REVIEW AND PHOTOS BY: EMERALD VIOLET

Home Brewed Festival kicked off in Sydney at Crowbar on the 17th of April and saw the likes of 10 loud and talented local bands which were Big Red Fire Truck, Avalanche, Wicked Things, Hibiscus Biscuit, Screaming Eagle, HIGH, Dept Of Gloom, and Bad Moon Born who played a huge day of live music from 3pm.

Home Brewed Festival is set to happen in Melbourne and Brisbane which will feature some awesome local talent from each state. Silverback Touring have done an amazing job to put all of this together and create an incredible line up of some great local talent that definitely kept everyone entertained all day. Fans of different genres headed down to the venue as the atmosphere was great, the drinks were flowing, the bands were heavy which all and all looked to be a very successful turn out. I had the absolute pleasure of attending this fantastic day and got to see each band absolutely smash it out and give an amazing performance. You can read all about it below!

Starting the afternoon off was none other than the great Big Red Fire Truck who were truly electrifying. Their performance was one where you just couldn’t look away because of how entertained you were. The band have huge 80’s rock vibes from the way they move around so effortlessly on stage to the killer sounds of their music that included a lot of solos that could shred your face off. On top of all of this, the bass was loud and the vocals were strong which all came together to create a lot of head banging. Definitely the perfect way to kick off Home Brewed.

Next up, Sydney rock and roll legends Avalanche had their time to shine and they did not disappoint at all. The killer vocals, the sick guitar solos, and the fast paced drums were enough to get you hooked into their set. They each have incredible stage presence and great chemistry between each other which made for an even better performance. Avalanche played through their set with such force and power as they played through their infectious tracks that are so fucking catchy. There was a lot of hair and a lot of head banging and I was there for it.

Wicked Things are a kickass band with a lot of powerful energy. They played around 30 minutes of badass rock and roll tracks that had the ever growing crowd dancing around to and having a good time. The band also has an amazing stage presence, they use a lot of their energy to engage and interact with the audience whether it is getting up close, talking throughout the set or jumping into the crowd and jumping around with them. What else can I say other than everything about this band is great and they have a lot of talent.

Hibiscus Biscuit were like the palette cleanser of the night. They came onto the stage and played some slower, groovier, psych tunes that were different from any band that had previously played. I appreciated it and I also appreciated the groovy bass lines and funky notes from the keyboard. Everything was a slower vibe but that didn't stop the audience from having a good time. Their songs were very catchy and at one point even dream like as all the instruments came together to create this unique sound.

I had never seen Screaming Eagle live before and man, did they blow me away. The Central Coast 4-piece absolutely rocked the stage and charmed the audience with their punchy, energetic rock tracks. Their set seemed to go by too fast as it was so entertaining, I lost track of time. While everything just came together and echoed through the venue to create one really great set that was enjoyed by everyone in the room. It was loud, full of sick riffs, and undeniably a fantastic time.

HIGH are a unique band that played one catchy song after the next - the bassist and guitarist had perfect chemistry between each other on stage and absolutely killed it. Their set was a good time and the huge crowd for them enjoyed every second of it.

Dept Of Gloom are fun and entertaining with their well-written songs, great attitude, and their passion for music. Throughout their set they managed to captivate the crowd with their loud instrumentals and vocals, making it a badass show that I thoroughly enjoyed. On top of this we got to see the guitarist change a broken string on stage within minutes which was pretty impressive by all means. The band had great energy between each other as they exchanged humour between them and entertained the audience.

The last band of the night, Bad Moon Born are incredible and certainly showcased that during their set. Their songs are great, loud as fuck and will get stuck in your head. The lead singer moved around the stage with such force during the set as he engaged the audience the whole time and gave his all with the vocals. This band brought huge energy to the stage and threw that energy out into the crowd which was great to see. The instrumentals were heavy and loud and there was a lot of movement on stage which made for an entertaining ending to the night.

It was a great night for live music as we got to see the local talent of 8 bands in total and each of them were unique in their own way and absolutely smashed it with such power and passion. Since standing is allowed at gigs now, it was such a joy to see people dancing and headbanging and enjoying every minute of the night. There was such a great atmosphere and Silverback Touring did an incredible job organising the show and putting such great bands on.