Another month, another music festival! This time around I got to head back to Inkcarceration for the first time since 2021.
Major difference? No masks this time around, though with the same amount of dust and a new resurgence of COVID, maybe I should have worn it again. Somehow I have not gotten the dust sickness, though I tried to hold my breath walking through the worst of it, and just tried to steer clear in general. This time around my sister was in tow along with my friends, but sadly no VIP this go. Look, even though they were trailer toilets, they still flushed and we air conditioned. Porta-potties are gross no matter how you slice it. Though the temperatures were a bit lower, it’s still the middle of summer, so it was hot. We found shade as often as we could and that really helped out.
Overall, this lineup kind of paled in comparison to 2021 and even 2023’s! I truly had no one I was dying to see this time around, though thankfully the days didn’t drag because of it. I’ve been to some concerts for bands I’m not wild about and they’ve felt like the longest evenings of my life. Day one, when we were all fresh and excited to go had fun sets from Vampires Everywhere!, Chevelle, The Offspring, and Breaking Benjamin. It also saw a reunion show from Ohio’s own Chimaira!
Saturday’s lineup seemed to be the most stacked with the likes of Upon a Burning Body, Hollywood Undead, Killswitch Engage, and I Prevail. Killswitch Engage probably had the most fun set of the day. That evening’s headliners, Halestorm and Godsmack, I have seen so many times that I was not really enthused to watch them again. Sunday, while I think had the weakest headliners, managed to have some solid acts throughout the day. I See Stars were great again after seeing them a few weeks ago, and Bad Omens and Stabbing Westward also put on awesome sets.
Speaking of Stabbing Westward, we obviously must not be the biggest fans because their lead singer was hanging out right around us taking pictures in the reformatory while we were taking our tour! Major fail. Similarly, we failed to do anything but stare at the lead singer from Of Mice & Men the day before. I wonder if they are either relieved or bummed that they don’t get noticed? Either way, the prison tour was super fun to go through again. The state of that building is creepy as hell, but the structure itself is amazing when you take it all in. I’d still like to go sometime not in the midst of a festival, so maybe that’s in the cards later this year.
All in all, a fun weekend that kicked my butt a little bit. I look forward to see who’s on the bill next year!
