Blue Oyster Cult and The Sweet are joining headliners Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow at this year’s Stone Free Festival The all-day event take place on June 17 at London’s O2 Arena.
“We’re thrilled to be returning to London for a headline set as part of Stone Free,” say Blue Oyster Cult, “as we celebrate 45 years of being ‘On Tour Forever’”. The band will be headlining the Indigo, supported by Scottish rockers Gun and Northern Ireland’s The Answer.
“It has been 40 years since Sweet played shows together with Rainbow in the USA,” say The Sweet, whose 1974 hit Fox On The Run reached number one on the US iTunes Rock Chart late last year after being included in the trailer for Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2. “We therefore look forward to reconnecting where we left off. Both bands have gone through changes but with guitarists Ritchie Blackmore and Andy Scott still performing on stage the legacy remains intact. Most importantly the music especially the hits are still very much part of rock history today.” The band will appear on the main stage.
Also performing at the festival will be Finnish Bluegrass act Steve’n’Seagulls, who’ll be playing the official aftershow party, while the Big Entrance stage will play host to demented space-rockers Evil Blizzard, Welsh bluesniks Buck & Evans, Australian riff-mongers Massive, Brit rockers Massive Wagons, and heavy metal’s very own Death Valley Knights.
Elsewhere, the Classic Rock Vinyl Fair will provide sweet succour for those on the hunt for rare wax, while the Speak Easy Lounge will rock to the sweet sounds of comedian and singer-songwriter Phil Nichol (former Corky and the Juice Pigs’ frontman) and comedy club regular Rich Wilson, and bear witness to a live recording of Stuart Goldsmith’s Comedians’ Comedian podcast, which has previously featured the likes of Tim Minchin and Jimmy Carr.
Tickets are on sale now, including ‘Rock Royalty’ upgrades.
