Drunken Monkey Rock Festival 2018: Evesham schoolboys rock on

EVESHAM LADS BATTLE FOR FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHT 

A TALENTED band of Evesham schoolboys is getting set for its biggest gig yet and it could rock their young lives. 

The 14 and 15 year-olds who make up Ranstone will be playing their heavy metal hearts out to win a coveted place in the mega August 3-5 Drunken Monkey Rock Festival in Upton-upon-Severn.

Success will line the lads up with more than 50 crowd-pulling greats at the Festival, which raises funds for the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC) in memory of Ian Dowton and is growing ever year.

The record-breaking 2017 event attracted twice as many people and raised four times as much as the year before.

Tickets are already selling fast for this year’s Festival, with a line-up including Wizards of Oz, Pearl Jamm, Van Hailen and Gage, hot footing it from South Africa. Check out www.drunkenmonkeyrockfest.co.uk for the full line-up and tickets.

The volunteer team of organisers had to turn away scores of would-be performers and the performance slots are already filling up for next year.

But Stu Evans, who runs the main stage, and Chris Harvey, who heads the Tower stage, kept three places free for the winners of their first Battle of the Bands, at Evesham’s The Valkyrie Bar, starting at 7pm on May 11.

Ranstone will be pitched against Voodoo Stone, Hate.System and Vintage Inc in a fierce competition that will be judged by audience reaction plus the verdicts of Stu, Chris and Bar owner, and Festival fan, Steve Richford, who says: “It will be a great night that will also raise money for MAAC.”

Ranstone was put forward by Chris, who runs Tower Studios in Pinvin, which is backing the Battle of the Bands and where he tutors drummer Zack Morris. “They’re a good, tight little band who deserve a wider audience,” he says.

“Chris is a great motivator and we’re very proud of them. Whatever happens on May 11, it will be a great showcase for them,” says John Morris, the tree surgeon dad of Zack, aged 14 and a PHHS student.

“We have been practising really hard for this and I'm ready to tear up that drum kit,” adds Zack.

“If they win, it will be their first festival and potentially a game-changer,” adds Nick Hutton, financial services expert and dad of singer Jack, 15, a pupil at De Montfort High School whose teachers, he says, have been brilliant at encouraging his son.

“We wish all the bands well,” says Festival Music Director Stu. 

“Let battle commence.”