Gig review: Fozzy at Rock City

With doors seemingly opening a little later than advertised, it’s a quick pit stop into Rescue Rooms to make the most of their happy hour, before heading into Rock City for tonight’s opening act – Marisa and the Moths. Despite the early start on a Friday they’ve still drawn a decent crowd, with frontwoman Maria Rodriguez’s powerful voice ringing out around the main hall over the top of Alez D'Elia’s mesmerising guitar riffs. Marisa makes a point of acknowledging what a big moment it is for them to play Rock City’s main room, before opening up about having a panic attack earlier in the day.

New track Nothing’s Getting Better resonates as a result, a cathartic anthem about those days when everything goes wrong at once. Fans down at the barrier sway their arms in unison, turning the anxiety at the heart of the song into an uplifting moment.

Another standout is All Alone, introduced as a celebration of not fitting in with the crowd.

“Let’s celebrate our weirdness” Marisa declares, with the room suddenly lighting up with phone torches. It is one of those unexpectedly tender moments that support bands dream of earning. They then get the crowd singing along with them to Choke, successfully warming up the room while winning over new fans in the process.

After a quick pit stop downstairs for some Marisa and the Moths merch, it’s back into the main room for hair metal outfit, Tailgunner, who have brought in the rest of tonight’s crowd. The screens on the side of the stage light up with the band’s logo, as they walk out onstage to a cinematic intro that felt straight out of a dystopian film. From the word go, the musicianship on display is off the charts, with two guitarists both producing jaw-dropping shreds and the most elaborate drum set-up we’ve seen from some time, with more cymbals than we can count.

“We’re here to play some heavy metal for you, Nottingham — is that alright?” roars frontman Chris Cairns into a neon-glowing microphone stand, complete with the band’s logo emblazoned in steel on the base. The crowd are up for metal tonight with Tailgunner’s set a whirlwind of galloping riffs, soaring vocals and unapologetic 80s glam metal worship.

Tears in Rain from their new album hits especially hard, blending melodic hooks with a dramatic edge that feels fitting for a piece of Blade Runner homage.

There is an awkward moment midway through Tailgunner’s set, however, as the band leave the stage expecting an encore, but the audience and the sound desk seemingly don’t get the memo. The music begins to play over the speakers, as drummer Eddie Mariotti sits there looking confused. The band eventually return to finish the set, Chris Cairns joking about the crowd not knowing what an encore is before they quickly organise themselves to get the momentum going again. They then close out on Guns For Hire, with Cairns feeding a can of Super Bock into guitarist Zach Salvini’s mouth midway through a wild guitar solo, urging the crowd to scream the song along with them. A great end to a memorable support set.

After a brief technical delay, a Fozzy 25th anniversary logo appears across the screens like a LED omen. When the lights finally drop, the speakers blast a snippet of Smokie’s Living Next Door To Alice with everyone singing along to the chorus, before an orchestral rendition of The Rolling Stones’ Paint It Black. Finally, the band emerge out of the shadows and last to arrive is frontman Chris Jericho, who is tonight sporting glitter pants, glitter boots and (for now) a red leather jacket. As a pro wrestler by trade, he has the swagger of a man who knows exactly how to work a crowd and within seconds he is tossing beer into the audience.

The band launch into recent single Fall In Line and from there, it’s a parade of greatest hits from across their 25-year career. One Crazed Anarchist, Lights Go Out and Painless are each delivered with the kind of bombast that makes a Fozzy show feel like a hybrid between a rock concert and a wrestling event. Between songs, Jericho declares the evening “Fozzy Friday” and insists Nottingham is about to experience a full blown rock-’n’-roll party.

It’s then time for the first costume change of the evening, an ominous voiceover sounding over the speakers before Jericho reemerges in a glittery leopard print jacket for Spotlight and a crowd-pleasing cover of ABBA’s SOS.

There are several more outfit changes for Jericho throughout the night, a pin-needle jacket coming next followed by a purple sparkly number - each one more flamboyant than the last. It’s very glam rock, with Jericho showing he is a truly complete entertainer throughout.

One of the evening’s most heartfelt moments comes when Jericho talks about making his dreams come true in reference to seeing Adrian Smith playing Rock City the night prior. With the Iron Maiden guitarist being one of his idols as a teenager and them now playing the same room on consecutive nights, the accomplishment isn’t lost on him. It’s a rare bit of humility amid all the theatrics, with the band then getting back to business by tearing through I Still Burn.

Elsewhere the setlist is simply stacked with singalong anthems for a fun Friday night, with Nowhere to Run and Drinking With Jesus getting a big reaction, before the torches come out for ballad Army of One. Incredibly, despite it being Friday the 13th, their song Paraskavedekatriaphobia doesn’t get a rare outing tonight. There is space, though, for Do You Wanna Start a War, complete with Jericho wielding a smoke gun and spraying it into the air – so we can’t complain too much.

Despite all the great moments, the true showstopper is old-school Fozzy favourite Enemy.

This is Rich Ward and Billy Grey’s time to take the spotlight, the two guitarists taking centre stage and stretching the song into a ten-minute guitar duel. It’s indulgent, classic rock excess but also absolutely thrilling, the kind of moment that reminds you why rock music makes for the best kind of live music.

By the time the song finishes, the band are already way over curfew, but they aren’t quite done yet. The opening chords of Judas send the room into a frenzy and Jericho barely needs to sing, as the crowd belt every word of his AEW entrance music with full-lunged passion.

They close out the night paying tribute to the late-great Prince of Darkness – Ozzy Osbourne – with their own excellent rendition of Crazy Train. As a band that started life as an Ozzy tribute, it feels like the perfect, full circle way to end this 25th anniversary celebration.

As the lights come up and the club night curtains start to get drawn, Rock City feels like it has been through a storm of glitter, riffs and pure metal adrenaline. Marisa and The Moths impressed, Tailgunner electrified and Fozzy delivered the big spectacle to cap it all off.

For a band that thrives on showmanship, audience connection and unapologetic fun, this was a triumph. Here’s to many more nights with Fozzy in Nottingham!

Fozzy performed at Rock City on 13th February 2026. You can read our recent interview with Chris Jericho here.

@fozzyrock