Category: Festivals

Louder Than Life Festival Cancelled Due To Heavy Rains

Dear Louder Than Life fans,

It is with deep regret that we inform you that this weekend’s Louder Than Life festival has been canceled due to unsafe conditions resulting from ongoing rain and flooding at the festival site—Champions Park. After carefully inspecting the grounds and infrastructure this evening, the City and we have determined that it is no longer possible to make the festival site safe in time for this weekend.

We appreciate the outpouring of support from our fans, the numerous offers to come out and help, and the herculean efforts of the City of Louisville in trying to make the festival happen. The one thing we will never sacrifice is the safety of our fans, bands, staff and patrons.

Before making the decision to cancel the festival, we looked at every option, from moving the event to another location to breaking the event up into smaller events in various venues. Unfortunately, it’s not logistically possible, and the weather is just not cooperating. It is not safe to attempt to move equipment, and replacement equipment is not available.

We are so proud of this year’s festival experience that included incredible music, a showcase for Louisville’s great food scene, and of course an unparalleled offering of Kentucky bourbon, and more. We’re so disappointed to not get the chance to share all of this with you. This year’s Louder Than Life was going to be the momentous experience you all deserve.

We will be back next year even bigger and better, and look forward to continuing our relationship with our incredible fans and this great city.

As a result of this cancellation, DWP will be offering full refunds for all ticket, official hotel and camping package purchases.

For those who purchased via Front Gate Tickets via internet or phone, orders will be processed automatically. Please allow up to 3 weeks for charges to be processed.

For any further questions or assistance, please email info@dwpresents.com. Via Louder Than Life

Aftershock Artist Spotlight: Amigo The Devil

If you’ve ever heard a room full of people yelling “I hope your husband dies” in a some harmoniously sloppy, drunken unison, you’ve probably stumbled into an AMIGO THE DEVIL show. Danny Kiranos, better known to the masses as his musical counterpart AMIGO THE DEVIL, has been challenging the expectations of traditional folk, country music purists, and rock/extreme metal fans alike with his morbid, dark, yet oddly romantic take on folk that has amassed a dedicated and cult like fan-base.

Today, AMIGO THE DEVIL has premiered the electric, rock-driven new track, “Everyone Gets Left Behind” – featuring Prophets of Rage drummer Brad Wilk and its streaming below.

Everything Is Fine was produced by Ross Robinson (Korn, Glassjaw, At The Drive In) and features drummer Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Prophets of Rage) sitting in on the entire recording session. The album was recorded at Valentine Studios, a time capsule untouched since the 70’s with all the original gear and atmosphere. Everything was recorded, mixed and mastered to tape to capture an absolute and pure brutal honesty.
AMIGO THE DEVIL will be embarking on a national tour in support of the new record. Despite being armed with only his vocals and a banjo/acoustic guitar, the live show is worlds away from what people expect of a folk show. Loaded with sing-alongs and an unsuspecting dose of humor to make otherwise grim topics accessible for fans of every genre, the songs remain deeply rooted in the tradition of story-telling that seems to be slipping away from the human condition. It is a must see show this Fall! Check out tour dates here or see below.
AMIGO THE DEVIL Tour Dates:
North America:
09/22 – St. Augustine, FL – Sing Out Loud Fest
09/28 – Salt Lake City, UT – Crucial Fest
10/13 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock Fest
10/14 – Sacramento, CA – Discover Park
10/18 – Houston, TX – White Oak
10/19 – Dallas, TX – Three Links
10/20 – Austin, TX – Mohawk
10/22 – Mesa, AZ – The Nile
10/23 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
10/24 – San Diego, CA – Brick by Brick
10/25 – Tustin, CA – Marty’s on Newport
10/26 – San Francisco, CA – Thee Parkside
10/27 – SLO – Sweet Springs Saloon
10/28 – Las Vegas, NV – Beauty Bar
10/30 – Denver, CO – Marquis
10/31 – Denver, CO – Marquis
11/01 – Kansas City – Riot Room
11/02 – Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen
11/03 – Pontiac, MI – Sanctuary
11/04 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
11/05 – Toronto, ON, CANADA – Sneaky Dee’s
11/07 – Pittsburgh, PA- The Funhouse
11/08 – Rochester, NY – Flour City Station
11/09 – Boston, MA – Great Scott
11/10 – Brooklyn, NY – St.Vitus
11/11 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
11/13 – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery
11/14 – Richmond, VA – Strange Matter
11/15 – Nashville, TN – The High Watt
11/16 – Ashville, NC – The Mothlight
11/17 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
11/18 – Orlando, FL – Soundbar

Aftershock Artist Spotlight: Monster Magnet

March of 2018 saw the release of the latest Monster Magnet masterpiece “Mindfucker” (Order and Stream The Album) on Napalm Records. Following three exclusive Northeastern US shows, the band headed across the pond for a European headline tour. Now they are ready to return to North America for a full headline tour this Fall. Continue reading “Aftershock Artist Spotlight: Monster Magnet”

Concert Photo Review: Born Of Osiris at Ace Of Spades

Born Of Osiris @ Ace Of Spades in Sacramento, California on Summer Slaughter 2018

All photos courtesy of Jennifer Black @ Black J Photo

Born Of Osiris, performed at Ace of Spades in Sacramento on Thursday, August 9 as part of the Summer Slaughter Tour. Nikon shooter Jennifer Black was there to capture the action.

*Set list*

Machine
Divergency
Bow Down
The Other Half of Me
Throw Me in the Jungle
Brace Legs
Empires Erased
Silence The Echo
The Sleeping and the Dead
Abstract Art

ForceFest 2018 full lineup announced.

The Force Fest is a festival focused on the different aspects of Rock and Metal. This festival was born in Mexico City in 2012, under the slogan of providing an alternative to all the public of Mexico City and the south of the country who were unable to travel to Guadalajara to attend the Hell & Heaven Fest for different reasons , but that nevertheless generated a great demand for shows of this type.

After being held on 2 occasions in Mexico City, Live talent organizing company of the event, decides to change venues with the Hell & Heaven fest and move the Force Fest to Guadalajara in 2015 obeying issues of production, marketing and logistics .
In this way the Force Fest arrived in Guadalajara becoming the 2nd largest Heavy music festival in the country.

The festival has had several of the greatest legends of extreme music in the world, bands like Judas Priest, Sepultura, Soulfly, Anthrax, Carcass, Overkill, Pod, Angra and the last presentation in Mexico of the legendary Motorhead.

The Force Fest will once again move from time to time to the State of Mexico looking for what it always dreamed, a 2-day Open Air Festival where the public could experience a complete camping area, more than 12 hours of continuous music, multiple stages and 2 days of Festival, This 2018 the Force Fest returns stronger than ever.

Damnation Fest 2018 Adds Napalm Death, Entombed AD, Vader And More!

UK grind kings Napalm Death and death metal legends Entombed A.D.and Vader have been added to Damnation Festival.

The heavyweight trio top a solid bill which already boasts exclusive sets by Ihsahn, Batushka, Celeste and Mourning Beloveth as well as performances by the likes of Anaal Nathrakh, The Ocean and NeObliviscaris, hosted over four stages at Leeds University Union on Saturday, November 3.

Heavy riff worshippers OHHMS, progressive black metallers A Forest Of Stars and emerging hardcore outfit Leeched also join the bill.

The line up so far is: Napalm Death, Ihsahn, Entombed A.D., Vader, Anaal Nathrakh, Batushka, The Ocean, NeObliviscaris, Celeste, Rosetta, Ghost Bath, Mourning Beloveth, Saor, Fukpig, Arabrot, Caligula’s Horse, A Forest of Stars, Mol, Insanity Alert and Leeched, with six bands still to be announced for the 14th edition of the festival.

Tickets, priced £43, are on sale now from damnationfestival.co.uk

My Final Vans Warped with Capital Chaos TV

I have been grateful enough to attend many a Warped. From when I was a younger adult drinking myself into oblivion and taking grass naps, to now as a 41 year old hippie smoking cannabis and taking grass naps. Vans Warped tour represents all those demographics that your Mom and Dad warned you about: the goths, the emos, the punks, the metal heads, the stoner’s, the thrashers. What your Mom and Dad didn’t know, unless they were totally cool, was that going to a Warped concert is like a right of passage. It’s an opportunity to crowd surf. A chance to party with your peers. It’s a day of freedom and musical expression. So to Kevin Lyman, I thank you for what you have done for the past 24 years.

Our day started as any other Warped adventure. We left with enough time but arrived late AF. Not because we lagged, but because traffic was horrendous. After a 5 ½ hour drive, we made it safely to the Shoreline and the hysteria continued. Myself and my partner in crime Zoran Theodorovic made our way to the check in booth as always do. Doing music media has given us the chance to interview some amazing musicians and we look forward to going backstage to connect each year. This year however, the girls working the VIP/Volunteer booth didn’t seem to be enjoying the day or their jobs at all,which is unfortunate considering its a freaking SOLD OUT SHOW and everyone is stoked to be there. Long story short, we got zero interviews for the first time in our attending. I was not able to go backstage at all and my partner was only given photo access, but we are a local company that uses videos and Youtube as our forum to help promote music. When things like this happen, you make the best of it and let’s be honest, we were still at the very last Vans Warped at Shoreline. You can’t be mad at that. So we went our separate ways, me to wander and watch and him to take photos.

Again, let me remind whoever is reading this that I am NOT YOUNG! I may look 23 (cough cough) but I am very much 41 so that of course will be a factor in my opinion. Truthfully, I waited in lines more than I watched bands. Lines to park. Lines to get in. Lines to the bathroom. Lines to get water. Lines to get food ( I gave up on that one after 20 minutes in the hot sun). Perhaps it was the MASSIVE amount of people who showed up for the last hurrah, which is a beautiful thing. But it seemed like the venue and workers were just not prepared. Still I found water being sold for $3 which at a concert is a BLESSING. And I saw seas of people having a great time, even if it meant sitting under big rigs for shade. That’s the beauty of music,the killer vibe.

I got to rock out to My Children My Bride.

I felt goosebumps when Unearth performed.

Senses Fail lead singer came out in a rocking ass pink jumpsuit and the BEST energy.

Simple Plan straight PACKED the grass and arena area. It was during this set that I saw the most displays of public affection and I am not gonna lie, it got me good in the feels. I love love.

Every Time I Die…..what can I say about these dudes that hasn’t been said. They kill. Every fucking time. They slay each set they play like its their first and they’ve been rocking for 20 years. Not only did they dedicate to those fans who have seen them at Ace of Spades in Sacramento and The Boardwalk in Orangevale, they did a song tribute to Vinnie Paul. Goosebumps returned.

The Used closed out the night, with colorful smoke bombs, rainbow sign, and encouragement from Bert to be who you are. The crowd surfing was real.

I’d have to say the band that impressed me most because I’ve never seen them before and this woman’s message literally could NOT be ignored was Sharptooth and lead singer Lauren Gashan. She reminded me of a 90’s feminist rocker only this chick was about equality. She was about telling her story, no matter how personal it was, or how uncomfortable it may make you. You have to respect someone who fights for what they believe in. Lauren spoke aggressively about rights for LGBT, trans, non binary and bi sexual individuals. She reached out to those who have been a victim of rape or sexual assault. And she advocated for mental illness, an issue that needs to be talked about. I salute you Lauren. I am grateful that my daughters have a woman like you as a role model and voice.

All in all, Vans Warped Tour rocked. Despite the lines and crowds, it was exactly the way it needed to be: chaotic and hot. Full of people who love music, who have no other agenda but to rock and to rock as hard as they can. Well done……Words by Amber Rose and pictures by Zoran Theodorovic