THE FAKE Festival has returned to Southampton after a two-year absence - much to the delight of rock fans.

Known for hosting famous tribute bands, the event has seen a big marquee set up in Mayflower Park.

The tribute acts include: The Fillers (The Killers), Mused (Muse), Kings of Lyon (Kings of Leon), Enjoy the Silence UK (Depeche Mode), Guns2roses (Guns n Roses), and The Jam’d (The Jam). 

Festival manager for Southampton, Michael Harm, 39, said it was "really good" to be back.

He added: “[I] can’t have asked for better weather and the positivity is really great.

"I love Southampton, the people are really nice and it's nice to be around people who are happy."

The Fake festival, which got underway at midday, brought to the city classic rock anthems including those from Guns n Roses tribute band Guns2Roses.

Gavin Felvus, a member of the band since it was first created in 2002, also said it was “great to be back” with Southampton being one of the first cities the band played in.  

He also spoke about the band's transition post-covid to playing again.

"We got the crowd going which is great... but being isolated is not good for a person's mind," he said.

"It’s still early days with always something but music being back gives people’s minds somewhere to go. A joyous time hopefully.” 

Guns2Roses, one of the tribute acts to play with the actual band, plans to come back to Southampton in August this year for a performance at The Brook. 

Festival-goers were also excited to be back after waiting two years.

Nikki and Caroline from Woolston and Sholing said: “It's great to come to have fun and to be a part of it.” 

Daily Echo:

Michael, who joined the Fake Festival in 2015, also spoke about the struggles to come back from the pandemic.

He said the event is "not at the numbers that we were".

"We are getting back though the industry has suffered," he said.

Organisers hope to carry on and get “back to normal” with plans to go bigger.

A three-day event called The Big Fake Festival is set to be hosted in September. 

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo.

Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website.

You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more.

Don't take my word for it - subscribe here to see for yourself.

Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by joining our Facebook group - Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents

Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated Facebook group - Hampshire Court and Crime News