It was an all day, spring ime show in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. By the time I made my way into The Amp on April 18, you could feel it building, that low hum… like a tube amp warming up. The day started with four opening bands; a local school of rock band and several cover bands who mixed the classics with a handful of original tunes to get the crowd interested. But there was clear excitement in the air for the top headliner: hard rock legend Lita Ford.
Between each band was a quick reset; gear shuffle, mic checks, the usual stage choreography. And then Red Voodoo walked out and kicked the main event into motion.
I’ll be honest; I’ve seen enough opening bands to know the usual rhythm. The crowd gives a few polite nods, maybe looks up from their phones. That wasn’t the case here. Red Voodoo came out swinging with “KSA” like they had something to prove, and maybe they did. There’s a certain hunger in bands at that level, and it’s hard to fake. That matters. A lot of younger bands come out sounding like they’re still asking permission. Red Voodoo didn’t do that.
Watch the official music video for “KSA” by Red Voodoo on YouTube:
“Break the Habit” and “Hourglass” rocked things up early, and by the time they hit “Deeper in Love,” the crowd wasn’t just watching, they were leaning in.
It’s always a good sign when people start drifting closer to the stage instead of back toward the bar.
“Good Luck Charm” and “Hold Onto This Love” gave the band space to stretch a bit, with a little more groove, a little more swagger. And yeah, maybe I caught myself thinking they’ve got a bit of that Sunset Strip DNA baked in, something between nostalgia and ambition mixed with the future.
“All Night Long” landed exactly how it should’ve; loud, loose, and just a little reckless. By the time they closed with “One and Only,” they’d done their job. More than that, they’d made people care and they left the stage like a band that knows they just made a bunch of new fans.
Red Voodoo Setlist
1. KSA
2. Break the Habit
3. Hourglass
4. Deeper in Love
5.Good Luck Charm
6. Hold Onto This Love
7. Heart of Stone
8. All Night Long
9. Fantasy Blues
10. Keep on Chasing
11. Style
12. One and Only
Quick changeover. Guitars get swapped, pedalboards checked, a drum tech doing that last-second snare tweak like it’s life or death.
Then FireHouse stepped into the spotlight, and suddenly it felt like 1991 had found a wormhole back in time and parked itself in West Virginia.
“Overnight Sensation” opened the set with zero hesitation, and right behind it, “All She Wrote” followed like it never left radio rotation.
Watch the official music video for “All She Wrote” by Firehouse on YouTube:
Their newest band member, vocalist Nate Peck, easily hit the stratospheric high notes made famous by their original singer, the late CJ Snare, and he very quickly won over the crowd.
Founding guitarist, Bill Leverty and long time bassist, Allen McKenzie provided backing vocals while founding drummer Michael Foster, laid down a thunderous back beat.
Somewhere in the middle of the set, featuring “Home is Where the Heart Is,” “Don’t Walk Away,” “I Live My Life For You”, the band started really cooking.
With the single “Mighty Fine Lady”, their first studio recording featuring Peck on lead vocals, the band locked into that groove where everything feels automatic and “Midnight Gasoline” kept things from settling into easy nostalgia.
That’s what I appreciated most. They didn’t just mail in the crowd-pleasers and call it a night. They kept the engine humming.
“Oughta Be A Law” and “Shake and Tumble” kept things loose, but it was the ballads that really shifted the air.
“When I Look into Your Eyes” hit that soft spot immediately. You could see couples leaning into each other, people half-singing, half-smiling like they just remembered where they were the first time they heard it. “Love of a Lifetime” took that feeling and stretched it across the entire venue. It’s not subtle, and it doesn’t need to be, like a song built to hit people in the chest whether they admit it or not.
By the time “Don’t Treat Me Bad” closed things out, the crowd wasn’t just watching anymore, they were participating. Loudly, happily, a little off-key in spots, but that’s part of the charm.
Firehouse Setlist
1. Overnight Sensation
2. All She Wrote
3. Oughta Be A Law
4. Shake and Tumble
5. When I Look into Your Eyes
6. Lover’s Lane
7. Mighty Fine Lady
8. Home is Where the Heart Is
9. Don’t Walk Away
10. Egypt/Haywire
11. I Live My Life For You
12. Midnight Gasoline
13. Love of a Lifetime
14. Reach for the Sky
15. Don’t Treat Me Bad
Then the lights dipped again, the atmosphere just a little darker this time. You could feel the shift before you saw it.
Lita Ford walked out without much fuss, strapped on the guitar, and opened with “Gotta Let Go.” No theatrics, no drawn-out intro, just straight into it. And it worked. It always works when you skip the buildup and trust the song.
“Larger Than Life” followed, and the title felt less like a statement and more like a reminder. She’s still got that presence; part grit, part precision. “Relentless” lived up to its name, driving forward with that steady pulse that keeps everything locked in.
Then came “The Bitch Is Back,” which, let’s be honest, fits her like it was written for her. The crowd ate that up.
Ford’s presence is direct. She stands her ground, plants herself in the pocket of the song, and lets the guitar do a lot of the talking. Her tone has that slightly gritty edge, not overly polished, not trying to chase modern sheen. It’s a vintage Marshall stack turned up just enough to make the air feel a little thicker.
“Playin’ With Fire” and “Can’t Catch Me” kept the tempo up, but it was “Cherry Bomb” that really cracked things open. You could feel the recognition ripple through the place, that mix of nostalgia and disbelief that this song still rocks as hard as it does.
“Black Leather” (yeah, that one) followed and the whole thing took on a darker, dirtier edge. It felt properly snarling, which is about the best compliment you can give a song.
The outdoor setting started to play its part as the set moved along. Sound carries differently outside. It doesn’t bounce back at you the same way it does indoors, so the band pushed just a little harder, filled that open space with volume and presence. Guitars rang out a bit wider, drums hit with a little more force, and the whole thing felt like it expanded past the stage itself.
And then she pulled it back.
“Only Women Bleed” shifted the entire mood. Not dramatically, just enough to remind everyone there’s depth behind the volume. It’s easy to forget that in a set packed with rockers. The quieter moments always feel a little more honest.
“Close My Eyes Forever” followed, and yeah, you could feel the absence of her original duet partner, but it didn’t matter. The crowd filled in the gaps. Not perfectly, not cleanly, but that’s kind of the point. It felt shared.
Watch the official music video for “Close My Eyes Forever” by Lita Ford on YouTube:
By the time “Kiss Me Deadly” closed things out, the place was fully locked in.
And maybe the strangest part of the night was that no one seemed surprised that it all worked. Not really. There was no “she’s still got it” narrative floating around, no backhanded compliments. It was simpler than that.
She never lost it.
Lita Ford still has the kind of presence that can make a big outdoor venue feel intimate and a nostalgic set feel dangerous.
The Amp had become one of those places where time gets weird. The present and the past were both in the room, leaning against the same railing.
The rain that had been just light sprinkles earlier, started falling harder and as the last chord rang out into the darkness, the crowd made a quick beeline to the parking lots.
You walk out, ears ringing, and think… yeah, that one’s going to stick around a while.
Lita Ford Setlist
1. Gotta Let Go
2. Larger Than Life
3. Relentless
4. The Bitch Is Back
5. Playin’ With Fire
6. Can’t Catch Me
7. Cherry Bomb
8. Black Leather (Sex Pistols cover)
9. Only Women Bleed
10. Close My Eyes Forever
11. Kiss Me Deadly
Here are photos of Lita Ford performing live at The Amp in Harpers Ferry on April 18, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography.
Here are photos of Firehouse performing live at The Amp in Harpers Ferry on April 18, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography.
Here are photos of Red Voodoo performing live at The Amp in Harpers Ferry on April 18, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography.
