Massive Wagons is Lancaster’s very own hard rock band and one of the city’s biggest music exports, with their latest album from 2024 Earth to Grace reaching number 4 on the UK album charts, and their last four albums having reached number 1 on the UK Rock & Metal Album Charts. Formed in 2009, the band have been steadily growing a following, both UK based and internationally, for the last sixteen years, releasing seven albums and consistently touring to support those albums and get their music out there.
Lancaster, the hometown of the band, has a great music culture, with lots of indie artists on the circuit regularly throughout the year, and there’s always music to be found somewhere. The city hosts the Lancaster Jazz Festival in September, the Music Festival (sadly not on in 2025, but hopefully returning next year!) and up until last year, Highest Point (again, hoping this will return with vengeance soon), as well as a huge amount of musical artists performing at Lancaster Grand, The Dukes, Kanteena, the Town Hall, and many other great venues throughout the city, supported by organisations such as Lancaster Music Co-op.
But back to Massive Wagons!
Right up front I’ll admit, when I bought the ticket to see Massive Wagons at Lancaster University, the most I knew about this Lancaster band was the enormous mural on the side of The Pub in the centre of town, and one popular song that I’d put on my playlist from Spotify… but by the time I left the gig on Friday night, I was definitely a fan. They are a fantastic live band, really tight musically, along with great crowd interaction, and Barry Mills has incredible energy and connection with the audience. I didn’t know too many lyrics, but I was able to pick it up and was soon singing along/hollering with everyone else. My early favourite was the song ‘Asshole’ where Barry had the crowd competing in an impromptu spelling bee; shouting “A-SS-HO-LE ASSHOLE” throughout the bridge of the song, as well as some light roasting of the crowd (“just dim the lights on that side of the crowd, especially the bald fella with the big head… super ugly”)… got to love it!
The band also touch on some really important topics through their music; ‘Night Skies’ deals with mental health, particularly men’s mental health, and encouraging men to talk to each other/speak out if they’re struggling. This is so important, particularly in the era of the “men’s loneliness epidemic.” This is a little off topic, but I believe that it is other men who are going to be the driving force in helping their friends through that, and men need to see good role models and calls to action, like this song, to look out for each other; confirming that men confiding in other men is not weakness in any way, and it needs to be encouraged. It’s great to see a Hard Rock band embracing this, and firmly aligning men’s mental health with strength, hard rock, and acceptance.
‘I’m impossible to make unhappy
‘Cause I’m the happiest of happiest guys
But I struggle trying to find a smile that fits my life…’ – Night Skies by Massive Wagons
Another important issue the band have tackled is bullying. The song ‘Forget The Haters’ (or F**k The Haters in the non radio friendly version!) was written by Barry and lead guitarist Adam Thistlethwaite about their own struggles with bullies when they were at school. They’ve been visiting schools throughout Lancashire to spread the message to children that bullying is not okay, and what to do if they are experiencing bullying. Again, seeing positive male role models encouraging open communication, empathy, and strength through kindness is so so important, as kids (especially boys) are being exposed to a lot of other foul content that tells them the exact opposite (I refuse to mention his name on here, but hopefully you get the gist of who I’m talking about). Barry and Adam are also ambassadors for Metal For Good, a charity that aims to use the positive energy of UK music subcultures to change communities for the better; promoting mental health campaigns, representing minority voices, and advocating for positive change.
“If we can help one child then the last few years has been a success” – Barry Mills, Massive Wagons lead singer
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The two shows on 19th/20th September 2025 were also part of a long legacy of music at Lancaster University. Sadly, this legacy had well passed it’s heyday by the time I attended in the early 2010s but, if you can believe it, the Great Hall once played host to rock titans such as Pink Floyd, U2, Queen, The Kinks, The Jam, Blondie, The Who… all of which is documented in the excellent book ‘When Rock Went to College’ by Barry Lucas and Paul Tomlinson. It would be incredible to see the Great Hall back as a go-to venue for rock bands on the UK circuit, as once it was, and Massive Wagons choosing to record their live DVD there at the weekend could be a step in that direction. Terri Chapman, of Rock People Management, is leading the charge in the hope that this vision could become a reality.
Massive Wagons are on tour later this year in Europe on the Blood and Bone Tour 2025. As for me, I’ll be waiting eagerly for them to come back to the North West or to play a hometown show again – see you there!
