Once again, it’s that time of year to make our way to the heartland of US in Columbus , Ohio, to take in the 9th annual Rock on the Range Festival. When you reach this amount of years, any festival should make it a purpose to grow as the years go on. I think Rock on the Range is doing a good job of that. One big new feature that should be mentioned is the Jack Daniels’ tent. Included in this tent are various menu items including wood fire pizza, fried fish and other various delicacies. Also within the confines of the JD tent, there was a locker rental facility so patrons could store their items. The vendors have seemed to expand as well with more independent jewelry and rock wear for consumers to buy. There was also an area for people to participate in graffiti art (which was new this year as well). What the festival is about is the music, so let’s get to that shall we?
With 60 bands and three (3) stages plus a comedy tent that is now in its 3rd year and a picking up steam, there are lots of options to explore for your Rock on the Range buck. Starting bright and early at 11:45am every day, both the Ernie Ball and Jagermeister stages were revved up for business. Kicking things off for us was Shaman’s Harvest on the Ernie Ball stage on Friday at 11:45am. It was kick ass straight ahead rock and roll. Many different types of bands performed over the next three (3) days. We will focus on artists who made impression with their sets.
Vamps is a good rock band from Japan who added some glam to their performance. Hardcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan literally tore sh*t up. Guitarist Ben Weinman was having guitar issues so he picked up another one. Still having issues, he proceeded to smash the guitar and toss it at the drum kit. Vocalist Greg Puciato went to the back of the barriers to sing with the fans.
Back with a new tour, Breaking Benjamin, who was the first band to play the inaugural Rock on the Range 9 years ago (Rock on the Range trivia), played the Monster main stage on Friday and had a huge crowd for a midday spot. They were one of the top bands of the entire weekend for sure.
Slash with Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators were solid and one of my favorite bands to play the festival. It’s the band’s third time playing and also got a good response playing songs off of their latest offering “World on Fire” and a mix between Gun n’ Roses and Velvet Revolver songs.
There was special guest opening up the Monster Main Stage on Saturday. Former Three Days Grace front man Adam Gontier’s new project is called Saint Asonia. Also in the band is Mike Mushok from Staind and former Finger Eleven drummer Rich Beddoe. A mix of unreleased material from an upcoming EP and songs from Three Days Grace covered their set.
One of my favorite bands of the entire weekend was Rival Sons. I just witnessed the band perform live for the first time less than two (2) weeks ago in Buffalo, NY, and I can’t get enough of them. Jay Buchanan and the boys will be the next big thing in a matter of time. I truly believe that. This band is THAT good! Another band that was a highlight was Crobot. The band has been touring non-stop and got a lot of buzz surrounding their performance. Their midday set wasn’t long enough but let’s hope a return for the band with more time next year.
In this Moment has totally changed the way they perform. Their entire set is choreographed with the vocalist going through a costume change after every song. Their set was a photographer’s dream as there is so much to capture but I think with all that stopping, it loses its momentum for the fans watching the show.
A band that came into Rock on the Range with a lot of curiosity surrounding them was BABYMETAL. They are three (3) young teenage Japanese girls with one doing vocals and the three of them dancing around with pink skirts choreographed to the beat of the music. The backing band was good but didn’t get the gimmick.
Sabaton played the Ernie Ball stage and is really generating some steam. The crowd was really into them and they played a really solid set. Apocalyptica should get a mention as their brand of rock, classical, and metal is always a welcome addition to the rock on the range lineup.
A band who doesn’t tour the US very often is the English band Saxon. They have been around for almost 40 years and got a warm reception on the Jagermeister stage. The classic “Denim and Leather” was the highlight of their set.
The surprise of the weekend to me was the band Unlocking the Truth. Three (3) African American teenagers just signed a five (5) album deal through Sony and opened up the Ernie Ball Stage on Sunday. These three can play and play with energy and precision. It was funny that vocalist and guitarist Malcolm Brickhouse wouldn’t start the 3rd song until a circle pit opened up. Well, it did almost immediately and the band played on. It was a great short set and there’s a bright future ahead for these kids.
New York city’s September Mourning had a very interesting visual performance. Very heavy goth like costumes with tons of makeup. BackstageAxxess spoke to vocalist September and she said” it takes 3 hours to put on all of that makeup and elaborate costume.” It would be a great act to see this act with a bigger stage.
Another successful sold out festival as the city of Columbus holds the premiere rock festival in the United States, in my opinion. I’m glad to see the festival take chances to see what works, like with the newly added graffiti art and the Jack Daniels’ tent. The festival is a well oiled machine and besides some parking snafus for media, it was another amazing three (3) days of music and much, much more!
Slipknot setlist:
Sarcastrophe
The Heretic Anthem
Psychosocial
The Devil in I
AOV
Wait and Bleed
Vermilion
Killpop
Before I Forget
Duality
Eyeless
Spit It Out
Custer
Encore: 742617000027
(sic)
Surfacing
Judas Priest setlist:
Dragonaut
Metal Gods
Devil’s Child
Victim of Changes
Halls of Valhalla
Turbo Lover
Redeemer of Souls
Jawbreaker
Breaking the Law
Hell Bent for Leather
Dragonaut
Metal Gods
Devil’s Child
Victim of Changes
Halls of Valhalla
Turbo Lover
Redeemer of Souls
Jawbreaker
Breaking the Law
Hell Bent for Leather
Encore:
The Hellion
Electric Eye
Painkiller
Living After Midnight
Beginning of the End
Linkin Park setlist:
Papercut (2015 intro)
Rebellion
Given Up (Ext. Outro)
One Step Closer (False Start, Ext. Outro)
A Line in the Sand (Keyboard Intro)
From the Inside
Runaway (Shortened (Intro/First Verse/… more )
Wastelands
Castle of Glass (Live Experience with ‘A Thousand Suns’ interlude)
Leave Out All the Rest / Shadow of the Day / Iridescent (Ballad Medley)
Robot Boy (Shortened (Intro, Synth… more )
Joe Hahn Solo
New Divide
Breaking the Habit (2015 debut)
Darker Than Blood (Steve Aoki cover) (Live debut, First Verse Acapella + Synth)
Burn It Down
Wretches and Kings / Remember the Name / Skin to Bone
Numb (Numb/Encore intro)
In the End
Faint (Ext. Outro)
Waiting for the End (Apaches Intro w/ Until It… more )
What I’ve Done (Ext. Guitar Solo Bridge)
Bleed It Out (Ext. Intro; Ext. Bridge w/ Sing-a-long; Ext. Ending)
We would like to thanks Ashton-Magnson Media for the credentials to review the show.
