The March contribution from guest blogger Pär Berglund from Meadow Music is a little different than usual, this one presenting new Swedish hard rock festival Stockholm Rock Out which, as implied in the name, takes place in Sweden’s capital April 30-May 1. But fear not; there’s music too, courtesy of festival founder Chris LeMon’s band Badmouth.

It’s hard to find a genre where there is such loyalty to history like in hard rock. Heroes from the past are celebrated and respected, and bands don’t try to hide their influences or are afraid of comparisons. You could of course reinvent the genre, put something new into the mix and push forward, but it’s not a demand. As long as you rock and do your thing, the fans will love you.

A manifestation of this are the big rock festivals, where old legends play side by side with new artists. Here in Sweden the famous outdoor festival, Sweden Rock Festival, has been the ruler of this territory, taking place each year in June. Now finally, April 30 to May 1 (with a pre-show on April 29), a new rock festival is born in Sweden: Stockholm Rock Out.

It’s an indoor festival, taking place at Gamla Tryckeriet in Alvik. Focusing on the glam/sleaze/poodle rock and hard rock that came out of the eighties they have gathered quite a few strong bands from both now and then: Keel, Great White, Steelheart, KIX, Dizzy Reed (Guns ‘N Roses), XYZ, Bullet Boys, Nasty Idols, Chris Laney, Pretty Boy Floyd, Killer Clan of F.U.N., and many more.

The man who started all this and runs the show is Chris LeMon, bass player in the band Badmouth, and I’ve taken the opportunity to ask him some questions:

How would you describe Stockholm Rock Out?
“Stockholm Rock Out is something outstanding. This kinda lineup has never been seen in Scandinavia before, and people all over Europe have been writing me, thanking me for doing this in Europe. It’s gonna be two days of rock‘n’roll and partying and of course we have a killer pre-show the day before the feast begins so everybody can get in the rock out mood, including acoustic performances by Great White, Keel, XYZ and TUFF plus release party for Chris Laney´s new album.”

How did it all start?
“I am a huge music fan myself and for a while I’ve been wondering why nothing like this has happened before in the capital of Sweden. So I thought that maybe it’s my mission to break some ground and do it myself and here we are.”

How has the response been so far from artists and fans?
“It’s been amazing… From everyone!”

What are your intentions with the festival for the future?
“My intention from day one has been to make it an annual festival, so if people love Stockholm Rock Out I will be very happy and will start plans for next years festival the day after this one has ended.”

And where can we read more about the event and buy tickets?
On sthlmrockout.com you can find all info needed and also buy tickets. You should also check out our YouTube channel where we have some really cool promo videos from a bunch of artists playing at this years festival.”

Thanks to Chris and good luck with the festival. I think it would be appropiate to finish the post with a short presentation of Chris LeMon’s own band, Badmouth. It’s a great live band who will also be playing on the festival and right now they’re in the studio recording a new album. Here’s ‘Pedal to the Metal’ from their eponymous debut album: