After undergoing a name change from Rock on the Range to Sonic Temple for the 2019 edition, the pandemic then decided to shut it down for the next three years! And let me tell you what, that 2020 lineup was fire. But anyways, it’s back and I couldn’t have been happier this extended holiday weekend.
Also since the pandemic, some layout changes happened at the Historic Crew Stadium where the festival has been taking place all of these years. No matter! In fact, the festival might have been better off for the change. Everything just felt super organized from my perspective. And I’m talking from the parking to the stage layout. There were a plethora of vendors, both for commercial merchandise and food and beverage. I never got locked in anywhere and there were certainly well over 40 thousand people in attendance every day. That’s no small feat.
Obviously, most people, myself included, are there for the bands. And while I thought 2020 had the edge over this particular lineup, there is still no denying they got some really solid acts. I thought the headliners for each day were a nice mix of current kings and old favorites. For instance, I can’t imagine there are a lot of crossover fans for Avenged Sevenfold and KISS. They are just different kinds of rock, but I thought that was a great way to please a larger audience. Tool certainly gains a crowd, though my preferred headliner was Sunday’s Foo Fighters. As you can imagine, there were several emotional moments reminiscing on late drummer Taylor Hawkins, but recently announced new drummer, Josh Freese, definitely made it feel like the band hadn’t even skipped a beat.
Admittedly, most of the acts at this festival are much more my sister’s jam, but I do enjoy a lot of the bands and at least a song here and there for the others. Something new this year for us that happened on accident was that I got us field passes. At first bummed out, we later decided that we liked having the ability to take a breather in the shade of the stands, and then later get as close as we could to the stage. She had some serious luck getting up close for Falling in Reverse. I kept my rail stalking reserved for the Octane Stage where I got to see White Reaper for the fifth time in three months. Yes, you read that right. They did a great job considering Tony broke his collarbone a few weeks ago.
Other bands that were a blast to watch were Bullet for My Valentine – we even had the distinct pleasure of getting an autographed poster from the band and a selfie with lead singer Matt Tuck earlier in the day! Avatar naturally killed it, and from the sounds of others in attendance during that set, gained some new fans in the process. Similarly, Bad Flower, AWOLNATION, and Senses Fail were all a delight to watch. Two others that stood out were of course, Avenged Sevenfold and Queens of the Stone Age. It’s hard to believe it’s been six years since either of these bands have toured or put out new music – that’s all changing in the next couple of weeks thankfully! It was my first time seeing QOTSA live and let me tell you, I’m obsessed. I’ll be the first in line to get tickets whenever a headlining tour is announced.
Overall, it was a gorgeous weekend for a music festival and I couldn’t be happier that Sonic Temple is back in my backyard (almost). I can’t wait for what next year brings! Hopefully some more unique crowd surfers. My personal favorites from this year included a Barney and a metal Santa.