The inaugural Epicenter Festival took place this past weekend at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. Over 80,000 fans attended the three-day festival which featured over seventy bands spread out over five stages.
On top of all the music, the festival offered fans a total experience, from camping on site to the many vendors that were set up on site throughout the weekend. Some of the fan experiences included:
The Caduceus Wine Garden: Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards gave friends something a little different then the typical beer and cocktails offered at festivals. Merkin Vineyards is owned by Tool’s Maynard James Keenan, who unfortunately was not able to close out Saturday’s events due to weather.
F.Y.E Fan Experience: The F.Y.E Fan Experience gave fans a place to purchase vinyls, CDs, and other merchandise from bands playing throughout the festival. Fans who purchased items were also given a chance to have the items signed by the band. Bands who participated in the signings were; DED, Amigo the Devil, Hands Like Houses, The Crystal Method, Wilson, Hyro the Hero, Slothtrust, Beartooth, Knocked Loose, Dorothy, Black Coffee, Shvpes, Alien Weaponry, Sylar, Reignwolf, Boston Manor, The Dirty Nil, The Glorious Sons, Yungblud, Bring Me The Horizon, Fever 333, and The Interrupters.
Monster Energy Experience: Monster Energy provided fans with free Monster Energy drinks as well as a raised viewing area of the Monster Energy stage. They also had artist signings with Fever 333, and Scott Ian who performed with his side project, The Damned Things.
Rockingham Village: Rockingham Village hosted the festival pre-party on Thursday, the evening included performances by, Killakoi, Hellzapoppin, Thunderstruck, and Nighttrain. On top of hosting the pre-party, the Rockingham Village provided fans a place to buy merchandise, as well as plenty of food and beverage options. The village area also hosted That Metal Show reunion on Friday and Saturday, as well as daily performances by the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow. Friday night the music continued well into the early morning in the village area with performances by Arrested Youth, Hyro The Hero, and Wilson who wrapped things up after two in the morning. Saturday’s performances were canceled due to severe thunderstorms that passed thru the area.
The Boilermaker Bar: Fans were able to get a taste of Metallica’s Blackened Whiskey and Enter Night Pilsner at the Boilermaker pop up tent throughout the weekend.
The Music Experience: The Music Experience gave fans the chance to try out some of the latest guitars, basses, amps, and other gear, as well as offered artist signings by; Beartooth, Hyro the Hero, Evanescence, Knocked Loose, Skillet, Nita Strauss, Head and Monkey of Korn, and Piggy D and John 5 of Rob Zombie.
Zippo Encore Sessions: Fans who made a purchase from the Zippo tent were entered for a chance to be part of one of the Zippo Encore Sessions which featured intimate acoustic sessions from Wilson, Beartooth, Amigo the Devil, DED, Badflower, Dirty Honey, Memphis May Fire, Grandson, Shvpes, Movements, and Fever 333.
Friday marked day one of the festival and saw twenty-two bands spread over the four main stages. Black Coffee kicked things off for the day with an early afternoon start over on the Pine Stage with a quick thirty-minute set which was the norm for the majority of the bands who played the smaller side stages. From their fans shifted over to the Sirius XM Octane Stage for Arizona’s DED. Across the festival grounds over on the Monster Energy Stage, Amigo The Devil was first to take to the stage. From there we headed over to the Quarry Stage to catch Hyro The Hero’s set and spent the rest of the day bouncing between the Monster Energy Stage and the Quarry Stage. The rest of the day was packed with performances from Skillet, The Crystal Method, Meshuggah who closed out the Sirius XM Octane Stage for the day, Evanescence who was joined by Nita Strauss for “Disappear,” Machine Gun Kelly who climbed the spotlight tower during “Loco,” and later brought out some interesting Marilyn Manson toys during his set, Rob Zombie who closed out the Quarry Stage, and Korn who closed out the days events over on the Monster Energy Stage.
