SONIC TEMPLE Announces Inaugural Lineup

 

Without knowing last year on May 20th after 10 years we bid farewell to Rock On The Range. Founder and co-producer Danny Wimmer Presents parted ways with AEG and ending the partnership which also closed the doors on Rock On The Range, Carolina Rebellion, and Northern Invasion. DWP has founded a new festival which will also be held at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on May 17th-19th. The new festival; Sonic Temple has promised to bring everything Rock On The Range had and build on it as well.  The anticipation has already been building as fans have been predicting what bands might be performing on the inaugural Sonic Temple festival. Today we take a huge step forward as they have released the full lineup of bands today.

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Rock On The Range 2018: DAY 2 [Review & Photo Gallery]

Stone Sour

With a very strong Day One already under our belts, the thousands of anxious, sunburnt, hungover fans awaiting the opening of the gates certified that Day Two of Rock on the Range 2018 was upon us.  As expected, everyone was more than ready to take on the day just as they did the day before and when the gates to the festival were opened, the crowd poured into the arena.  Continue reading

Rock On The Range 2018: DAY 1 [Review & Photo Gallery]

 

Body Count

 

Alas, Rock on the Range has come and gone but for those who were lucky enough to attend, the memories are very much alive!  I recently heard it said that 2018’s Rock on the Range was the biggest yet – and I can definitely see that to be true!  With the monstrous lineup that this year’s festivities held, the festival once again proved it really is “Where Rock Lives”!  Festival-goers were treated to incredible performances from huge acts including Stone Temple Pilots, A Perfect Circle, Tool, Alice In Chains, Godsmack, Trivium, too many great bands to name them all.  If you ask me, the fine folks at AEG and Danny Wimmer Presents knocked it out of the park with the lineup selection this year and really gave the fans what they want – a rock festival that actually rocks from start to finish!  Three days of nonstop music flooded the Columbus, OH air and minus a period of potential storms and a few light drizzles, the weather cooperated, for the most part, providing (sometimes intense) sunshine all weekend. For me, Day One was an early one.  We got to MAPRFRE Stadium pretty early to beat some of the traffic that was sure to build with every passing minute and were greeted by a cold, steady rain that still didn’t deter the several eager fans already waiting in line.  A side-note to anyone planning on going to Rock on the Range in the future, it is highly advisable to buy the parking pass before the show.  One of the downfalls of the festival was the $25/day parking fee, but that’s a small price to pay for the good times that were inside! Continue reading

An Interview With Matt McJunkins (A Perfect Circle, The Beta Machine & More) [Video]

Palm Springs, CA native, Matt McJunkins has become quite familiar amongst music fans everywhere – and for good reason. Matt has played, and still plays, for several bands including A Perfect Circle, Ashes Divide, Puscifer, The Beta Machine, Eagles of Death Metal, the list goes on. In 2008, Billy Howerdel (A Perfect Circle, Ashes Divide) approached Matt with an offer to join Ashes Divide, which he kindly accepted. After extensive touring in support of their debut album ‘Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright’, as well as touring with Puscifer, Matt was asked to hit the road with A Perfect Circle following the announcement of the band’s reunion in 2010. Matt has also sparked his own project alongside Jeff Friedl (A Perfect Circle, Puscifer), The Beta Machine, who joined A Perfect Circle on their recent tour in 2017.

 

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An Interview With Senior Vice President of Festival Talent At Danny Wimmer Presents, Gary Spivack!

 

Gary Spivack has one of the toughest jobs in American when it comes to the music industry. He is the Senior Vice President of Festival Talent At Danny Wimmer Presents. He is responsible for finding and booking all of the bands that play the DWP Festivals all across the country that we so passionately look forward to year after year. Those festivals include: Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range, Northern Invasion, Chicago Open Air, Aftershock, Louder Than LifeBourbon & Beyond and Rock Allegiance. It is nearly impossible to please every fan that attends these festivals. There are always going to be bands there that they don’t like, or possibly even hate, and in return there are also going to be bands there that they absolutely love. Regardless how amazing the lineup is there will always be complaints along with the praise. However, year after year Gary Spivack is able to book not only some of the most iconic or nostalgic acts in the country but also book those up and coming bands that we instantly become new fans of. New bands are given the opportunity of a lifetime when they get booked on these festivals. They take the stage and have the chance to instantly gain thousands of new fans if their performance impresses the crowd. Gary is not only the person in charge of festival talent he is also a fan, and immensely passionate about music. Gary Spivack and the entire Danny Wimmer Presents team continue to impress us year after year with the wide variety of acts they bring to the stage to entertain us.

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Nick Reese (JOYOUS WOLF) “I’m Planning On Making That Set At Rock On The Range Extra Special” [Video]

 

Appearing on both the Rock on the Range and Carolina Rebellion festival’s roster this May are Southern California’s hottest up and coming rockers, Joyous Wolf. Since forming the band in 2014, they have been wowing audiences with their refreshing brand of bluesy, modern-style, classic hard rock sound and electrifying live performances. A huge part of that onstage electricity is powered by lead vocalist, Nick Reese who impressively channels his inner James Brown and Jim Morrison as he shakes and shimmies like a bonafide old soul frontman – ladies beware. Throw in some jumps, a flip, and a few splits that would make David Lee Roth stand up and take notice; a tremendous voice that are equal parts Eddie VedderBob Seger, and Robert Plant; and you have one dynamically entertaining individual in Reese. The band recently signed with Roadrunner and has been on fire ever since, shocking fans and building their fan base by the droves from city to city. 

 

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Rock on the Range Spotlight: I PREVAIL

It’s almost that time, folks!  Just a few more weeks and Rock on the Range will soon flood Columbus, OH with thousands upon thousands of rangers who are eagerly awaiting their chance to rock out with some of today’s hottest bands.  In this segment, we’ve aimed to bring you up to speed on bands that are a little bit lower on the bill to get you familiar with their music so you won’t be completely lost by the time they hit the stage.  In this installation, we’re going to focus on a band that most of you have heard of and a band that I’ve personally wanted to see live for a long time.  I’m talking about Detroit, MI post-hardcore rockers, I Prevail. Continue reading

World’s Loudest Month Spotlight: JOYOUS WOLF [Official Video]

*This is part of the “World’s Loudest Month” segment where we branch out and focus on bands that fans can see at this year’s biggest music festivals during the month of May, 2018.  This week, we’re checking out Joyous Wolf.*

Appearing on both the Rock on the Range and Carolina Rebellion festival’s roster this May are Southern California’s throwback rockers, Joyous Wolf. Since forming the band in 2014, they have been wowing audiences with their refreshing brand of bluesy, modern-style, classic hard rock sound and electrifying live performances. A huge part of that onstage electricity is powered by lead vocalist Nick Reese who impressively channels his inner James Brown and Jim Morrison as he shakes and shimmies like a bonafide old soul frontman – ladies beware. Throw in some jumps, a flip, and a few splits that would make David Lee Roth stand up and take notice, a tremendous voice that are equal parts Eddie Vedder, Bob Seger, and Robert Plant, and you have one dynamically entertaining individual in Reese. Continue reading

World’s Loudest Month Spotlight: DANCE GAVIN DANCE

*This is part of the “World’s Loudest Month” segment where we branch out and focus on bands that fans can see at this year’s biggest music festivals during the month of May 2018!  This week, we’re checking out Dance Gavin Dance, a stoner metal quartet from Portland, Oregon, who are geared up for this year’s Rock On The Range, as well as others!*

 

With the multitude of merging subgenres these days, it would seem that you can’t always describe a band exactly to someone that may have never heard them before. They are becoming so much more diverse, experimenting with a range of styles, and that’s not a bad thing at all! For this has given rise to the next generation of boundary pushing artists with a new lease of excitement and experimentation – one of those bands that is pushing right at the forefront is Dance Gavin Dance.

The Californian quintet rose out of the dissolution of several other bands including Farewell Unknown, Ghost Runner on Third and Atherton. Together the amalgamation of individual band members with such differing styles fused to form Dance Gavin Dance in 2005, where what was achieved was a truly unique sound that combines post-hardcore, math-rock, experimental rock, and prog rock…with argueably even a little metalcore/screamo added to the mix.

The dynamic of serenity and aggression, soundscape textures against methodical fretwork, and raw versus clean gives an overall experience that is openly enticing, yet seems slightly wild where the unexpected is just around the corner. Dance Gavin Dance has managed to create music that can appeal and encapsulate fans from across the musical spectrum and continue to surprise along the way! Continue reading

World’s Loudest Month Spotlight: TURNSTILE

*Every Wednesday from now until Rock On The Range and Carolina Rebellion we will be showcasing an artist playing the festivals to help you get to know them a little better.  This week, we’re checking out Turnstile – a hardcore quintet from Baltimore, MD!*

The running theme so far for this year’s upcoming summer festivals is that May is going to be the loudest month of the year, and with some really unbelievable lineups that statement is sure to be true.  However, the loudest month of the year wouldn’t be complete without giving the hardcore kids something to move to!  Well fear not, ladies and gentlemen, and prepare to throw down with Turnstile at Rock on the Range and Carolina Rebellion!  With a fresh album release, ‘Time & Space’, these guys are primed to destroy the stage and throw one up for the hardcore scene. Continue reading