Photo Reports

When you have new friends in Mexico who are musicians, one of your ‘obligations’ is to participate in some way in their growth and help in any way you can, a reciprocal feeling to acquire new opportunities in a new country. I’m very grateful to Chuy Guevara and his project, The Mexican Walker, for the opportunity to be present at a huge party featuring one of the most important Mexican bands of recent times, Kinky.

The usual press conference, at a prestigious hotel in the city of San Luís Potosi (SLP), was used to talk a little about what was being prepared for the following day at the city’s theater in Tangamanga Park. A good mood, a full room and lots of questions made us look forward to a big and memorable show.

Kinky are an electronic rock band who also mix other musical genres, making them popular with a wide audience. With over 20 years’ experience, the project is respected and admired both nationally and internationally.

Opening the night on Saturday, The Mexican Walker gave their biggest performance to date, the home band from SLP managed to reach a wider audience and presented their best version, making the most of the opportunity. The project mixes electronic sounds and traditional instruments, immersing us in an immersive soundscape.

Performing in a hybrid form, Sussie 4 turned the venue into a giant open-air discotheque. Technology hand in hand with the organic, just two men managed to infect a crowd in an intense and long-lasting way, for around 2 hours in which they ‘pumped’ and made people dance to the sound of their very strong mixes.

Even after an intense set by Sussie 4, the SLP crowd still had plenty of energy to unapologetically welcome Kinky, the band from Monterey back in a big way. Their songs are catchy, they’re on the radio, on TV, in films all over the world and everyone knows them and dances to them. An unforgettable evening for those who attended, a huge Saturday night party with good vibes and positive energy.

A big thank you and compliments to Thanku Entertainment for the excellent organisation of a great event.

During the high time of the festival summer frenzy in 2025, THE GHOST INSIDE stopped over between all the festival gigs at Stuttgart’s LKA Longhorn on June 24 for one of two club shows in Germany. The concert dates have sent a shockwave through the scene once announced, due to being the first tour appearances of the band since the tragic bus accident in 2015. Wedged between all their festival shows, this intimate headliner gig for sure was a big contrast to the large festival stages: raw, unfiltered, and back to basics of sound and light. No high-tech stages, only sweat dripping from the walls and being close to the fans as can be.

Support was provided by the German metal core band HALF ME, which prefers to perform in a rather dark stage environment. Nevertheless, their performance already added a few degrees of heat on that hot summer day.

THE GHOST INSIDE delivered at full throttle and set the heat volume in the venue to maximum: Jonathan Vigil roared himself through ‘Engine 45’ and ‘Death Grip’ like his life depended on it, while the crowd kept singing all the lyrics right back like an echo. The room crackled with electricity—a massive intensity that often gets lost at open air shows. Especially haunting was the emotional punch of ‘Aftermath’, which hit hard in that close, charged space.

This wasn’t just a filler between festivals—it was a statement. THE GHOST INSIDE proved they thrive not only at mass audiences but within the intense intimacy of a tight clubroom. For the fans, it was a night to remember. For the band, it maybe felt like a homecoming. This is what metal core sounds like when it is in your blood, and what it should be like.

Antwerp, June 24, 2025 – Guitar icons Joe Satriani and Steve Vai set Antwerp’s Stadsschouwburg on fire. With their performances as the SatchVai Band, the two virtuosos shared the stage in Belgium for the first time, a long-awaited moment for fans of instrumental rock. Originally scheduled for the Lotto Arena, the show was moved to the more intimate Stadsschouwburg due to slower ticket sales. But what the evening lacked in size, it more than made up for with energy and sheer musical firepower.

The SatchVai core duo was joined by heavyweights Marco Mendoza on bass, Kenny Aronoff on drums and Pete Thorn on guitar.

Vai and Satriani‘s history goes back nearly five decades, when Vai was a teenage student under Satriani‘s mentorship. That connection has since evolved through many G3 tours, culminating in a full-fledged world tour as the SatchVai Band. After all the great classics from both virtuosos had passed and the show had come to a close, the audience gave thunderous applause and standing ovations, leaving the band with no choice but to perform a smashing encore

First came “Crowd Chant,” a perfect sing-along that brought the entire theater to its feet with raised voices and hands in the air. This was followed by a thunderous cover of Metallica‘s “Enter Sandman,” followed by a soaring version of “Born to Be Wild” to end the evening in true rock and roll fashion. For many in the room, it was the fulfillment of a decades-long dream to see two of the greatest guitarists of all time share the stage together.

The support act was Ned Evett, known for playing the fretless, glass guitar. Ned played a solo set, which is brave, but if you ask us, it could have sounded much better with a backing band.

Viikate is a band that has somehow managed to stay under my radar for a very long time. While I had heard their name before I still had absolutely no idea about them until two years ago when I by coincidence stumbled into a Solo gig of Kaarle Viikate. I decided back then that I wanted to check this band out, but as you can see it still took a long time for me to finally make to one of their shows.

For their recent gig in Tamperes Tavara-Asema Viikate went with a different approach with what they called a quiet concert. This included calmer songs, a half-time break the fans were also asked to stay seated as much as possible and to keep quiet during the songs.
Of course not everyone was happy with this: One disgruntled fan asked after the first half of the set “What is this, a theatre play? You used to be a band.” Kaarle just countered back with “Well and now we’re a theatre play. Didn’t you listen at all in the first half? Guess what, I bet you’re going to be even more disappointed with the second half.” I for my part really liked the chill and relaxed atmosphere of the gig and was happy that I could fully focus on listening to those songs for the very first time.

It was a night of legends and rock and roll at The Token Lounge in Westland, MI on Saturday June 14, 2025! Close Enemies featuring music veterans Tom Hamilton [bass – founding member of the amazing Aerosmith], Tony Brock [drums – The Babys and Rod Stewart], touring veteran Peter Stroud [guitar – Sheryl Crow and Don Henley], Trace Foster [guitar – Angus Young of AC/DC’s guitar tech] and Chasen Hampton [vocals – singer since age 11/Mickey Mouse Club and The Party].

Opening acts for the night were Portal 27, Faded and Most Wanted! All 3 bands did a fantastic job warming the crowd up. I have seen Faded before, and they have a really cool retro vibe with a bluesy vibe. 

With such a stacked lineup, I knew Close Enemies were going to bring it, and they did without a doubt! If you like a good ol’ rock n’ roll, you will like this band. You can tell they are having fun with this project-which is refreshing to see with a super group such as this. They are long time music industry veterans-they have seen and played it all! It made me smile to watch them doing what they love and having a blast while they do it! They have some tour dates on the horizon in the late summer and fall-if they come to your area, make sure you catch a show! You will be pleasantly surprised with their original music but also get to hear a couple of Aerosmith covers which is just the cherry on top!

The first day of Rockfest 2025 in Turku kicked off under bright summer skies, setting the tone for a weekend packed with riffs, nostalgia, and high-energy performances. The main stage brought together three generations of heavy music — from the timeless legends of Judas Priest, still commanding crowds with effortless power, to Sepultura, delivering what was likely their final show on Finnish soil as part of their farewell tour, and Sweden’s own H.E.A.T., radiating pure rock ’n’ roll spirit.

Helsinki Vampires The 69 Eyes celebrated in grand style their classic breakthrough album ‘Devils’ 20th anniversary at Ääniwalli playing all the classic songs you would want to hear from their back catalog and of course ‘Devils’ in almost in its entirety. Great night of goth rock ‘n’ roll from the legendary The 69 Eyes! Check the pics down below!

We continue our Rockfest coverage with a closer look at three standout performances from this year’s edition in Turku. From the emotionally charged delivery of RØRY and the soaring, radio-ready energy of Moon Shot to the chaotic, unmistakably Finnish force of Stam1na, the Red Stage and Black Stage came alive with variety, intensity, and personality.

Dive into the gallery below and relive some of the most memorable performances of the first day of Rockfest’s weekend.

Wildfest 2025: ‘End of the Road’ – A Final Celebration of Glam, Sleaze & Melodic Rock

For those who missed me, I have to say that I am back. Now in a place far away from Europe and our headquarters in Europe.
Mexico, especially San Luis Potosi (SLP), will now be the new point of contact. From here I will try to bring you the latest on what is happening in these part of the world. The first experience with the German band Lacrimosa, in the presentation of the “Lament World Tour 2025” which has in Mexico the largest number of scheduled dates, no less than 22 concerts. This leads us to assume that there is a special love for this country and for this fans.

The presentation of the event was carried out by the event promoter, Cantodea Producciones, (www.cantodeaproducciones.com) , on 11.06.2025, in a very prestigious and central restaurant/bar, called “La historica, cantina de autor”. Here the promoter explained very well what would happen on Saturday, and at the end of the question and answer session the press was treated to a nice snack. For reasons related to the safety of the spectators, artists and technical support material, the show had to be postponed to Sunday, June 15th.

As a result of this postponement, the show scheduled for Zacatecas had to be cancelled, and the event promoter organized initiatives to facilitate transport for spectators from that city to gather and attend the SLP show. The band itself, feeling very bad about the cancellation of Zacatecas, decided to give everyone a special 3-hour show in San Luis Potosi.

The Cinateca Alameda, was chosen as the new presentation venue. Well-packed to welcome the duo Tilo Wolff and Anne Nurmi, who are on this “Lament World Tour”, accompanied by: Yenz Leonhardt, Henrik Flyman and Julien Schmid.
The vibe and energy of the people of SLP was strong from start to finish, showing affection and admiration for the experienced German band.

“Lament” is a special album, which closes a thematic trilogy and Tilo makes a point of sharing this information with his audience in a humble and sincere way, eye to eye. Everyone’s years of experience on stage,  makes everything seemingly easy to present live, but without a doubt, we have to highlight the technical support team, who were impeccable, taking everything to a higher level.

May there be more nights like this, we look forward to more, yes, Cantodea Producciones!