Samantha Fish and the Zac Schulze Band set the Wylam Brewery, Newcastle, on fire!

There are some nights at Wylam Brewery when the beer isn’t the only thing with a bit of bite — and on the 5th of March, The Zac Schulze Gang rolled in and proved they’ve got more punch than a double‑hopped IPA.

Frontman Zac Schulze arrived looking like a man who’d been plugged directly into the mains. The moment he hit the first riff, you could practically smell the electricity. His guitar work is the sort that makes other guitarists quietly reconsider their life choices, and his vocals carry that perfect blend of grit and swagger that blues‑rock demands.

Backing him up — and let’s be honest, occasionally driving the whole thing — was bassist Ant Greenwell, whose lines were so tight you could bounce a coin off them. Ant plays with that effortless cool that suggests he could probably hold the entire set together even if the building caught fire.

Then there’s Ben Schulze on drums, who doesn’t so much “play” as “attack with precision”. He’s got that rare ability to be thunderous without ever drowning the others out — like a controlled explosion with perfect timing.

The setlist was a glorious, high‑octane tour through blues‑rock territory. Their take on “She Does It Right” was a proper crowd‑shaker, delivered with enough energy to wake the dead and get them dancing. And when they launched into “The Green Manalishi”, the room collectively leaned in — partly because it sounded fantastic, partly because everyone was wondering how on earth three people could make that much noise.

What makes the Zac Schulze Gang so exciting to watch is that they’re not just good — they’re ridiculously good. The kind of good that makes you grin like an idiot halfway through a solo. The kind of good where you look around the room and everyone else is wearing the same “did you just hear that?” expression.

By the end of the night, Wylam Brewery wasn’t just warmed up — it was fully cooked. If you weren’t a fan before, you were definitely converted by the final chord.

In short: three musicians, one unstoppable engine, and a gig that hit harder than a pint of the strongest stuff on tap.

Some artists walk onstage. Samantha Fish struts on — and on the 5th of March at Wylam Brewery, she didn’t just wow the audience… she practically rearranged their internal wiring.

From the first note, it was clear the crowd wasn’t dealing with an ordinary guitarist. No, this was Samantha Fish in full flight: part blues queen, part rock ’n’ roll troublemaker, and part “how‑is‑she-even-doing-that?” guitar sorceress. You could feel the collective jaw‑drop ripple through the room before the first chorus even landed.

Her playing was a glorious mix of precision and chaos — the good kind of chaos, the kind that makes you grin at strangers because you both know you’re witnessing something outrageous. Every solo felt like she was daring the guitar to keep up with her, and the guitar was just about managing, sweating bullets.

Vocally, she was just as fierce. One moment she was all smoky soul, the next she was belting out lines with enough power to rattle the brewery tanks. The audience didn’t stand a chance. They were hooked, cooked, and happily served up by the end of the second song.

And the stage presence? Let’s just say Samantha Fish doesn’t perform so much as command. She had the crowd eating out of her hand — and occasionally air‑guitaring like they’d been possessed by the spirit of rock itself. Even the people who’d “just come for a quiet pint” were suddenly acting like lifelong superfans.

By the time she hit the final number, the room was buzzing like someone had plugged the entire building into a giant amplifier. People weren’t just applauding — they were celebrating the fact they’d just seen a musician at the absolute top of her game.