The rock gods smiled upon us today, folks!
What was forecasted to be a wet and dreary day of puddle moshing, turned into a warm, sun-soaked afternoon backed by even hotter acts.
Day two brought forward a lineup of fresh bands to Rock the Lake (with the exception of one) and today’s theme was all about high energy levels from both the performers and the fans.
Opening up the afternoon, and helping to coax out Mr. Sun, was iconic Canadian rock group Streetheart.
Having first graced the stage at the inaugural year of RTL, Streetheart’s 2016 performance marked one of their final with beloved frontman Kenny Shields, who passed in the summer of 2017.
And while veterans to the RTL stage, the band has seemingly breathed new life into the music they created decades ago with an electric performance led by new frontman, Paul McNair.
Kicking off their set with 1978’s “Action,” the band was on fire right from the beginning with McNair’s voice doing an impeccable job of emulating that of Shields, but with his own falsetto twist.
The audience rushed the stage within the first few seconds of Streetheart’s set and did not leave until the intermission music blared.
Of course, McNair made sure to pay homage to his predecessor with a sing-a-long rendition of “What Kind Of Love Is This,” which undoubtedly sparked a few tears from long-time fans.
From the impeccable wailing of Jeff Neill and his guitar to the nostalgic atmosphere that had couples slow dancing during “Look In Your Eyes,” Streetheart took fans back to the pinnacle of the band’s career.
Up next came The Romantics who travelled all the way from Michigan to perform.
Dressed to the nines in their signature red pants, leather and velvet, the band looked as cool as they played.
Despite their set being stricken with feedback, the fellows did a great job of making up for it with charming rockstar antics, countless jaw-dropping guitar solos and an incredible rhythm section (which was made even more impressive by the stick tricks produced by drummer Brad Elvis.)
From “Talking In Your Sleep” to “What I Like About You” and the b-sides in between, the band flexed their punk zested muscles undoubtedly mirroring the attitude and musicianship of their English inspirations.
By the time the night’s co-headliners were set to take the stage, the at-capacity venue seemed to only become more packed, with fans eagerly awaiting to hear Canadian rock hall of famers, 54-40.
Resident poet and frontman, Neil Osbourne won the heart of the entire crowd the moment he stepped on stage.
Sounding pitch-perfect with added rasp, Osbourne was filled with passion and constantly interacted with his fans during each and every song.
Their hour-long set took us through the last four decades of the group, and featured all of their biggest hits along the way, including “Nice To Love You,” “I Go Blind,” “She La,” and “Ocean Pearl.”
Many songs bled into each other with the help of progressive jam interludes that featured thudding bass lines, scrambling keys and even the honey-smooth sounds of the saxophone.
Amidst the already wild and overflowing set, the boys in 54-40 still managed to take us to church, the church of rock and roll that is.
Channeling the Blues Brothers, Osbourne told the crowd that he and the band were on a “mission from God, a mission to deliver the rock and roll gospel to the people,” and deliver they did.
Committing what may have been the set to beat this weekend, the beloved icons gave their all to fans with a performance of some of Canada’s greatest alt-rock anthems and more!
National treasure and Canadian legend, Tom Cochrane along with his Red Rider comrades, closed out an incredible second day.
Just as night began to settle in, Cochrane and his bandmates shook things up with a set backed by passion, iconic tracks and heartfelt conversation.
Starting things off with his politically-charged “Mad Mad World” Cochrane was a force of nature. Before getting too far into his set, he took time to let us know what the valley means to him.
"I am so excited to be here in Kelowna, this is like coming home for us," he told fans.
From his robust register that brought a tangible quality to the lyrics to his honest and humble demeanor, Cochrane made his love for his country and fans more than well-known throughout the entirety of his time at Rock the Lake.
Prior to jumping into smash-hit “Big League” Cochrane dedicated the hockey-anthem to the Humboldt Broncos and hockey families across Canada — a moment that ignited a roaring response of approval from fans.
Within the breaks between Ken Greer’s insane solos (both on the keys and guitar) and classic hits like “White Hot” and “Lunatic Fringe,” the band took fans into the archives for some heart-felt deep cuts.
Alone with his acoustic, Cochrane sang “Avenue A” and “Bird On A Wire,” prompting lighters to raise and the entire crowd to sway along with him in perfect time.
Truly showcasing the power of music, Cochrane and Red Rider managed to control the crowd like wizards — taking fans from raising their hands and hugging their neighbors to jumping higher and singing louder than they had the entire day during finale finishers “Life Is A Highway” and “Boy Inside The Man.”
Day two was one to remember and one I am sure most of our aching bones won’t soon forget, thanks to all of the lively and dynamic performances.
And guess what? We will get to relive this all again next year!
That’s right, Rock the Lake 2020 is a go and early-bird tickets are already available throughout the Select Your Tickets Website.
See you all there! But before that, we will see you tomorrow!
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
