CherryFest is Melbourne’s premier boutique rock’n’roll festival. It feels weird to describe CherryFest as a boutique festival as this descriptor seems foreign when used in context to 600-plus mostly bearded, black t-shirted punters (one in three having a buxom leather clad babe hanging off their arm). By all accounts, and the overall feel, this was the biggest turnout to grace the lane in its ten-year relationship with Cherry Bar. This stretch of narrow road, that nine years ago was renamed* AC/DC Lane – after much lobbying by the owners headed up by the visionary James Young – was packed by 4pm when Swedish psychedelic revivalists Blues Pills took to the main laneway stage. The young Swedish four-piece – all under 23 – performed a flawless 45 minute set of undulating and rich guitar music. Angelic blonde-haired and blue-eyed female singer Elin Larsoon’s petite stature belies her powerful voice. The rock cry during Devil Man was so uplifting that it had random punters cheers-ing each other for the sake of it.
From this point the scheduling of the laneway stage was flawless. After Blues Pills were Berlin locals, metal purists, Kadavar. While not reinventing the wheel their Black Sabbath-inspired rock wooed each punter’s hips into smooth zig zag and raised fists.
Major heritage drawcard Powder Monkeys were the key anchor to a festival that’s – while welcoming the aforementioned international talent – main motivation is a celebration of Melbourne’s thriving rock scene. Their penultimate set of the night was transcendent, nostalgic and, most of all, rocking. Powder Monkeys were the coolest of the cool in the early ‘90s and tonight’s set felt like a time warp back to their heyday, even with guest vocals (original vocalist Tim Hemensley passed away in 2002). Another act making a comeback of sorts was Legends Of Motorsport who during their set on the Cherry Bar stage reminded punters what a ‘hard’ rock band sounds like.
As anticipated the headliner, California’s The Bellrays, was the ‘cherry’ on top of an amazing day of music. Lisa Kekaula and co lived up to the proclamation on their Facebook page ‘punk is preacher, blues is the teacher’ as their set careered through the band’s 12 album career. The impeccably tight rhythm section created the bed for guitarist Bob Vennum’s jangling guitar and Kekaula’s roaring soul vocals. The Bellray’s set, and the festival for that matter, ended with a roaring rendition of AC/DC’s Highway To Hell that saw James Young joining The Bellray’s onstage to sing the chorus.
As the crowd dispersed there was some talk that this was the last CherryFest due to the looming residential building nearing completion at the end of AC/DC Lane but I heard from a very reliable source that the council has approved festivals in the lane two Sundays a year – regardless of what the new residents want.
*Ironically, the lane was formerly known as ‘Corporation Lane’
BY DAN WATT
Loved: Blues Pills and Kadavar’s merchandise.
Hated: The fact I had work the next day.
Drank: From the fountain of rock.
