Live | Golden Age Rock Festival 2025 – Liége [BE]

19 & 20 September 2025

This year marked the fourth edition of the Golden Age Rock Festival in Liège. As a warm-up on Friday, several tribute bands were featured on the program. Led Zeppelin [Gallows Pole], AC/DC [High Voltage], and Deep Purple [Fireball] were there to entertain the audience. I wasn’t there myself, but from what I heard from visitors, it was pleasantly busy on Friday and people had a great time. And that’s what it’s all about, of course.

THE GOLDEN AGE CONCEPT

I drove to Liège on Saturday and when we arrived around noon, we had completely missed the first band, The Roost, and also the second band, The Flynts, had already been playing for quite some time. In any case, this band fits within the Golden Age concept, which really revolves around bands from the 70s/80s or at least bands that sound similar to that period.

This year, the festival took place at yet another location, namely Centre Culturel De Chenee, and I must say it was a nice venue. The lighting and sound were actually very good for all the bands, although I think the lighting technician could have used a little more front lighting, because we often found ourselves looking at a few shadows on the stage.

MARIA CATHARINA

Maria Catharina feat. Robby Valentine was the first band I saw perform in its entirety, and I must admit that I was unfamiliar with Maria’s solo work. Although this music does not originate from the Golden Age period, it can be said that the roots of these compositions certainly do. In general, I found the songs to be a bit heavier than what we normally see this band perform on stage. It is, of course, the same band as when Robby does a solo or Queen show. With the exception of bassist Luuk van Gerven, who was unable to perform, so Robby took over the bass duties along with the keys.

But this was clearly a solo show by Maria Catharina, and her voice was at times a lot heavier than we are used to hearing from her. Personally, I really liked that. A very successful performance, especially when you hear afterwards that Maria woke up with a high fever on the day of the show. Hats off to her.

Q5 and GRAND SLAM

After this show, it was Seattle band Q5‘s turn. The band, fronted by singer Jonathan K, enjoyed some success in the 1980s with their debut album ‘Steel The Light’ [1984] and was touring Europe on their Steel The Live Tour 2025. Mr. K himself wasn’t in particularly good voice, and the band’s repertoire hasn’t exactly matured well over the years. I think they all played well and the band members certainly know how to play the right notes, but it all sounds a bit dated. But who am I to judge, because the mainly Belgian audience sang along loudly to songs like ,,Missing In Action” and ,,When The Mirror Cracks”.

A band I had high expectations of beforehand was the Irish-British Grand Slam. They were performing for the second time at the Golden Age Festival. The band was, of course, founded by Phil Lynott and Laurence Archer after the breakup of Thin Lizzy. And that musical influence is woven into the band’s DNA. Mike Dyer’s vocals also evoke comparisons with the late Thin Lizzy front man.

This band is currently the standard-bearer for Lizzy fans, and they fill that role well. Although I have to say that I thought today’s performance was not as good as the other two times I saw this band live, however they were highly entertaining.

SWEET

And then it was time for Sweet to perform some 70s glam rock. Andy Scott [76 years young] is currently on his farewell tour. This would be the last time he would go on the road with Sweet, and to celebrate that, the band released the album ‘Full Circle’ last year.

The show kicked off with the smash hits ,,Action” and ,,Hell Raiser.” And as always, it’s a blast to see this band perform. Scott has once again gathered a band around him that effortlessly and enthusiastically performs these classics. The harmonies are phenomenal, and Scott’s high notes are as crystal clear as ever. This is an achievement in itself, of course, given his age. And, of course, this man is no longer as mobile on stage as he was in his younger years, but the music is delivered to the audience with military precision.

Sweet in 2025 is still super cool and shows that it’s possible to perform without the use of backing tracks, with everything played live. Respect! ,,Love Is Like Oxygen” was awesome to hear again. Scott’s high vocals and bassist Lee Small’s were phenomenal. ,,Fox On The Run” was sung along to by the entire audience, and the closing songs ,,Blockbuster’’ and ,,The Ballroom Blitz” were also very well received by the crowd.

For me, Sweet was the highlight of this edition of the Golden Age Rock Festival 2025.

ULI JON ROTH

The finale of this edition was original Scorpions guitarist ULI JON ROTH. Another act that has already graced the festival stage. The audience can expect nothing less than a trip down memory lane from this guitar wizard. The opener, ,,All Night Long” from the ‘Tokyo Tapes’ album, immediately catapulted us back to the 1970s. The sound was once again excellent, and Mr. Roth was clearly enjoying himself on stage.

In between songs, we were treated to a tribute to his late brother Zeno with ,,Don’t Tell The Wind.” Niklas Turmann‘s vocals are very powerful and sensitive. In my opinion, one of the highlights of the set was ,,In Trance”. A fine and solid set from ULI JON ROTH, as we have come to expect from this guitar hero.

GOLDEN AGE ROCK FESTIVAL 2025 – THE CONCLUSION

Golden Age Rock Festival 2025 was a successful fourth edition. My personal highlight was Sweet’s performance. What was less impressive was the choice of food for the audience. Outside the venue, there was one food truck with hamburgers (very good ones, though), burgers, and nachos topped with cheese on the menu. There was also a vegetarian burger. Not much choice, but enough to fill your stomach.

Perhaps something to consider for the next edition?

All photos by Raymond Helebrand