Words: Mark Johnson, Becky Mount

As festival openers go, there aren’t many with better energy than Grumble Bee. Always guaranteed to deliver anthemic songs with plenty of passion, this an ideal act to get the festival crowd warmed up. Grumble Bee is the solo project of singer/songwriter Jack Bennett but live, he plays with a full band and though these shows are always enjoyable, they have tended to still feel like Bennett, plus friends in the past. This show at 2000 Trees is the most refined and sophisticated the band has sounded, with bassist Zach Phelps and drummer Callum Connell feeling more like integrated members of the band than ever before. The time spent touring together as a unit is paying dividends and with new singles ‘Red’ and ‘Bravest Soul’ sounding this epic, the band continues to go from strength to strength on stage and no doubt their status will follow the same trajectory. [MJ]

It’s been five years since Straight Lines released their last album ‘Freaks Like Us’ and it doesn’t take long to realise how much we’ve missed them. Vocalist/guitarist Tom Jenkins sounds superb, as though he never went away, and the band’s up-tempo, alt-rock singalongs are perfect for a festival environment. Not only are the songs highly entertaining, their onstage banter is on point as well, culminating in a giant conga line being formed for their final song, which ends the set in very high spirits. It’s fantastic to see Straight Lines back on stage and hopefully we won’t have to wait as long to see them do it again. [MJ]

Feed the Rhino return to 2000 Trees and this performance shows they’re well and truly back on form. The band’s huge riffs get heads banging and vocalist Lee Tobin invites the crowd to pour over the barrier and share the stage with them. Feed the Rhino bring a ton of energy to the opening day and clearly thrive on getting the crowd moving, helped massively by a set full of well executed, high-octane songs. The audience oblige with a huge circle pit and wall of death, signalling this as the clear winner for highest energy set of the day. Much to everyone’s joy, Feed the Rhino confirmed that they’re working on new material, which they hope to have out early 2018. [MJ]

For a three piece band, Black Foxxes sure can make a lot of noise. And we’re not just talking about the (rightly deserved) fuss surrounding their debut last year. Taking to The Axiom stage on day one of 2000 Trees, their trademark frankness and overwhelming sound once again works its magic, but sadly it does feel like a wasted opportunity; they more than deserve to be further up the bill, blowing even more minds. [BM]

The track, along side its B-side ’17’, is the first entry in a series of singles that will be released over the course of the year. This will be available to purchase digitally on the band’s bandcamp on the 24th April as well as limited CD on their upcoming shows with Straight Lines, which are listed below. These tracks are also expected to appear on their upcoming yet to be titled new album.

APRIL
27 NEWCASTLE Cluny 2
28 LIVERPOOL Shipping Forecast
29 CHELTENHAM The Frog & Fiddle*
30 BRIGEND Hobos
MAY
01 BRIGHTON The Hope & Ruin
02 LEICESTER Duffys

* Colt 45 only

The band are currently working on the follow up to their 2016 EP, ‘Snakes & Ladders’.

APRIL
27 NEWCASTLE Cluny 2
28 LIVERPOOL Shipping Forecast
29 CHELTENHAM The Frog & Fiddle*
30 BRIGEND Hobos
MAY
01 BRIGHTON The Hope & Ruin
02 LEICESTER Duffys

* Colt 45 only

Voting has opened for the Macbeth stage at this year’s Groezrock. A shitload of great bands are in the running, and plenty of homegrown UK talent are in the running too. Check out the list of contenders below with details of what they (and you!) can win, and get voting over at http://macbeth.eu/groezrock/

It is up to you to decide which bands you’d like to see on our stage at Groezrock!
– You may only vote for one band each day.
– The voting period ends Feb 17th at midnight (CET).
– Each day we will present a top 10 of the bands that received the most votes the day before.

The Macbeth stage is powered by Blackstar amplification www.blackstaramps.co.uk
For more info on Macbeth Footwear go to www.macbeth.com
For more info about Groezrock and tickets go to www.groezrock.be

Boy Jumps Ship United Kingdom
Brain’s All Gone Poland
Call It Off The Netherlands
Crown Cardinals France
Edward In Venice Italy
Fathoms United Kingdom
Golden Tanks United Kingdom
I Divide United Kingdom
Kids Insane Israel
King of Pigs HC United Kingdom
Moments Belgium
Monday Kills Sweden
My Extraordinary United Kingdom
Out For Tomorrow United Kingdom
Pray For Locust Sweden
Promethee Switzerland
Radion Havanna Germany
River Jumpers United Kingdom
Saint[the]Sinner United Kingdom
Seventribe Sweden
Shell Beach Hungary
Straight Lines United Kingdom
The Bottom Line United Kingdom
The Ignored Belgium
The Ladykillers United Kingdom
The Lowest Standard The Netherlands
The Tramps Belgium
Two Glass Eyes United Kingdom
Wasted Bullet The Netherlands
Watch Out Stampede Germany

http://www.macbeth.eu/groezrock/

Check out the dates below, and snap up some tickets quickly because it’s gonna be sick…

MARCH:
03 LONDON Camden Black Heart
04 MILTON KEYNES Craufurd Arms
05 BIRMINGHAM Hare & Hounds
06 GLASGOW King Tuts
08 MANCHESTER Sound Control
09 CARDIFF Solus 2

http://www.facebook.com/straightlines

It’s taken from the band’s new EP of the same name, and you can check it out using the player below. The EP is available today from iTunes.

The tracklisting is as follows, and comes in advance of the band’s tour with We Are The Ocean.

01 Escapology
02 Empty Chest
03 Half Gone (live session)
04 Ring The Bells (acoustic)

http://www.facebook.com/straightlines

Support is delivered by Hampshire-based Yearbook and all-female four-piece Evarose; the first delivering an exciting – if not slightly confused – combination of surf-pop and Brand New-esque experimental rock. Yearbook hit all the right buttons with their quirky appeal and enchantingly awkward frontman (complete with a rather eye-catching Hawaiian style shirt); yet waver around too many musical directions to truly feel succinct. Both the opening and final track hint at something along the lines of the aforementioned Brand New or The Xcerts, but the meat of the set sits firmly within surf-pop – not quite reaching the level of the heavier sound. Despite this confusion, Yearbook are definitely an exciting prospect.

Evarose suffer from a continued onslaught of sound issues which significantly damage the overall experience. The entire set sounds as if it is being witnessed behind a screen, emanating out of the speakers with a frustratingly muffled tone. It is difficult to ascertain whether the sound levels are keeping Dannika Webber’s vocals hidden behind the supporting instruments, or whether this is the aftermath of twenty-plus dates on tour. Either way it is often impossible to hear the vocals, and the various instruments fail to provide any additional distinction.

As Straight Lines burst into opener ‘Half Gone’ it is clear that they are on form tonight. Delivering a set filled with choice tracks from both their albums, the Welsh lads are seemingly unaffected by their gruelling touring schedule. The sound issues of before are all but forgotten as Tom Jenkins’ vocals break through the easily discernible instrumentation. The vocal powerhouse who drives the sound is particularly powerful on the newer material, but the biggest crowd reaction is reserved for ‘Set Me On Fire And Feed Me To The Wolves’ and an acoustic(ish) version of ‘Runaway Now’. Although the crowd start proceedings off at a comparably slow pace, the band manage to expertly motivate until both audience and musicians alike are smiling.

Ending on ‘So Many Paths’ provides a suitably epic close to a skilfully accomplished performance; in recent months the band are clearly more comfortable delivering the larger sounds than the more simple compositions of their debut album. It remains a mystery as to why Straight Lines are yet to join contemporaries such as Deaf Havana and Twin Atlantic on the larger stages, but continuing like tonight is undoubtedly going to push them in the right direction.

BEN TIPPLE

We had loads of fun, and our selection was the latest single from the awesome Straight Lines, ‘Commitments’.

To listen back to the show, head to http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01hj93z.

Straight Lines didn’t beat Justin Bieber for favourite track of the night, but you can still vote for them for favourite track for the week to get another play on next week’s show – http://www.facebook.com/questions/10150956776361763/

http://www.facebook.com/straightlines