By Leila.

On the 27th of October, history was made in the UK. The country’s first full length wizard rock festival, Potter Rocks 2007, came to be!

I came from about seven hours away, in Scotland, driving with my parents to Birmingham. We left at about four in the morning to arrive in Birmingham in the afternoon. As usual, we got lost for about an hour trying to find the hotel. In the meantime, the bands met each other, parting ways for a bit, only to meet once again at three. Arriving myself, I thought nobody was there. Then I saw four girls who were very colorful (literally) and thought to myself, “these people look wizard rockish.” I soon learned I was right!

At three, The Black Sisters, Miss Metamorphmagus, Romilda Vane and the Chocolate Cauldrons, DJ Knockturn, and Siriusly Hazza P were there to set up and prepare for their performances. In the rehearsal room you could feel the excitement and nerves; there occurred small patches of dead silence. It being most everyone’s first concert this was forgivable. The remaining performers came in a bit later to set up.

Jess (Miss Metamorphmagus), Amy (Romilda Vane and the Chocolate Cauldrons), and Emma of Bella and the Deatheaters, along with myself, got locked out of the library for five minutes or so. A sad violin played in the background, which seemed eeriely appropriate. The P.A., stuck in traffic, turned up and wrocking began soon after. With about an hour left to go the librarians wanted some wrock music to play while people came in and Jess had The Remus Lupins album in her bag. It played until the concert officially started. I seem to be followed my this Remus Lupins group; they’ve found me at three out of four wrock concerts with the Remus Lupins involved in someway.

At around six, the doors of the library opened and the first performer come on stage to share their music with the audience.

Bella and the Deatheaters, for being pretty nervous about the show, played brilliantly, commenting, keeping the audience laughing as she prepared for each song. Never having heard her music, I felt stupid- she is a fantastic singer and when you see her live the passion she has for her music is evident. The words “acoustic” and “fantastic” sum up her wonderful performance. I heard someone say after her performance, “It’s hard not like her,” which is the exact truth.

Setting up their drum set and keyboard came the second act. Two sisters and their Dobby (whose name we all tried to guess) with a passion for disliking muggles, The Black Sisters were on. Their first song was a cover they called “We Love Potter Fans.” It was their first time on stage in front of an audience and they kicked it like the true wrockers they are. From the first song to their last, they kept up the energy by dancing, even providing a little rehearsal dance for their song “Harry and Ginny.” They’d been rehearsing all day and it paid off greatly.

Next up, RiddleTM, the most moving performance of the night. I felt like a horrible person because I hadn’t heard ANY of their songs beforehand. By the end of their performance I regretted being so unaware of them. From their first song to their last, I couldn’t help but have goose bumps. They live their lyrics when they sing them. They just give you this feeling of sorrow and hope for the characters. They performed to the best of their ability, which was the ability of fantastic. To make up for my lack of hearing them I bought their EP and haven’t stopped listening to it for the past five days. Its perfect.

RiddleTM was followed by Romilda Vane and the Chocolate Cauldrons. She [Amy] was FANTASTIC; don’t let her make you think otherwise. She gave a fantastic performance after stating she had never played piano in front of people before. You wouldn’t have known. From her singing “Halloween at Hogwarts” to the melodies of “Frozen” and her humorous song “Dumbly” the audience got such a variety of wonderful songs it was hard to direct your attention anywhere else. She sang her music a’cappella as well as with her brilliant piano abilities. “Frozen” was the first song I had ever heard from her and hearing it live just made me love it more. The song “Dumbly” causes me to break out laughing because it is so brilliant.

Following was the girl who set up this historical event, Miss Metamorphmagus. As the mastermind behind Potter Rocks, she performed in such a professional way. Like the rest, it was obvious she believed in her music. When she sang “I’m a Ravenclaw” so energetically people started dancing. Her set was the shortest, but the time meant nothing. She is an amazing performer. After “I’m a Ravenclaw” I felt like I was waiting for the train to Hogwart’s where I would be sorted myself.

Full of energy and color was Siriusly Hazza P. They probably told me a million times what their name means, but I still have no clue. It does, however, represent them a lot as performers and people: unique and fun. They never stopped moving and went out into the audience, making sure everyone had the time of their lives. The youngest of the bands, they proved that wizard rock is something that shouldn’t hide inside you but be let out. One of my favorite of their songs features a lyric about asking Harry on a date.

The day also featured a costume contest with great prizes for those who won. A special dance was done by one of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts boys, and DJ Knockturn could be found on the side helping with tracks and playing some wrock between sets. Huw from the Shrieking Shack Disco Gang selling the great merchandise on hand. I made up a game called, “where is the Wizrocklopedia sticker?” in between performances. They were everywhere, on shirts, pants, and ties.

It’s hard to describe how happy and amazing this concert was. The time of my life. No words can describe how thankful I am to have been able to go and be there for most of the bands’ first performances. I got over my fear of talking to people and I was just happy. They are a great group and I can’t wait for another chance to see them play. I will be booking my ticket back to the UK whenever it happens.

Brilliant people, fantastic performances, AND fun. Who could ask for more?

Click here for over 40 videos via our Potter Rocks 2007 playlist on YouTube.