Bernie Fest All Stars honour Whitesnake legend Bernie Marsden with emotional Steelhouse set

Review: Friday at Steelhouse Festival 2024

“I don’t go looking for trouble, it’s always coming my way.” You can feel it. As soon as Nev MacDonald steps up and emotes these words into the microphone, there’s that weird frisson of excitement and sorrow. I feel it again, just by writing these words. This is the opening line from ‘Come On’, a track co-written by Bernie Marsden for Whitesnake’s 1978 EP ‘Snakebite’, and it’s also the first song played in tribute to the masterful guitarist and songwriter by a superb collective assembled just for this special night.

There’s always something specific, something unique about Steelhouse, and it’s not just its self-defining mountain top location. Organisers Mikey Evans and Max Rhead go the extra mile – not just the one that takes you up the hill – to include things you’re not expecting, stuff the standard festival wouldn’t dream of doing. In the past they’ve broken up the classic rock with awesome bands like Green Lung, Orange Goblin and, this year, The Warning and Skindred. Tonight, they’ve also brought together a miniature cosmos of like-minded souls from different bands - dubbed Bernie Fest All Stars - all solemnly committed to paying tribute to the great Mr Marsden, who died last August, aged 72.

Hours before, this year’s event kicked off in the capable hands of Irishmen Trucker Diablo. ‘Kill The Lights’ is their new single, and it’s with this feisty tyre-burner that Steelhouse 2024 hits the road. Led by the affable Tom Harte, the band prevail against a somewhat imperfect start-of-the-day sound, and the flailing silver locks of beaming bassist Jim McGurk are the first to be caught by the sun as he strides down the stage’s so-called ‘ego ramp’, the walkway into the crowd.

With Planet Rock’s very own blues chanteuse Elles Bailey sadly too ill to perform today, Mikey and Max again go the extra mile, and – in another Steelhouse tradition – others are only too keen to help. The festival therefore sees an impromptu one-man acoustic session from Dan Byrne, whose band isn’t actually due to perform till Sunday. Despite admitting to being nervous at the last-minute request, Dan manages to hit a note that shouldn’t be humanly possible during a stripped back version of ‘Hemispheres’, a song he recorded with former band Revival Black.

Later, Toby Jepson steps up for a similar set. Familiar of course to Planet Rock listeners for his jovial radio shows, Toby’s nearly as famous for his kind heart as he is for his starring role in Wayward Sons and of course the great Little Angels. His set, a lovely coming together of acoustic songs from the latter, is especially poignant as it reminds many of 2021, when Toby came to the rescue at Steelhouse in similar circumstances. That year, his voice and those great songs were among the defining moments of the first rock music event of scale to take place since the dark days of lockdown.

Between these two acoustic slots is a stunning and decidedly plugged-in performance from Oli Brown & The Dead Collective. The trio, Oli plus fellow six-stringer Sam Wood and drummer Wayne Proctor, have honed their art on a head-turning headline tour, and they’re in scintillating form this afternoon. Oli says not a word, and it matters not a jot as this extraordinary outfit’s climactic, deeply felt art sends waves both heavy and light into the raised faces of a hypnotised crowd.

They’re followed by a typical cohesive and professional performance from long established blues groovers King King. Alan Nimmo, in his now traditional Scottish tartan, takes us through favourites like ‘Waking Up’ and ‘Lose Control’, before treating us to the lush blues of ‘A Long History Of Love’. The latter features a gorgeous Hammond solo from Jonny Dyke, before Nimmo’s equally considered guitar break. Dedicating ‘Whatever It Takes To Survive’ to Thunder’s Danny Bowes as the Planet Rock presenter continues his recovery is a nice touch.

The day’s conclusion is a warmly appropriate, beautifully delivered tribute to Bernie Marsden, the set mostly comprised of Whitesnake classics. The Bernie Fest All Stars band is mostly set around Nev’s outfit Hand Of Dimes, with no less a personage than The Actual Neil Murray Himself on bass. It’s been masterminded by guitarist and singer Jim Kirkpatrick who throws himself into every solo with fervour, the passion etched on his face. It’s a masterful delivery, probably never to be repeated.

Toby steps up for an incredible ‘Ready An’ Willing’, and there’s a David Coverdale-approved “Ere’s a song for ya!” shriek before a pulse-quickening ‘Don’t Break My Heart Again’. Cardinal Black guitarist Chris Buck is here, and we all know what that means – Buck’s fingers are just the things attached to his hands; every note comes from this astounding young musician’s heart, and you feel every beat of it.

Bernie Marsden loved Steelhouse so much he even named an album track after it. He first appeared here in 2014, played three separate sets in 2017, and during that life-affirming, unforgettable 2021 event he changed the refrain of 'Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City' to 'There's so much love, on the top of this mountain'.

“He wasn't just a name on the bill,” Mikey Evans tells us, “he became a friend and a confidante, a voice of calming reason. He even came down and played Max's sister’s birthday party”. This year, to Alan Nimmo falls the honour of singing ‘Ain’t No Love…’, with Thunder guitarist Luke Morley joining in for such immortal classics as ‘Fool For Your Loving’ and ‘Here I Go Again’. BernieFest – if you were there, you’ve been part of something. And like us, you’ll be talking about it for years.

Friday at Steelhouse Festival 2024 in photos:

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• steelhouse festival
• whitesnake
• bernie marsden
• king king
• toby jepson