The first day of the 2019 installation of Jacksonville’s Welcome to Rockville music festival started out as a typical Florida day – hot and overcast, with the threat of a summer rain never far out of the question. Thousands of rock and metal music fans from all across the globe lined the gates outside of Metropolitan Park on the morning of Friday, May 3rd, and let out an enormous cheer when they were finally allowed to flood through to the festival grounds. Some people beelined straight to the main stage, content to sacrifice seeing numerous acts on the two side stages in order to claim a spot on the barricade.
An energetic duo called Cleopatrick officially kicked the music off at 12:30 PM on the River Stage. Shortly after, Dirty Honey hit the Monster Stage, making them the first band of the weekend on the main stage.
Amigo The Devil was the first artist to play on the Metropolitan Stage. The one-man band, fronted by Danny Kiranos, captivated the crowd by delivering a set full of comical songs about love and revenge, accompanied by either a guitar or banjo. Whether the audience knew him or not, no one left the stage once he started playing and everyone was laughing and smiling.
Hands Like Houses released their latest album ‘Anon’ last year and are still touring in support of it. The Australian quintet hit the main stage with hair flips and energy, playing a sample of songs from the album. They also incorporated an entirely new song into the set called “Sick,” which vocalist Trenton Woodley said was both new for the crowd and the band.
Over on the River Stage, Wilson came out ready to party (as they’re known to do). They hit their set running with the rambunctious opening song, “Dump Truck” and lead vocalist Chad Nicefield stealing the attention in a vibrant plaid yellow suit. Wilson’s set easily had the best stage production and lighting so far, loaded with CO2 and vibrant colors. You know a band knows how to put on a show when the crowd even stays through a cover of Chumbawumba’s “Tubthumping!”
A massive crowd had gathered around the Metropolitan stage, prepared for Light The Torch. Lead by former Killswitch Engage vocalist Howard Jones, the band is no newbie to the stage and they came out with command. Unfortunately, they only made it to the second song, ironically titled “Calm Before The Storm” when the skies opened up and the bottom fell out. The crowd didn’t appear to thin at all, in fact, some might’ve been rocking out harder than earlier thanks to the rain cooling down hot temperatures. Light The Torch managed to make it through their entire set in the downpour, even when some security and staff members took coverage under the stage itself.
The downpour subsided slightly during Hyro the Hero and Beartooth’s sets. Both bands delivered high energy performance, inviting waves of crowd surfers and mosh pits. Tom Morello’s follow up may not have been quite as heavy, but fans enjoyed an impressive medley of familiar songs from “Bulls on Parade” to “Like A Stone,” which included a tribute to Chris Cornell.
With high intensity and interactivity, Killswitch Engage has come to be a fan favorite at festivals. Unfortunately, lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz hardly had time to chug one beer and finish four songs before their set got cut short during “Always” due to a severe weather evacuation.
The weather evacuation lasted over an hour, but festival-goers were able to filter back in around 7:15 PM. The remaining bands scheduled for the day had to shift and shorten their sets slightly, but amazingly, no one got cut or canceled completely – making this one of the most gracefully handled severe weather situations in recent festival history.
Flogging Molly was the first band to open the stages back up with their set having moved to 7:40 PM. The Irish-American band hasn’t appeared on any previous Welcome to Rockville lineups, but the fun, Celtic-punk style group seemed to be a well-received addition as they entertained with an eclectic mix of accordion, violin and banjo instruments.
The Crystal Method’s set was rescheduled for 8:20 PM and overlapped a large portion of Circa Survive’s closing set on the River Stage, but a significant crowd showed up to witness Scott Kirkland. Franky Perez (recognized for performing with Finnish cello band Apocalyptica) accompanied Kirkland, lending vocals through the short set that ended with a cover of The Prodigy’s “Firestarter.”
A stage loaded with fog heralded the entrance of Chevelle at 9:00 PM. Although you could hardly see the band through the fog, the crowd cheered at the first strum of “Young Wicked.” The fraternal trio kept heads banging along with numerous popular singles including, “Face to the Floor,” “The Red,” and “Send the Pain Below.”
Welcome to Rockville had the distinct honor of welcoming Evanescence back to the stage for their first performance this year. The band has not played any shows since September of 2018, but they didn’t miss a beat. Amy Lee came out sparkling (literally) and nailed even the highest notes in “Going Under” and “Lithium.” Lightning was looming threateningly overhead, but thankfully stayed at bay long enough for Evanescence to close out the Metropolitan Stage with “Bring Me To Life.”
After a long day of uncooperative weather, everyone was somehow still fired up for Korn to headline the main stage at the late hour of 11:00 PM. The band opened with “Falling Away From Me,” and fans only cheered louder when it was followed up with “Rotting in Vein.” Vocalist Jonathan Davis questioned the crowd, asking, “Can y’all say ‘fuck that’?!” The song “Y’all Want A Single” needed no further introduction than that, as the masses screamed along lyrics with middle fingers held high.
Though Korn had dozens of staple songs to play, they made sure to mix it up with a few cover snippets, like Metallica’s “One” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You” unexpectedly interjected into their songs. Despite the weather, a massive crowd remained for the entirety of Korn’s set and JD was appreciative as he closed out the day saying, “Jacksonville, thank you so much. Y’all have an amazing night!” before wrapping up with “Freak On A Leash.”
