Rock The Lake 2018 revives the glory days of Rock and Roll
Story and Photos by: Savannah Bagshaw Video created by: Nick Csek
Another year of Rock The Lake has come and gone, leaving us with memories we will cherish for life but also an abrupt emptiness in our hearts.Commonly referred to as “The best weekend of summer” by many attendees, kissing RTL goodbye never gets easier.
After a weekend of headbanging, camaraderie and golden-era Rock n’ Roll, it is safe to say we are all exhausted but in the best possible way.
If you’re still hanging on tightly to the last fleeting moments of Rock The Lake, whether it be by sleeping in your band tee or replaying the videos you snapped over the weekend, we want to help you relive the revelry one last time.
DAY ONE
The first day of Rock The Lake is always the best.
A palpable energy that infects your bones leaving you eager and full of wonder for what lies ahead, the first day of any festival always seems to be doused in a little extra magic.
A reunion, day one saw countless hugs and cheers of glee as attendees met up with festival friends they only get to see this time of year.
The Front Of Line Crew
A prime example of the uniting forces behind Rock and Roll, I present to you, the Front Of Line Crew — Or as I know them; Gary, Fayebee, Kim, Debbie and Jody.
(Kim, Debbie and Jody are in the photo above)
Before Rock The Lake these music lovers were strangers, but after meeting front and centre at the barricades the first day of the 2016 festival, they have formed an unbreakable bond fused together tightly by their unanimous love of live music.
Vowing to reunite once a year on the morning of each festival day, the fleet has been through three years together, seeing nearly 40 of Canada’s most influential classic rock bands. If that doesn’t tell you exactly how magical the first day of Rock The Lake is, I don’t know what will.
Aside from the abundance of heartwarming reunions, day one gifted us with some exceptional musical performances.
From Ian Thomas’ cool and jazzy vibes to the polar opposite upbeat and synth-stricken energy of Men Without Hats, the first two sets of the festival already touched on some of rock’s most vital avenues.
Click here for our first day recap!
Closing out a riveting first day, Canadian legend, Randy Bachman, gave us a performance we didn’t know our hearts needed.
It is hard trying to find the words to accurately depict Randy Bachman’s performance on Friday night.
A true legend in every sense of the word, Bachman not only displayed how he earned the success he has, but also how his music has managed to withstand the test of time.
A performer through and through, Bachman curated a setlist that would appeal to any and every one of his fans. Jumping between BTO and Guess Who classics like “No Sugar Tonight,” “Roll On Down The Highway,” “These Eyes,” and “You Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet,” Bachman and his band transported fans back to the glorious days of 70s' Rock n’ Roll, and he sounded great doing it.
Though vocals swapped between various band members throughout the set, Bachman did treat our ears to a soft yet strong vocal performance, sounding nearly as good as he had back in the day.
A guitar virtuoso, Bachman showed audiences that not only is he still able to perfectly execute his most vigorous solos with true ferocity, but he can also improvise some of the most psychedelic riffs seemingly out of thin air.
A prime example to justify the above statement would have to be Bachman’s performance of The Guess Who’s 1970 hit, “American Woman.”
Starting off with some brain scrambling slide guitar using a battered, old drumstick, Bachman catapulted the weekend’s most groove stricken solo out to fans before diving into the song’s raunchy and recognizable opening riff.
After nailing yet another solo, Bachman seemed to cut the song short, with the stage lights following suit, only to begin a thunderous build to Led Zeppelin's “Whole Lotta Love”.
Two songs you wouldn’t initially think would join forces, melted together to unleash one hell of a beastly performance.
Shining just as bright as Bachman’s relentless shredding was his bass player and fellow vocalist, Mick Dalla-Vee, whose Plant-esque wails and moans against Bachman’s impeccable Page emulation brought some audience members as close to Zep as they’re ever going to get.
Though Bachman’s hits got the largest roars of excitement, his cover of The Beatles “Here Comes The Sun,” and his son’s (who also played guitar and piano on stage) “She’s So High” prompted the thousands in the audience to sing along.
But no song prompted a more impressive audience reaction than “Takin’ Care Of Business”, used as the closer for what may have been THE best performance to hit the Rock The Lake Stage throughout the past three years (in my humble opinion.)
Even at 74-years-old, Bachman blended together a mix of jazz, blues, heavy metal and classic rock to bring Kelowna a performance that could stun fans from any generation.
DAY TWO
Though the weather may have turned the skies grey, the smiles and positive vibes remained unscathed and perhaps even increased thanks to the incredible first day we got to experience.
Opening up day two were the original Canadian alt-rockers, The Northern Pikes, joined by Kelowna’s own Kevin Kane from the Grapes of Wrath on guitar.
From “Teenland” to “She Ain’t Pretty”, along with honest, acoustic love-songs, the Pikes' mellow, modest and refreshing performance made them the calm during the storm, literally.
With strong winds attempting to sweep away banners, and hefty rain drops plopping to the ground, the Pikes kept their cool and gave a stunning, short and sweet set.
Thankfully the rain dissipated and the smoke began to clear as Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts made their way to the stage. A lively performance from Bentall and his band certainly gave us “Something To Live For”.
Genuine joy to play for his fans and with the other talented musicians on stage with him, Bentall played his heart out with a great big smile on his face, all the while serving some downright radical harmonica solos.
At one moment it seemed as though the rock gods decided to shine down on Rock The Lake, as glorious beams of warm sunshine pushed their way through the clouds just as Sweet took to the stage.
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Godfathers of Glam, Sweet are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their music and although their smash hits may be half a century old, they can still muster up a party unlike any other.
Lead by the only original member of the first Sweet lineup, bass player, Steve Priest, Sweet reincarnate tore up the stage like a Rock and Roll tornado with a tenacity much more fierce than that of the Okanagan wind on Saturday afternoon.
At 70 years old, it is safe to say fans weren’t expecting much from Priest, but boy, were we blown away.
Hobbling out, cane in hand and assisted by keyboardist Stevie Stewart, Priest made his way to his stool looking as glamorous as ever — wearing green eyeshadow with a crimson and silver cape billowing in the breeze behind him.
Once seated Stewart handed Priest his bass and a sense of righteousness filled the concert bowl. It was as though Thor had just picked up his hammer, an electrifying moment that let us know Sweet was about to give us a real treat.
Even with limited mobility, Priest still force fed fans sludgy bass riffs that commanded and conquered every song, lent his deep, baritone register for backing vocals, and showed his witty, spry sense of humour that brought on more rumbling cheers than any song.
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From the get-go, Sweet cranked things to 11, igniting their set with 1976 hard rocking track, “Action.”
Though they are pegged as pioneers of Bubblegum and Glitter Rock, Sweet’s sound can be anything but, thanks to the musicianship of lead guitarist, Mitch Perry.
Absolutely annihilating every note brave enough to face him, Perry shred through their setlist with immense ease, prowess and swagger.
Rather than imitating the style of original lead guitarist Andy Scott, Perry breathed new life into the 50 year old songs adding heavy metal flair any chance he could and melting faces at least once per song.
Speaking of breathing life back into these iconic hits, can we just talk about the human defibrillator that is Paulie Z? The newest addition to the revamped Sweet, Z is a straight up sorcerer once he hits that stage.
Channeling a young Freddie Mercury, Z seemed to have been beamed down to RTL from another universe. From sapphire shadow painted lids, a shimmering silver suit and chops we haven’t experienced since the Heyday of Queen or Zeppelin, Z and his voice are the personification of the word showman.
Using the stage as a springboard and vaulting across speakers, Z motored throughout the sets entirety, even going through multiple outfit changes and at one point parting the sea of adoring fans to dance in the pit along with them.
Though Z gave us his all, don’t think we didn’t give it back. Singing along with him through every word of “Fox On the Run”, and trying our best to keep up during his most momentous performance of the show during “Ballroom Blitz,” fans worked hard to make his very first international show, his most memorable.
Somewhat veterans of Sweet, Stevie Stewart and Richie Onori are no strangers to performing and perfecting the setlist, as they have been touring with Priest for the last decade.
Despite these old dogs having already conquered a stage or two, they still have a savage bite.
A starman himself, Stewart’s fingers moved at hyper-speed across the keys.
From interstellar synth-pop to husky blues and even some soaring operatics, Stewart’s additions to any song made it feel more hearty and complete than the last, constantly fulfilling our hungry ears.
Even more impressive? He did it all while wearing a kilt.
Competing with the thunder of an impending storm, Onori ran laps around his kit beating them up like a caveman with a club.
The first of the weekend, Onori graced us with a hellish three minute drum solo.
From jazzy time signatures to heavy blast beats, the man did not let up.
Giving their fans all that they had hoped for and more, Sweet offered up a set jolted to life with unwavering energy from each member of the band.
Closing the second night of RTL 2018 was seven time Juno Award winning band, Glass Tiger.
Fronted by Scotsman, Alan Frew, the band showcased that despite their biggest hits having come out in 1986, they still have what it takes to put on an incredible performance.
From reminiscing about memories with Bryan Adams and Johnny Reid to joking with the audience about waiting this long to see them, Frew interacted with his fans and showed genuine appreciation for their attendance.
Giving us new tracks off their upcoming album along with classics like “Someday” and the big finisher, “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone,” Glass Tiger ended out the day with thousands of rockers singing along to their anthemic songs.
DAY THREE
Day three may have been our least favourite weather-wise, as thick smoke set low into the valley dropping temperatures and hiding away the sun. Despite the smoke, attendees filed into the concert bowl at 2 p.m., just like clockwork.
By the last day of any festival, you already notice your vacay habits setting in. Filling up at the H2O station, hitting up the merch booth and finding your concert buddy had just become routine for us at RTL.
Although the thought that “this is end” was always in the back of our minds, attendees chose to live it up to the fullest on the third and final day, rather than dwell on the festival’s end.
Kicking off day three, British Columbia’s own Doug and The Slugs took to the stage and they were joined by a familiar face.
Filling up the late, great, Doug Bennett's place was Kelowna local, Ted Okos.
Creating their own sunshine, the band’s hilarious antics and feel-good hits like “Day By Day,” “Too Bad” and “Making It Work” quickly warmed up the crowd for another day of live music throwbacks.
Conquering the stage next was none other than The Stampeders.
Consisting of the original founding Trio of Rich Dodson, Kim Berly, and Ronnie King, The Stampeders may have aged but that did not mean they weren’t ready to Rock The Lake.
With surprisingly high energy, the trio of country-rockers brought charisma in not only their presence, but playing, with Dodson plucking up a storm on a double neck Fender Stratocaster and King throwing out a cheeky wink or two to the ladies in the audience.
The Stampeders soared through a setlist consisting of their biggest hits, including “Sweet City Woman” and “Wild Eyes,” with drummer and vocalist Kim Berly's strong register at the helm of it all.
Perhaps one of the most highly anticipated performances of the weekend, Little River Band did not disappoint fans who sported their t-shirts all day long.
Wasting little time, LRB, lead by bassist/vocalist, Wayne Nelson, threw attendees one of the band’s most popular tracks “Happy Anniversary,” right off the bat.
Dubbed as “one of the best singing bands in the world” by Glenn Frey of the Eagles, LRB lived up to and exceeded expectations with stunning vocal harmonies that sounded better than any recording you’ve heard of the band, reminding us all of the beauty behind live performance.
With Nelson being the closest thing to an original member, as he joined the band in 1980, the five talented musicians reinvented and rejuvenated the classic songs of the 70s and 80s — paying the ultimate tribute.
With heavenly “guitarmonies” and powerful solos from each member, including one of the most badass keytar solo’s I’ve ever seen, LRB combined the best qualities from Bachman’s and Sweet’s sets to muster up one radiating and entrancing performance.
From “Lonesome Loser” and “Cool Change” to “Reminiscing,” LRB took us on a trip down memory lane with their lighter-raising, slowdance inducing and cheer-summoning set.
Despite the fact that it was nearly an hour and a half, it still didn’t seem long enough.
Enlisted with the important task of capping off a weekend filled with friendship, outstanding performances and unforgettable memories, Nazareth took to the stage.
Undoubtedly the heaviest band to vanquish the Rock The Lake Stage, Nazareth’s set rode the thin, blurred line between hard rock and heavy metal, giving fans a raw and jagged performance packed full of “Razamanaz.”
Though the Scottish rockers rolled through town not too long ago, the change of scenery allowed them to unleash the monstrous energy that backs not only their original hits but their newer, heavier than led creations.
Infiltrating the stage with savage barbarity, new lead singer, Carl Sentance, was a radioactive fireball from the very first note, instantly pouncing onto the speakers to greet fans.
Sentance may not be McCafferty, but he sure does his music justice with a gravelly and strapping vocal range, all the while adding his own zest to each song he conquered.
If we had to pick a star of the performance it would have to be lead guitarist, Jimmy Murrison, who, contrary to his last visit, commanded the stage with his gritty, villainous shredding.
At times even beating out his frontman for the spotlight.
Grounding bass grooves from original and founding member, Pete Agnew, pounded the cement with cumbersome weight, battling Murrison's devilish playing for attention.
Apart from the rich musicianship presented by each member, the setlist of greatest hits like “This Flight Tonight,” “Hair Of The Dog” and the heart wrenching “Love Hurts” gave fans one last chance to revisit the prime of their youth.
Clearly a lot can be said about the lineup of Rock The Lake 2018, but let’s face it, the festival wouldn’t be much without the thousands of you who attend. Although we may only have the chance to get together once a year, there is something special to be said about the binding connection sparked by RTL.
Once again the festival and it’s patrons have proved that it doesn’t matter your age, race, gender or title, once you cross the threshold into the alternate universe of Rock The Lake you are part of the family and the kinship created by our will to keep rock and roll alive and well.
Not only do we get to celebrate deadly guitar solos and catchy lyrics, but some of the trailblazers of our country’s musical landscape, who paved a path for the next generation of musicians who will carry on the legacy of Canadian talent, and I for one, think that is pretty cool.
Until next time Rock The Lake, we salute you!