nevertheless a band who appear very comfortable on a festival stage and one that I’d always be happy to stand and listen to again if they returned (or appeared at any other festival I was attending).

Next to take the stage is the only band appearing tonight that we’ve not seen before, Screaming Eagles. Screaming Eagles are a four piece hard classic rock band from Northern Ireland and like Tarraska before them, they deliver a very enjoyable, easy to listen to set. Their style is very much tight, riff driven rock and from the word go they had me in mind of AC/DC, albeit not in such a blatant Airbourne type of way; something a little more subtle. An enjoyable set to listen to which included an excellent cover of “Roadhouse Blues” and surprisingly enough, an AC/DC cover, “It’s a Long Way to the Top (if you Wanna Rock n Roll)”. Again, like Tarraska before them, a band I would happily stand in a field and listen to again.

I have to confess that I’ve never been an aficionado of Myke Gray’s music and only got to see him for the first time when he appeared at the Steelhouse Festival back in 2018 where I was immediately impressed by his playing and left wondering why he wasn’t someone I’d come across before. On that particular occasion, the lead vocal duties were taken on by Blackwater Conspiracy’s Phil Conalane.

I then read of Myke’s performance the following year at the Rock and Blues Custom show however most of the chat seemed to be about the amazing young vocalist he had performing with him that day, Kim Jennett. Sadly things did not work out between the two so I thought I’d missed the chance of seeing them perform together. I have seen Myke performing a couple of times since then, with the amazing Dan Byrne and then the equally amazing Henry Gottlier on vocals and both were excellent shows. I was looking forward to seeing Myke perform again at Loverocks this year however that level of anticipation was raised several notches when I heard that he was once again teaming up with Kim Jennett. In the intervening period I’d also seen Kim perform a couple of times so was aware first hand of just what a powerhouse of a vocalist she is despite her diminutive, almost pocket sized stature.

At 8:15pm Myke and his band burst onto the stage very quickly followed by Kim. It was an electric pace from the very start: you could almost feel the energy oozing from the stage! Myke’s playing was as it always is, a technical master class, whilst Kim’s vocals just screamed raw power! It wasn’t just power though. Everyone who’s witnessed a Kim Jennett performance knows how powerful that voice is but occasionally it does get away from her. Not tonight though. I think I can safely say that tonight was not only full of power, but was probably the most controlled high energy vocal performance I’ve heard from Kim. Meanwhile, stage left, Myke was clearly enjoying himself too.

Recent years have thrown a few challenges Myke’s way but he’s not one to be knocked back for long. Many people have seen a new side to Myke as well in the past couple of years as he’s developed his love of photography and is frequently seen amongst the rest of the “togs” in the pit at gigs and festivals across the country. However I don’t think I have ever seen Myke look like he was enjoying a performance as much as he did tonight. As good as Myke may be with a camera, the constant smiles and looks of sheer delight I saw from him tonight were telling me that up on a stage with an axe in his hand is where he truly belongs and is where he’s at his happiest. And I’m sure that his reconnection with Kim Jennett played no small part in that. Long may it continue.

And so to tonight’s headliners, Blue Nation. I’m looking forward to it however I’m still feeling drained from just taking in that last performance from Myke Gray and Kim Jennett. I’m not sure that thirty minutes is sufficient recovery time especially as I’m keen to get down to the front early to secure a place. I suggested at the start of this review that tonight was going to be all about Blue Nation but already it’s been so much more. And as for Blue Nation tonight, it’s not so much about the 75 minutes they’re going to have on stage as it is about the journey they’ve been on to get here.

It’s hard to believe that it was less than 3 ½ years ago that we first saw Blue Nation. Whilst we’d heard the name before we’d never heard any of their music and whilst a few people we knew had great things to say about them, outside of the small blues club circuit it wouldn’t be unfair to say that they weren’t widely known about. However one or two established blues artists such as Chantel McGregor and (in our case on that cold March evening in Sutton back in 2023) Laurence Jones took a chance on them and brought them out on tour. In fact that night in Sutton they didn’t even have a drummer (except for the encore – if you know you know!) so it was just Neil and Luke playing as an acoustic duo.

Suffice to say that we were sufficiently impressed with what we saw and heard that we were delighted to see that they would be making an appearance at the Loverocks Festival in Dorset three months later. They were one of about half a dozen bands to be playing on the small second stage that weekend but at least this time they had a drummer so we were able to get the full band experience. Fast forward twelve months to June 2024 and we’re back at Loverocks, as once again are Blue Nation, but this time after impressing the previous year, are on the main stage and once again the crowd down in Dorset are blown away! Throughout the remainder of 2024 and 2025 the band toured extensively and came to the attention of the bookers of some of the bigger festivals like Maid of Stone where once again, with two albums now to their credit, they excelled, winning over an army of new fans in the process.

So here we are today back in Dorset, back at Loverocks on the opening night and Blue Nation are about to take to the stage to fill the headline slot. It’s been a rapid rise but no more than they deserve. As for their performance tonight; well as I’ve already alluded to, that was largely irrelevant for me. I probably didn’t do myself any favours by positioning myself right in front of one of the large speakers so to my ear the sound wasn’t as sharp as it could’ve been had I been stood further back. But not to matter because being at the front meant I was able to experience the excitement of the show, not just from the audience, but the excitement and pride in what they were doing coming from Neil, Luke and Nick; it was almost tangible and the banter between the guys always feels a little more intense and real when you’re stood at the front. It was also clear to see that Neil was also genuinely spooked by the presence of the Honey Monster who’d turned up to see their set! In terms of the set itself it was pretty much what Blue Nation have been doing all year although we also got to hear the recently released single “Watch Me Fly” and the title track of their forthcoming EP which is due for release next month, “Wisdom for Pennies”.

To date we’ve only shared in a small part of their journey however standing at the front of that stage watching them perform tonight you cannot help but feel proud for them in what they have achieved in a relatively short space of time; something that is made all the more satisfying knowing what genuinely nice guys these three Brummies are. A big shout out too to Ron, Neil’s Dad as well as the band’s manager, van driver, merch bitch and anything else that he’s able to do for them. It’s been a great journey for Blue Nation so far however something tells me that it’s a journey that in the scheme of things, has only just begun.