Everybody's favourite big-hearted Lancastrians are back with the announcement of two very special home-town shows that will be sure to go down in the history books.
Held in Lancaster's legendary Great Hall on September 19th and 20th, MASSIVE WAGONS will pay homage to and follow in the footsteps of many distinguished acts. The Great Hall owes its vibrant past to its former status as a must-play venue on any UK tour. Over the years, its stage has hosted legendary performances by Bob Marley, The Who, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Black Sabbath, U2, Dire Straits, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Queen, T. Rex, Blondie, Ramones, The Pretenders, AC/DC - and soon, MASSIVE WAGONS.
This is more than a gig. It’s a full-circle moment. A love letter to the golden era of rock 'n' roll and a bold new chapter for a venue steeped in history. MASSIVE WAGONS will perform two explosive shows, which will also be recorded live for a brand new live album. Expect a riotous, career-spanning set and all the sweat, soul, and showmanship the band is known for.
On playing such an iconic venue, vocalist Baz Mills shares his excitement:
“These shows are a huge deal for us. It's the ultimate home town gig, and we haven't played locally for a very long time. The history of live music at Lancaster University’s Great Hall is just insane! And now, after it felt silent around 40 years ago, the Wagons are heading back for two nights of what we do best; to absolutely rock the place! It's an honour to get the green light for this, and we have an incredible team in place including Barry Lucas, the original promoter, all super excited to bring music back to the Great Hall! As well as these two shows, we will be recording a live album over both nights, something we have wanted to do for a long time, and sometimes you just have to wait for the right moment and the stars align. It's gonna be the biggest thing we've done, and I hope it shines a light on Lancaster, the university, the amazing music scene, and some incredible people in the industry, and I truly hope the two shows bring a lot of joy to everyone involved.”
Guitarist Adam Thistlethwaite continues:
"We’ve been knocking around the idea of a live album for years now, but the time has never felt right. In these upcoming Lancaster University Great Hall shows, we have a great story in bringing live music back to an iconic venue and our live shows have been taken to another level after the heavy touring of the last few years. We love making studio albums, but the live energy, the passion of the crowd, it’s what we do it for ultimately, so this is going to be special."
Lancaster’s Great Hall has a legendary past, thanks to the work of local promoter and author Barry Lucas, who brought some of the world’s biggest rock acts to the venue between 1969 and 1985. In 2019, he captured those stories in his book " When Rock Went To College". Now, as live music returns to the Hall, Terri Chapman of Rock People Management is leading the charge. With a long-held ambition to bring this iconic venue back to life, Terri is assembling a passionate and experienced team to shape a bold new chapter — with Barry proudly passing the baton and offering his support, alongside University Director Andrew Barker, whose backing has been instrumental in making this vision a reality.
"In 1970 something major happened in the world of music," Barry Lucas explains. "The Grand Hall (later Great) opened at Lancaster University and for the next 15 years this small hall, in a small university, in a small city in the north west of England, played host to some of the greatest music legends of all time. Over those years more than 800 artists played on that stage at the height of their fame. Sadly, for 40 years no bands have played on that stage. That is until this September when Massive Wagons bring their incredible show to recreate those magical nights in The Great Hall."
Tickets go on sale at 10.00am on Friday 5th June from https://www.massivewagons.com/, priced from £30 (£55 for a weekend pass). Sign up to Massive Wagons' mailing list to gain access to early bird tickets!
MASSIVE WAGONS' hunger for education and quest for knowledge doesn't end just there. The boys are also headed back to school for four dates throughout June on their "Forget The Haters" Interactive Class Tour. In association with Lancaster Music Festival and Metal For Good (and now as ambassadors themselves for Metal For Good), the class talks to young students involve discussions on the importance of kindness, respect, and being yourself. With some old fashioned rock n' roll thrown in for good measure, of course! And, as an incentive and special treat for the children of the local area, an exclusive full band matinee performance will take place in September for all schools - the concert will be the first taste of loud, live, electric music for many!
The band will visit:
Fri 6th Jun - WALNEY ISLAND - Vickerstown Primary
Fri 6th Jun - BARROW-IN-FURNESS - Chetwynde Primary
Fri 20th Jun - CARNFORTH - Carnforth Community Primary
Mon 30th Jun - HEYSHAM - Trumacar Primary
With the matinee show for school children taking place:
Fri 19th Sep - LANCASTER - Lancaster University, The Great Hall
Riding high from a fruitful, successful, and busy 2024, the hard-working rockers celebrated a massive #1 album in the UK Rock Album Charts and a stellar #4 placement in the Official UK Top 40 Album Charts for their new release Earth To Grace. Fresh off the road from promoting the 11-track LP on their second leg of the UK, the Lancaster five-piece now look forward to being special guests at Myles Kennedy's EU shows in June with a string of headline dates in between.
This summer, you can catch them opening up for seminal Boston rockers Extreme, at their O2 Academy show in Birmingham on 6th August.
They are also your newly announced Friday headliners for the 12th annual Planet Rockstock, taking place at Trecco Bay Holiday Park in South Wales this November, joining Ugly Kid Joe and The Quireboys on the star-studded lineup.
Tickets are available at https://www.massivewagons.com/live and https://www.planetrocktickets.co.uk/.