Roxy fest 2023.
Once upon a time, in a small city somewhere in Belgium, there was a man who thought: “what if I could organize my own festival right here in the center of our city?”
That’s exactly how Mill and Nancy, owners of rock cafe: the Roxy in the center of Herentals, made Roxy fest become alive.
This year’s edition, the second one in a row, then also immediately became much bigger then the first one. And seen as this year’s event was already a huge success, there’s no doubt that the following ones will be as good too.
It’s Saturday, and it’s a warm, sunny day. Temperatures are rising together with people’s motivations to make it a great day. How can that be any better? Well, just add a bit of great live music to it and you have the perfect Saturday afternoon. Mill and Nancy, owners of music cafe the Roxy right in the center of Herentals did that with pleasure.
The festival listed 8 bands playing all the same big stage in the middle of the city’s center, and right in front of the cafe; The Roxy, who is the maid of honor to this historical day. Many people gather together with much of joy and share their passion to music, along with the bands playing for them.
Shorty Jetson and the Lefthands
Shorty Jetson and the lefthands, a Five headed band who are opening the festival. They come with a male and female voice and together they take the lead and immediately bring power to the festival.
Their songs are all danceable music, so standing still might be a hard thing to do. It is already warm outside, but these guys manage to rise the temperatures even more.
Bringing good vibes to the crowd with mesmerizing music and a stunning performance is what this band is made for doing. Add a couple of unique solo’s, including the one they ended their set with, and you have the perfect start of a great musical day.
Black Jack
Black Jack is the second band of the day. A Three headed band that breaths power.
They start their set with a solo show and rock the stage just by the three of them. It’s all about bringing show to the people and three guys do that with much pleasure.
They are playing with Jakke on the bass guitar, who is not their regular bass player. He does a great job too however. He also went through the crowd while playing and made the crowd go wild.
Performing in front of a live audience is what these guys love most to do.
The covers they bring are all well played as an honor to the real artists.
Silverblade
Silverblade entered the stage at the time that it was still hot outside, and with two bands warming up the crowd before them, they had the chance to play for a crowd that was equally on fire as they were.
They start their set with a powerful cover of Metallica’s enter sandman and that way they immediately came in with a banger.
The Five headed band bring rock covers to its fullest and the covers they bring are all from songs that are imprinted in the collective memory of every person that has even the smallest part of music in their soul.
Is there a better way to rock the stage then by giving the crowd a reason to shout along the lyrics of all these stadium fillers? Probably not, so this band did a perfect job and they earned much of respect for doing so.
The old farts
The old farts are a four headed band, but unlike their name says: they do not smell that bad.
they play old rock covers and they do that by starting with a cover of the who. A perfect way to start your show with. Even tho there might be songs that are forgotten, there are still songs that are kept alive through the ages.
Playing a golden oldie will always be the perfect start of a great show, and these made it their signature.
Guitar and drum solos are a main ingredient to the band’s show. The drummer is also known for performing a drum solo that even reached the Guinness book of records.
They played a very great show with many songs on which you just can’t stand still.
Stage revolver
In the beginning of the evening when the crowd became bigger and the vibes were over the top, this five headed band enter the stage and start their show with personal Jesus. An iconic song, and the perfect choice to open up with in front of a huge crowd.
The female fronted rock band absolutely made a great choice of songs for a female singer. All of the songs they played fitted perfectly for both the band, who brought an over the top performance, as well as for the audience who took in the music, and the bands enthusiasm and returned it back to them in the form of a wonderful concert.
They even took the chance to bring the owner of the festival to the stage so he could perform a song with them. They definitely know how to get the people prepped for something good, by giving them a great show, with great music and a great vibe.
Funeral Dress
An evening with good music is never complete without a band that makes the crowd go wild just by hearing the band’s name.
Funeral dress are punk icons from Belgium.
These guys don’t need introduction. They are legendary in de Kempen and even far beyond.
Great music, combined with a great show is never left behind when these gentlemen are at the stage. They’d even bring their own Confetti cannon, so the crowd could get even more prepped.
Their songs are totally punkrock, after all that’s what they stand for of course. They bring a show that everyone should like.
Along with the confetti, by the way, you also had the chance to go hit the beach balls. Perfect for when you’re running in the ginormous circle pit in the middle of the crowd and just want something, but not someone’s face.
Bad medicine
After a busy and warm, but also a glorious day, the vibe was growing big and then it was time for THE Bon Jovi tribute band; Bad Medicine.
There’s no other band that brings more anthems than Bon Jovi, so this band has it all.
Their songs are almost equal to the original ones and these Italians definitely know how to make the crowd go wild, even if it is a hot summer evening.
While the sun slowly slips away behind the horizon, it’s time to give you shivers and not because the temperatures are slowly sinking.
These guys do that with their brilliant performance, and the choice of the absolute best songs that Bon Jovi ever Made.
Bad medicine is their name, and they surely are one of the world’s best tribute bands to an icon in the music industry.
Steam
When a perfect evening slowly turns into nightfall, there’s time for one more show to end this beautiful Saturday.
Steam is well-known for their performances and they always bring those with absolute pleasure. Nothing is too much for them in order to give the crowd a good time. How better than to start your set with an anthem that everyone can shout along to: “let me entertain you” by Robbie Williams is one of those songs.
In fact, all the covers that steam brings with them on stage, is turned into gold. Sure enough, everyone in the crowd goes wild during the band’s entire performance, and if that’s not enough to give you shivers yet, then just bring the event’s organizers to the stage.
Have them perform legendary songs with you as band and you’ll have the perfect recipe for the grand finale. That’s exactly what Steam did, and they deserve much credit for that. Is there a better way to end a great day like this?
This glorious day was brought to you by Rock Cafe the Roxy.
Special thanks to the cafe’s owners: Mill and Nancy.
Another special thanks to all the bands that have performed at their very best, and last but not least a warm thank you to all the people who have worked their socks off, everyone who did even the smallest gesture to turn this evening into a wonderful show, and a very big thank you to all the people who endured the heat in order to make June, 10, 2023 a day that goes into the books of history in Herentals.
Pictures used in this article are all owned by the bands, and photographers who made the event even more beautiful.
Find out more about the bands:
Shorty Jetson and the Lefthands
Black Jack
Silverblade
The old farts
Stage revolver
Funeral dress
Bad medicine
Steam
Pictures taken by Marsonized Shot
Cafe The Roxy