The late May bank holiday Sunday 2026 found us once again at The Face Bar (still no idea why it’s called that, I really must ask next time), on the edge of Reading town centre; the chosen venue for Crazy Cowboy XI. Personally, I feel very lucky that this grass roots venue is still open for business considering the closures of other national local venues, and it was good to see that other music fans agreed judging by the good turnout.

Taking advantage of the two rooms, known as the blue room and the red room to match the colours of the walls, there was back-to-back live music playing from a host of up-and-coming rock bands all at different stages of their musical journeys, some you would already know and others waiting for your discovery. Fourteen bands booked to play a wide spectrum of rock music, there was sure to be something for everyone. We weren’t disappointed!

At twelve-noon in the blue room, the honour of opening this one-day festival went to Reading power trio the Two Ton Shoes. Playing songs from their current EP The Lie, they concentrated on playing as many songs as possible in thirty minutes. Their hard, heavy sound included a previous single Weight of a Stone. Their latest single The Prestige was a slower more bluesy number, and if you want to hear more of Two Ton Shoes (and you should) check out their forthcoming gig dates. If this performance was anything to go by, it was going to be an excellent day.

Moving over to the red room (this toing and froing was the format of the day) the opening act here was No Setting Sun, a three-piece band from Derby. A heavy, classic rock sound soon had the audience clapping along. Songs from their 2025 EP Where the Line Is included the single Under the Sun a heavy powerful song with a powerful message; great lead and backing vocals. Slightly mellower but just as powerful was Reach the Edge. The closing song was Wake up Tomorrow, when we were invited to boogie, after which we could go and meet them at the all-important merch stand. A number of people accepted their invitations.

Possibly the youngest band of the day was Tender Vendetta who describe themselves as a hard rock band from Wolverhampton – I’d add with a tinge of punk. This four-piece band were full of energy from their opening song Kamikaze Love to their closing Life’s a Bitch. In-between, we weren’t invited to sing as such, but shout back at them ‘leech me baby’ on his cue during the song Leech. Audience duly complied. Amazing energy, with great catchy danceable songs, this band is definitely worth seeing again.

Trouble County wasted no time in launching into their set when the singer announced “This is Wasted” as soon as the audience arrived. This Portsmouth power trio performed a varied set of songs in the classic rock vein, the most poignant of which was John Baker that the singer finds difficult to sing as it’s about losing a person close to him. A slow track that had everyone swaying along in recognition that everyone has lost someone they miss. The closing track 12 Gauge Blues ensured the set finished on a high, and I’m sure Trouble County gained some new fans today.

As often happens when there are many bands booked on an event, someone may have to pull out. Today it was a family emergency that caused Cancel the Transmission to cancel their appearance. I’m sure they’ll be rescheduled for a future Crazy Cowboy event.

Andras Droppa is no stranger to the Face Bar, and this guitarist-vocalist in his three-piece band from Devon and Wales looked very much at home here. I believe this is his third Crazy Cowboy appearance, so familiar to quite a few of us now. Opening with recent single Gamble it grabbed people’s attention from thereon, and this continued with interestingly named songs like Jack’s Sanctuary for Damnable Deeds.  A man from the audience was invited to come on stage to sing with them, but this wasn’t a random selection just because he had been dancing to every single band who’d been on so far (and for every band yet to play), but because he was known to the band. Andras explained that Nik had made a large donation to a charity the band had been raising funds for. Nik and the band sung together on Help me find my Faith and a very happy man rejoined the audience. At the end Andras said ‘you’ve seen us before and know how we end the set’ as they played Painted Ladies. Great ending…but it wasn’t the end. Confusingly, Adam from Adam and the Hellcats appeared on stage (not scheduled to play today) with Alec (Crazy Cowboy) and introduced a ‘secret encore’ dedicated to three people who’d been recently lost to the music world. The stage erupted into a rendition of Paranoid. The audience went wild!

In case you’ve lost track, we’re now back in the blue room to watch Not Now Norman from Berwick upon Tweed. A four-piece band with a very enigmatic female singer in a wonderful costume (check out the socials for other amazing outfits). The songs were just as ear-catching (is that a term?) many of which were based on her bad experiences with men from Bad Liar to Abuser. I hope she’s having better luck now. A wonderful lively and theatrical performance from start to end that demonstrated her wide vocal range. Keeping it in the family the guitarist was her (undoubtably proud) father, but the bass player wasn’t her mother, as often asked. The set ended with End of the Day that left everyone on a dancing high and hopefully checking their socials for albums and other gigs.

And now for something completely different. Introduced by Adam (he of the Hellcats) Pulverise were an enigma, that for the uninitiated, took a while to get your head around. Was it rap or was it metal or some clever union of the two? The opening Liquorice Allsortz was a blast on the senses that was maintained throughout the set. There was lots of chatting with the audience and referring to themselves as ‘Yorkshire Pudding’ and ‘Irish Coffee’ in reference to their origins. The fun and banter continued throughout. Songs included fan favourite Bitchin’ that had the whole audience jumping around. The set ended with Sulk, the first song written together as a band. Pulverise – to completely destroy, pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust, I think that pretty much summed up the musical effect of this band.

Calming things down next was Katie and the Bad Sign, a five-piece band from Manchester, with their own blend of americana blues. Katie may be petite, but her voice certainly wasn’t. Songs included the self-titled Revolution and a sultry cover of Gimme Me Shelter that went down well. Having recognised faces in the audience, Katie invited everyone to join in and sing ‘can you feel it coming’ and everyone participated. There was a fast and catchy new song that I didn’t catch the name of, but I do remember enjoying, as we did the last song Heartless Woman that rounded off a great set.

Another returning band was Puzzle Tree from Wales; a five-piece, with a great female lead singer. Their fan base had grown since their last appearance, as there were more watching from the start of the set. The opening song Kingdom had joint vocals with the male guitarist that demonstrated their big sound and stage presence. Best described as heavy prog, the high energy was maintained throughout every song. Heartless was sung like she meant revenge against someone, and Colossus that was heavier but softened to an Evanescence type vibe. The final song High Tension was slow and intense, and kept you listening to the end, after which it was declared that she was going to stand under the air-con’ as the red room was ‘hotter than hell’. She was referring to the temperature but could also apply to their music.

Local Reading band, five-piece The Dead Can Wait (TDCW) were meant to appear at Crazy Cowboy X, but due to illness they were last year’s late cancellation. They were welcomed for Crazy Cowboy XI.  Seven epic songs that started with the menacing No One Knows Your Name and led straight into Dark King (we’re told it was a love song), TDCW, likened to Iron Maiden, had their own heavy rock sound. The singer had a captivating stage presence, often seen slow running on the spot, and was very much absorbed in the moment. An interesting, deep voice, that was shown appreciation when someone called out “nice voice” and met with an “ah thanks”. The closing song was self-titled, over six minutes of The Dead Can Wait – not sure what came first, the song title or band name. As the band prepared to leave the stage there was a call for an encore. Unusually, this was granted, and the unexpected final song was Paranoia which wasn’t even on the set list. Also with a growing following, TDCW are appearing at several festivals this year, and having recently supported Wolfsbane, are ones to see sooner than later.

Due to their popularity Leadfeather, a London based four-piece, were another band invited back for Crazy Cowboy XI. On entering the red room, we heard four clicks of drumsticks and the band began with their soon to be released single Queen of the Night. This followed seamlessly into Danger Zone from their highly successful 2025 Roll the Dice EP, of which they played said named title track later in the set. They closed with a slow, powerful finale Troubled Man. Hands were in the air clapping along, and once again Leadfeather finished a set that left the room buzzing.

So that left the final two headline acts, one in each room.

Circus 66, a four-piece from Maidenhead just along the M4, opened with the opening track Replace the Pain from their current album Elements. They delivered an energetically charged set with vocals that get better each time you hear them. The singer was struggling with the heat(wave) we’d been experiencing, and told us she thought she was more prepared than she was coming across, but it all seemed fine to us. She magically managed to tie her long hair up in about five seconds and declared “it’s the quickest I’ve ever done that”. From there, they caught a second wind and the room lifted. We All Need Saving was slow and sung with an intensity that kept you engaged throughout. The penultimate track Monster where the audience were playfully encouraged to call her a ‘monster’ and the crowd obliged. The final track Save The Damn World rounded off a heat driven set, both in temperature and performance.

Unbelievably, the clock had jumped forward ten hours, and it was time for this festival’s headline act. This year it was the fast and fury-ous five-piece band from the midlands who lit up the red room’s stage with Fury. Currently on tour promoting their 2025 Interceptor album, they opened tonight’s set with said title track. The playlist consisted of a good mix from across their previous four albums too, that included Prince of Darkness from 2014, through to Embrace the Demons from 2022 none of which felt dated. The co-lead male and female vocals complemented perfectly and added extra depth and interest to the songs, but Fury as a band filled the whole stage and room with their presence. “Do you like it fast and loud?” we were asked as they launched into It’s Rock ‘n’ Roll which was very fast and very loud, and if you had any energy left this was going to take it. Walk Away was more chilled and poignant, and showed a mellower side to Fury’s songwriting. A seventy-minute set that was filled with brilliant tracks from the first to last note, kept the room fully engaged right to the end, and finished this festival as fast and furious as they started with If You Get to Hell First. There were thanks from the band to the audience being here and for making their long trip worthwhile.

Amps off, time to pack up, for bands, organisers and audience to float on home having enjoyed a day packed with back-to-back amazing bands. Make sure to sign up to their socials, buy merchandise and support their live shows – keep grassroots music alive.

As with many festivals, the bands only get a short time to play to reach new people, as well as existing fans who have come to see them again, and if the bands can make the effort to travel many hours for us, then we should make the effort to support and be there for them – you never know who you’ll discover.

Crazy Cowboy XI had record ticket sales, and let’s ensure this upward momentum continues for next year’s Crazy Cowboy; there’s always room for more people, and tickets are ridiculously cheap. The next event is Crazy Cowboy 60, but don’t panic, you haven’t gone through a time-warp, it’s a party-celebration of Alec’s/Crazy Cowboy’s 60th birthday, but note the venue is Leo’s in Gravesend, Kent, not Reading. Tickets are on sale now, so what are you waiting for?! Alec looks forward to you joining him.