Groezrock 2017: Now We’re Really Excited! Part One [Preview]

Last night Groezrock announced what appears to be all but one band that is set to play at this year’s festival, and with less than two months to go, we’re now super excited! The line-up might not be as star studded as previous years, but we said that last year and ended up discovering The Bennies and Bad Cop/Bad Cop, so we’re not going to complain. We’re going to find our new favourite bands.

We’re going to be featuring five bands that we’re really excited about each week from now until the festival. Fortunately, my two favourite bands are playing this year, so we’ll start there.

Anti-Flag are headlining the Back to Basics stage. Yes. The Pittsburgh punks have been on the road constantly for what seems like forever and have developed one of the most entertaining, high energy live shows that I have ever seen. They’re my favourite band. I’ve seen them play on massive festival stages, small club shows and everything in between. Some of my favourite shows have happened on the Back To Basics stage at Groezrock in the past (The Wonder Years in 2014, anyone?) so this is going to be incredible! The hour that Anti-Flag are on stage will be worth the ticket price on it’s own.

Another band that I’ve seen more times than we can remember, and have travelled all over Europe to see are Zebrahead. I must be closing in on seeing them 20 times at this point. The reason for that? They bring the party. They’re going to be the most fun band you’ll see on Sunday. You will bounce. You will drink. You will party. Their set includes people in costumes (usually beer) and they have a bar onstage. Don’t miss this!

I first saw Counterfeit in Budapest last summer when they played a big outdoor gig opening for Billy Talent. The other supports on that show, and the reason I travelled out there, were Anti-Flag and Zebrahead. Counterfeit did a sterling job of kicking things off though. Plenty of energy, aggression and top quality songs. I don’t often manage to catch a full set by many bands at Groezrock as I’m always trying to see as many bands as possible, but Counterfeit are one that I’ll definitely be trying to see all of.

Pennywise. What is there to say about Pennywise? They’re legends of the punk scene and it’d be a crime to miss them. Since the Sunday night headliners Parkway Drive aren’t really my bag, Pennywise are my headliners. I’ll check PWD out, of course, but Pennywise are my main event on Sunday.

Petrol Girls are one of the most exciting bands in the UK right now, tearing around the country yelling at anyone that will listen. The first I knew of their singer Ren’s music was singing backing vocals for Mike Scott’s acoustic project. This is nothing like that. It’s loud. It’s abrasive. It’s politically charged. I’ve not managed to catch them live yet. At the time of writing, they’ve got a show in York between now and Groezrock, so I might get down to that. Whether I make it to that show or not, I will definitely be checking them out at Groezrock