Saturday, June 13, was officially the last day of the classic RFP 2026, and here is our summary of the entire day.
Calva Luise
The UK trio was the choice to start the date. Rocking the typical British underground metal scene with dark lyrics and loud vocals the band offers a nice crossover between rock, punk and alternative rock and a nice visual show. It was a good choice.
Bury Tomorrow
In the 20year path of this band we have seen them navigate around metalcore sounds very successfully. Brutal force and energy surrounded their performance today and there was a clear connection with the people below.
I Killed the Prom Queen
Australian metalcore band who is around 25 plus years. Their performance was captivating. With riffs and rhythm changes that were constant the audience experienced a 45 minutes journey into the metalcore world.
Everpass
A new band that came into the smaller stage but got my attention. A mix of Blur meets Oasis this band is clearly having a chosen style and personality. Atmospheric keyboards in the background joined by powerful drums in the foreground and clear singing voices. Be sure to check them out.
Malevolence
British grind/metal core band. Need I say more? Well I will. Malevolence have over the years mastered playing in front of large audiences and big stages. Clearly knowing how to feel and feed from the audience vibe they were on a constant give and take with them. They don't miss speed on the drums and brute force in guitars, they just did a great show.
Venus Grrrrls
An all female lineup from Leeds, Venus Grrrrls, performed theatrical movements in a goth/hard rock mix. Their music consist of clear melodies and beats that were forcing you to dance and sing. Important was also the gothic elements present in lyrics and frontwoman’s movements on stage.
Nothing But Thieves
Formed almost 15 years ago (2012) Nothing But Thieves are an established English indie rock band. Songs like Amsterdam and Overcome have helped the band establish their position in the scene. Not afraid to crossover to commercial rock as well, the band delivered a fantastic show for the fans below. Great scene movements and syncing between the band members, only displayed to the people who saw them for the first time that they have grown and their success was not due to luck.
Halsey
The big name of Rock For People. Halsey is beyond words. And truly so as describing an artist that has 4+ songs that have been streamed above 1 billion times is indescribable. Halsey owns every venue/stage/festival and she delivered to us a show worthy of her fame. Including all hits and of course “Closer” she had a flawless colorful performance and the icing of the cake were the fireworks at the end of her show. For 1 and a half hours she performed a world class act.
Within Temptation
The Dutch mainstream Metal band closed the evening of the 2 big stages. Sharon, as always, sang her heart out in the tunes of the band's biggest successes. The audience responded in kind by singing along and interacting accordingly. The highlights of the show was Sharon’s blast of the past where she reminded everyone the significance of the Czech republic in her career as her first appearance as a pro singer was here (with another band) and also her first Within Temptation performance too. A true royalty, not an “Ice Queen” for sure.
Photos by Vasilis Tiropolis (more at https://xp-spot.com/index.php/gallery)
Report by Costas Zervas