Malmo Melodic Festival 2024
Plan B – Malmö, Sweden
27-29th July 2024
Wow! What a fabulous little festival this was. A big shout-out to the organizers and crew. Everything went smoothly and the sound was fantastic except for the bands that had their own soundboard/soundman.
Malmö Melodic Festival was held over a weekend from Saturday to Monday and it worked out well as many had their summer vacation during this period. The bands playing were all in the AOR vein. There were people coming from over 20 different countries to celebrate this first Malmö Melodic Festival.
27th July
First day (27th) started off with ALICATE from Sweden. They did a great job as openers and the audience seemed to like what they heard. They are definitely a tougher-sounding band live than on their albums. Next band was NUBIAN ROSE that has been around for a long time but they don’t play live that often. The singer Sofia Lilja has a strong voice and she is also a vocal coach on the Swedish edition of the TV show, IDOL.
GRAND is a newcomer on the melodic rock scene. They have just released their second album, Second To None, at Frontiers Records. Great slice of AOR with splendid guitar 
work. After them, it was time for the Swedish band HOUSTON who plays a more slick kind of AOR but they also sounded tougher live. Now the sound was perfect and the sound engineer at the festival got a lot of praise from both the bands and the audience.
ROMEO’S DAUGHTER is a band from the UK and has been around since the 80s. They are most known to have had the song “Heaven in the Backseat” in the horror movie A Nightmare On Elm Street 5. This was their first time playing in Sweden ever and many from the audience have been longing to see them live. They were very good and you could hear their professionalism as they are an active touring band. Most of the bands on this festival have never or nearly ever played live yet. Leigh Matty, the singer, still has a great voice.
First night’s headliner was PERFECT PLAN from Örnsköldsvik in Sweden. The singer Kent Hilli is one of the most wanted singers to sing on different projects on the Frontiers label. He has a golden voice that matches the likes of Jimi Jamison and Lou Gramm. The band were on fire (yes it was very hot during their set) and you could see that they had fun on stage. The guitarist Rolf was brilliant and the sound was perfect. This was one of the best shows during the festival. I want more!!
Sunday 28th July
Second day starts with 7th CRYSTAL but only for the people who bought a VIP ticket. I missed them but heard that they were great. My first band was BOYS FROM HEAVEN from Copenhagen, Denmark. They play a bit more sophisticated AOR in the vein of Toto and Chicago. They were absolutely brilliant live and it is sad to hear that they don’t come out and play live that often because no one wants to book them. Shame on you. They deserve a larger audience.
TRANSATLANTIC RADIO is a new project and this was their first live show but the musicians are pros on their instruments. They have a bit of Def Leppard in them with great songs and did a great cover of Stage Dolls‘ classic AOR tune “Love Cries“.
WILDNESS from Sweden has made some fantastic albums and sounds great live. ROULETTE is a band I somehow have missed during their existence but WOW! What a great band they are. Everything sounded fantastic and they are a fun band to see live. I will definitely listen more to them and see them live again if I have the chance.
Headliner on the second day is the classic band DARE from the UK. Fronted by Darren Wharton (ex-Thin Lizzy) and guitarist Vinny Burns. I have seen them live a couple of times since they were a support act to Europe in the late 80s and always enjoy them. This was something extra and what a show! The setlist was perfect and the band was so happy to be on stage and the audience sang with them in every song. This is one for the books! Awesome show by DARE. Some in the audience thought it was the best show they have seen with them ever. Great way to end day two and it was one more day to come.
Monday 29th July
Last day of this fantastic melodic heaven. Are we tired yet? Are there really more great music coming? Oh boy, we are not tired yet and of course, there is more great music to be heard and seen today. For all the VIPs the band CARE OF NIGHT started early in the afternoon. I got in to see their last two songs and they were sounding great. I saw them really late at the Sweden Rock Festival this June and then I thought they were good but had some problems with the sound. Too much bass. Now the sound was perfect.
GAELERI was up next. They have a more 70’s feel to their sound and they had sadly not so many people seeing them. Maybe they are too little talked about? Anyway, they played a solid set and also had Chris Laney from Pretty Maids and Ronnie Atkins band guest on guitar. Their connection is that some in Gaeleri started their music career together with Chris in the glam rock band -17- when they were young. Chris has also produced their latest songs. Check them out!
STREETLIGHT is a new band from Jönköping in Sweden and has released one album, Ignition, which is a great slice of slick AOR. Live they had more crunch to the guitars and delivered one of the festival’s best shows. Awesome songs and brilliant musicians.
JD MILLER did get the chance to play two times at the festival as Emotional Fire had to cancel due to health issues. JD Miller was one of the bands that did not use the in-house soundman and therefore also had a not-so-good sound as they could have. They play a little more heavy kind of melodic hard rock and it doesn’t connect to me.
REMEDY! What a band, what a show and what a bunch of great songs they have! I was blown away by their performance. World class act! They sure have a great future in the melodic rock scene. Crunchy guitars with great solos and sometimes quite heavy sound. They are going out on a European tour with Eclipse this fall and if you have the chance , go and see them! You won’t be disappointed.
CHEZ KANE from the UK drew most of the people attending the festival and she has a powerful voice. She also has great songs but I would prefer more variation in her voice as it is full force all the way. The band was great and the two guitarists had a lot of fun playing so it was a joy to see live.
Last band to perform was RONNIE ATKINS band. Ronnie has been touring a lot this summer with Avantasia, Pretty Maids and now with his solo band. He gave it all but you could sense a little tiredness in his voice. It is anyway so great to see him live and well on stage. Ronnie was also having his own sound man and they also suffered from some technical issues with his microphone and the sound overall was not as good as the other bands. The audience loved it and we got some Pretty Maids songs as well.
This was one of the best weekends for me this summer and I really hope that they will do this again next year. If you love melodic rock/AOR and have the chance, don’t miss going there. You will have a great time and it was very cool to meet so many artists walking around in the audience and talking with the fans.
Malmö Melodic Festival! Thank you so much and best of luck with chapter two!!
