Vandenberg at Skogsröjet
Dutch guitarist Adrian Vandenberg celebrated the music of Whitesnake and Vandenberg at the Skogsröjet festival in Sweden.
Vandenberg at the Skogsröjet festival in Rejmyre, Sweden on 3rd August 2024
A legendary Whitesnake guitarist revisiting his musical past was a great fit for a hard rock summer festival in the Swedish countryside. It was a beautiful summer afternoon filled with beer, metalheads and a fab show packed with crowd favourites. What else does one need?
Dutch guitarist Adrian Vandenberg is best known for playing guitar in Whitesnake in the 80s and 90s, although he started to make a name for himself with his band Vandenberg in 1981. Swedish vocalist Mats Levén fronts the current line-up of Vandenberg. Mats is one of Sweden’s best hard rock vocalists, having sung with acts such as Swedish Erotica, Treat, Candlemass, Yngwie Malmsteen, Abstrakt Algebra, Southpaw, Krux, Therion and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He is a perfect choice for Adrian as he can sing the David Coverdale parts that most other singers can’t. This means more Whitesnake songs at Vandenberg’s shows.
The last time I saw Adrian perform live was in 2014 when he brought the Vandenberg’s MoonKings to Japan. At that time, the focus was on MoonKings material. At Skogsröjet a decade later, the setlist was roughly half Vandenberg songs and half Whitesnake songs, a combination which was a great fit for a nostalgic festival audience.
Vandenberg’s self-titled debut album came out in 1982. From that album we got to hear “Your Love Is in Vain”, “Wait” and, of course, “Burning Heart”. The band also performed the more recent Vandenberg songs “Hit the Ground Running” and “Freight Train”. To the audience’s delight, the set featured six carefully chosen Whitesnake songs: “Fool for Your Loving”, “Give Me All Your Love”, “Judgement Day”, “Crying in the Rain”, “Still of the Night” and “Here I Go Again”. With Whitesnake’s future uncertain, we were fortunate to hear some of our favourite ‘Snake songs performed live.
Adrian was on form at Skogsröjet. He turned 70 earlier this year but plays the guitar like he did back in the day. Recruiting Mats to the band was a smart move. Now the Vandenberg band has a guitar wizard, a solid rhythm section and a fabulous vocalist, plus the fab Whitesnake and Vandenberg catalogues to choose songs from. This was an excellent Vandenberg gig and a tip of the hat to the terrific Whitesnake catalogue.
