Chris Wright of Maid Of Stone Festival

Maid of Stone Festival debuted in 2023. How did the idea for a music festival come about for you?

We have a five year, rolling contract with the owners of Mote Park to put on various shows across the summer months. When they finally realised that Ramblin Man Fair were never coming back to the park, we were offered the dates they had held and asked if we wanted to do a rock show. Of course we agreed. Taking the lead on this, rock and metal is my life and the idea of bringing rock music back to Mote Park was too intoxicating. We had to do it.

What are some of your memories/highlights of this year’s festival?

Running around like a maniac, fire fighting little first year teething issues and not seeing many bands! Seriously though, it was a great event and great fun. Well worth all of the hard work. Being summoned to Glenn Hughes dressing room was a highlight. And seeing some of the smaller bands, who I had chosen, perform so well on those big stages was out of this world.

What was the first gig that you went to and where was it?

Iron Maiden, supported by Anthrax back in 1990, I believe. It was winter and Bruce was talking about them releasing ‘Bring Your Daughter’ as a single ( which went on to be xmas number 1!). I was 14 at the time and it just blew me away. Had such bad tinnitus on the coach home but I decided at that moment this was going to be a lifelong thing.

Looking ahead to the 2024 edition – What were your main aims/goals when organising the festival?

Growing it, slowly but surely – and improving it in every way we possibly can. And bringing in a diverse selection of bands that the fans will love.

The festival announced your first wave of artists one being a headline set from Mr Big. This will be one of their last UK shows on their ‘Big Finish’ World Tour. Do you have any favourite songs/albums of theirs?

Lean Into It is my favourite album and I couldn’t be happier that they’re going to play it in full on this final tour. Song wise – I have a guilty pleasure for power ballads so probably ‘Just Take My Heart’. Of course ‘To Be With You’ is one of the greatest ballads ever written so that gets the obvious mention too.

 Another booking is Those Damn Crows who have been gradually selling out bigger and bigger venues each time. When was the first time that you had seen them live?

I haven’t yet. I’m a Crows virgin and literally cannot wait. I’ve always been at other stages when they’ve played bigger festivals. I had the chance to catch them in London recently but I knew we were getting them and wanted to save the first time for Maid of Stone. Great band.

The variety of genres from Southern Rock with the likes of Preacher Stone, blues-rock with Jared James Nichols and When Rivers Meet as well as classic rock acts such as GUN and Blaze Bayley performing an Iron Maiden set is so refreshing and wonderful to see. How important is having a wide music offering for Maid of Stone for you? Do you start out with a specific list of artists that you would like to approach?

We start with a list of headliners (one that unfortunately gets smaller and smaller each year) and work back from there. We don’t have box ticking for a certain genre but we always planned to represent rock / hard rock and blues rock. If we can get some Southern in there – great! Although that is harder than most think. I also want to bring through some heavier bands. I think there’s a connection between fans of heavy rock and heavy metal and I plan to start introducing that in 24. With a lot of ex Ramblin Man fans coming to us, we knew we had to serve that crowd – and were happy to – but we always wanted to go our own way. Less Americana and Prog – more harder, heavier and modern. But a lot will depends on the fans we attract – we listen to our customers and fans and we’ve always got their interests at heart.

What other activities can people in addition to the live music?

Last year we had axe throwing, soft archery for kids, a range of stalls and some fun walkabout entertainment. We’re always looking to see what else we can do – I’ve always loved that as festivals – coming across the Caravan of Lost Souls at Download or watching the knights batter the crap out of each other at Bloodstock. I’m open to anything that makes the festival a better experience.

The location is Mote Park located in Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom. What is it about this location that works so well for you?

It’s beautiful and easily accessible. There aren’t many town centre parks in Kent. It’s big enough that we can grow to 10-11K if we want to, and still have space for parking and camping. The South East is a little starved of bigger rock events and we want to fill that gap for a very long time.

As someone who is in the live event industry, what would you say are some of your biggest challenges? What do you think could/should be done to support the industry?

Costs are the main thing. Everything is more expensive and some things harder to get hold of. Personally my biggest challenge is getting bigger bands to play. We have to book 37 acts and there are so many variables that many fans don’t understand. It’s not always about money either. Is the band touring next year? If they’re US based, are they staying over there and the lucrative festivals and fairs? Are they already touring with a promoter who doesn’t want to share? Are they even available? Are the locked into exclusive contracts. It’s a minefield but it’s one we always jump head first into with the aim of securing the biggest and best names we can to push the event forward.

Do you play any instruments yourself?

I play guitar – or I did. I was pretty good between age 7 and 17 and then had to sell all of my kit to afford to go to university. I’ve owned a couple of guitars since and do break it out occasionally. My girlfriend thinks I have amazing skills but I can just about strum out a few songs for a sing-a-long.

What music do you enjoy listening to? Any recommendations?

I have fairly varied tastes but mainly in the rock/metal/alternative genres. It’s just always been my life since I was little. I used to hunt through my dads vinyl collection of Maiden, AC/DC, Chicago, Zepp, Speedwagon- all the good stuff. At the moment I’m a little obsessed with Ice Nine Kills, Until 9, South of Salem, I Prevail, Haxan, Electric Callboy – that’s pretty eclectic, I think!

 What are your three festival tips?

Take a shower. This idea of roughing it for days with wet wipes is fine when you’re at a colossal event like Download but Maid of Stone has plenty of good showers. Freshen up – you’ll appreciate the day more.

Save up – it’s not a cheap thing to really enjoy a festival and I’ve always enjoyed the event more when not worrying about money.

Don’t overdo the drinking on the opening night. Massive schoolboy error, that one.

What kind of food offerings will be available at next year’s festival?
Good quality meats, pizzas, a top Thai noodle bar. Some great BBQ stuff. We’re hoping the big event units like Texas Smoker can return. And if we can find someone – a top quality vegan and veggie. That’s always a challenge.

What makes Chris Wright happy and what makes you unhappy?

Gigs and live music! Spending time with my family (at festivals too), and seeing the happy faces of people at Maid of Stone having a great time.

Unhappy – the state of the world today, ignorant and bigoted people and sad faces at Maid of Stone – yes there’s always a couple 🙂

Maid Of Stone Festival returns on Friday 19th July 2024 – Sunday 21st July 2024 at Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent, South East, United Kingdom. Tickets available from www.maidofstonefestival.com