Riverside Festival

Friday started with Gotus, which I, Dänu, unfortunately missed because of the beloved traffic jams between Bern and Aarburg. So Eclipse was my first taste of the music, that would get blasted at me this day. After that show, with no break in between, the next band, Facing Fears, started in the tent. The band from Germany played already at the Summerside and did not manage to fully convince me. Not the first, and nether the second time. And after the last note faded out, the music on the main stage got cranked up… you get the idea.
While the bands on the mainstage captivated the audience with solid performances the gig of the headliner stood out with a great choice of songs and a decent amount of fire. Also worth a mention is the ferris wheel that provides a great view on the area. I recommend to take a ride while it is still bright, to be able to see the nice surroundings.

On Saturday, I, Nat, went with Kevin to the cover the second day of the festival. We were delayed by traffic 30 km before arriving, which caused us to miss the band ‘Rock Out’… The weather was beautiful, with sunshine gave us a nice tan. 32 degrees, it’s quite warm…

We saw the Fighter V and Lordi concert in the afternoon. But the ones we particularly wanted to see were Uriah Heep and Beyond the Black. Like the Summerside Festival, Riverside has a big stage with a catwalk and a small stage. The festival is located on the banks of the Aare, with a small exhibition of vintage cars (Festival Route 66).

With over 45 million albums sold, Uriah Heep is one of the most successful bands in Great Britain. Along with pioneers Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, they had a huge influence in the 70s on what we now define as melodic hard rock. Since the beginning of their remarkable career, they have never stopped. And we had the privilege of experiencing this magnificent concert with this amazing band! It began with a thunderous entrance. The singer Bernie Shaw, at 68 years old, was in great shape. Accompanied by his four musicians, they delivered a stellar performance starting with ‘Save Me Tonight,’ the first song. Mick Box played some magnificent guitar solos. Russell, the drummer, gave it his all. And already the third song “Hurricane” was a hit. Everyone clapped along, and Bernie began to sing. His voice is magnificent. He hasn’t lost anything, on the contrary, he has only gotten better with age. Everyone enthusiastically clapped along and continued during the song ‘Sweet Lorraine.’ Everyone started singing along with Bernie. The guitar solos are always very captivating with this band! The drummer also has a lot of energy. He’s not young anymore either, but he performed as well as he did when he started in 2007. Before the last song, the whole band left, only to return with everyone clapping along. The crowd followed, and the final, very well-known song was ‘Lady in Black.’

To end the evening, it was the turn of the excellent band Beyond the Black to take the stage. Many people left after Uriah Heep, making it very easy to find a good spot to see this last concert. Beyond the Black is a German symphonic metal band that celebrated its tenth anniversary this year. The singer Jennifer Haben gave us a magnificent show. She started at the front of the stage, beating a transparent drum to the song ‘Dancing In The Dark.’ She was dressed in black with a red skirt. My colleague was thrilled… then the flames began to shoot up into the sky. Jennifer was, as always, very charismatic. Her voice was beautiful and powerful. Guitarists Chris Hermsdörfer and Tobi Lodes were also brilliant. They played some magnificent guitar solos. The singer and one of the guitarists began to sing together. It was very melodic and powerful. During the song ‘Wounded Healer,’ a video of Elize Ryd was projected on the four screens of the stage. Why? Because there was a feature with her on this song. Check out the video below:

This band was truly my favorite of the whole day. After the song ‘Heart of the Hurricane,’ Jennifer returned alone, dressed in a long black gown. She started playing the piano and sang the song ‘Wide Awake’ beautifully, a calm and melodic song. People turned on the lights on their phones. After this song, the rest of the band came back to join her, continuing with ‘Is There Anybody Out There,’ a well-paced song. Before starting the song ‘Beyond The Mirror,’ the singer told the audience to raise their fists, and the entire crowd followed her. In the next song, Jennifer returned to the stage with large black wings at the end of the catwalk to perform the song ‘Free Me.’ The lights were all red. The staging was extraordinary because behind her, many sparklers were fired from the stage.

In conclusion, it was a very beautiful day, and we returned late but happy with these good moments and the beautiful photos we took. Can’t wait for the next festival!

Thank you to Riverside Festival for letting us capture some great moments.

Report Writing by Nat
Translation and pictures (Satuday) by Kevin (IG : csk_lens)