Destination Festival Warm-Up Party -
Yorkshireman, Sheffield, Friday 11th September, 2026
Death warmed up are a Hard Rock band from Nottingham made up of Will Evans (Vocals), Charlie Willis (Guitarist), Ollie Hunt (Bassist) & Sebastian Pomeroy (Drummer).
What an amazing start to the evening. This band is outstanding. The singer, Will has the best set of Bruce Dickinson pipes since erm, Bruce Dickinson! It's hard not to make that comparison. He can really sing and those high notes he hits makes your glass vibrate.
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Charlie and Ollie love coming into the crowd and playing together. Ollie has the perfect rock look and acts more like a Lead Guitarist than a Bass player. One thing I loved about their set was the way they get the audience involved.
By time they finished we all felt like we had been in a headlining gig. These lads really know how to put on a show and deserve to be on a big stage.
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Outstanding.
Not Now Norman are an Alternative, Hard Rock band from Berwick-upon-Tweed with a line-up of Taylor-Grace (Lead Vocals), Zander Brown (Guitar); Caitlin Gibson (Bass) & Duncan Brown (Drums).
This is my first time seeing Not Now Norman. I had interviewed Taylor-Grace back in April so I was really anticipating a good gig. What I got wasn't good, it was outstanding. Everything from the drum, bass to her Dad, Zander on the Guitar.
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But nobody was noticing the band. It was all about Taylor-Grace, she oozed star quality. It was hard not to just be in awe of her. The way she moved, the make up, the feathers and that voice! She has a huge voice which hits every part of your body when she hits those high notes. I would guess she wouldn't need a microphone, her voice is that strong.
Her songs and her on-stage persona gives 'Not Now Norman' an edge over similar bands. Taylor-Grace seems to prowl, looking at everyone like we are here prey. I looked around the crowd and photographers and every eye and lens were looking at this charismatic chicken.
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I need to see them again but on a bigger stage. Like the band before them, they deserve more recognition for the talent displayed so far. Outstanding, not a bad word about both acts so far.
Headlining tonight are a Heavy Rock band from Scunthorpe, Ace Of Kings whose line-up is Jonny Bilton (Vocals); Oliver James 'Foz' (Lead Guitar / Backing Vocals); Josh Grinell (Rhythm Guitar); Ben Hughes (Bass) & Adam Lazenby (Drums).
They ripped straight into 'Call Of The Siren' followed by the heavy 'Watch it Burn'. I am loving the sound, excellent Guitar from Oliver but I am loving the drumming from Adam. He was exciting to watch. But the singer Jonny although his voice was excellent he seemed to not enjoy being upfront in the limelight.
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The performance from the band so far was excellent. But Jonny wasn't engaging as much. I did wonder if it was his style or nerves. I went with the latter because as the performance went on he got more into his role.
The songs were excellent. They did a cover of Black Stone Cherry cover 'Lonely Train' with Jonny really in his stride and bossing the stage. The band making this song sound like there own. I was so involved now, loving all the songs and that guitar playing is amazing. I just didn't want it to end. Three outstanding bands of different Rock styles.
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We get to the last song 'Killing In The Name Of' which they got totally wrong, the singer with a smile and a shrug just started belting out the "Fuck you" end of the song. The crowd didn't care and we're all part of the chorus.
An excellent set. This was a fantastic end and a perfect song sung imperfectly to finish the Festival Warm-up!
By Dale Holford