Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2022 took place at The Virginia International Raceway in Alton, a small town that borders Virginia and North Carolina. The fest consisted of four days of metal, hardcore, punk, rock n roll, and hip hop. Though it was my first time at this festival, it felt nostalgic because a lot of my favorite bands I grew up listening to were on this year's bill. Here's how the best heavy music festival in the country went down for me!
CAMPING, MERCH, FOOD & MORE!
When the lineup dropped, I knew there was no way I could miss out. So I made the trek down south to witness history in the making. As campers arrive to the raceway, there's an extensive security check where they search every vehicle for glass containers and weapons. After passing the checkpoint, you get to drive on the raceway! Talk about an epic experience.
Campers have the choice of camping in a tent, RV or a glamping tent. There are many advantages to camping. Re-entry so you can go back to your camp site any time you want, there's no need to worry about shuttles which have been known to be an issue, there's a pre-concert and a nightly club concert for campers only. Five nights at the campsite are only a few hundred dollars, unless you decide to glamp or bring your RV. The club concerts are additional as well.
Once you're in the festival, there is the only one merch tent, but it has two lines to expedite the process. The food options are endless, as well as places to sit in and out of the shade.
DAY ONE
ALPHA WOLF
All the way from Australia, Alpha Wolf started Blue Ridge off right with their heavy breakdowns and high energy that literally shook the earth beneath the 'Fan Driven' stage. This was my first time witnessing AW and it won't be the last!
UNEARTH
Massachusetts' own UNEARTH is up next! Being from the same state, I've seen them many many times throughout the years. The band had a recent lineup change, bringing in a new guitar player, Peter Layman and bringing back past drummer, Mike Justian. Unearth opened their set with a deep cut, March of the Mutes, and followed up with classics like This Lying World, The Great Dividers and Black Hearts Now Reign. The fans ate it up, myself included!
SHADOWS FALL
This was my first set at one of the two main stages. Another Massachusetts band, Shadows Fall, did a reunion show back in December at The Worcester Palladium, which I had to miss because I was sick with covid. Thankfully they added a second of three shows at Blue Ridge. This set was very special as it reminded me of seeing them on the main stage at Ozzfest 2005.
NORMA JEAN
The HEART SUPPORT stage hosted most of the hardcore bands. Set of the day goes to this band! I've seen them before, but this one was something else. There's a reason they call Norma Jean "ALMIGHTY."
COMEBACK KID
Canadian Hardcore band Comeback Kid always shows up! Opening with the title track of their new record, 'Heavy Steps,' playing hit after hit and closing out with, arguably their best song, Wake The Dead.
ICE CUBE
The final set for me on day one was a bucket list... Ice Cube! Moments before Cube took to the stage, the crowd became rowdy, and that didn't end until the show was over.
ANTHRAX
The only problem with a 170+ band, 5 stage festival is deciding between overlapping performers. This one was tough, but I've seen Anthrax several times in the last few years and always wanted to experience Ice Cube. Fortunately, Anthrax went a little longer than scheduled which allowed me to catch one song, Indians.
This is turning out to be an unforgettable weekend!
DAY TWO
WHITECHAPEL
Having seen this band time and time again in New England nightclubs, this would be my first Whitechapel festival experience. It felt right. From Knoxville, Tennessee, the Southern death-core kings killed it!
ALL THAT REMAINS
Another Massachusetts band, ATR played their most pivotal record, 'The Fall of Ideals', in its entirety, while showing their respects to the late ATR guitar player, Oli Herbert. That record is very important to the history of metal-core. Oil would be proud!
DARKEST HOUR
At the start of the day, I ran into DH guitar player Mike Schleibaum. We chatted for a bit before continuing our days. Always good to see you, Mike! This band means so much to me and they only played songs off my three favorite records, Undoing Ruin, Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation, and most of all 'Deliver Us.' They were on their 15 year anniversary of that release. It felt like they wrote the setlist just for me!
ENDING DAY TWO
Ended the second day catching Hailstorm, Gojira and A Day To Remember before heading out to rest up for the next two days!
Two days down, two to go!
DAY THREE - ALL THE RAIN
MUNICIPAL WASTE
The first two days were action packed with some of the worlds best heavy music. It was also packed with non-stop sun and heat. Today, it rained most of the day, which felt great! The fans arrived prepared with rain coats, ponchos and umbrellas. The rain won't stop us! First up for the day is Municipal Waste, and they for sure didn't hold back!
HOLLOW FRONT
From Grand Rapids, Michigan, Hollow Front were the first of many on the Heart Support stage, or what the fans referred to as the "hardcore stage." They had one job... to get the crowd ready for the night's headliner, SLIPKNOT, and I'd say they prevailed!
TERROR
A band that never holds back, TERROR came with a vengeance. The crowd packed in to see the hardcore legends do their thing, and many die hards showed up to dance. The crowd response was, and always is, unmatched.
GOD FORBID
A very special set for BRRF, as God Forbid played their first show in 8 years. You can tell they still got it! Guest guitar for this show was legendary shredder, Nick Hipa.
STICK TO YOUR GUNS
Festivals like Blue Ridge are rain or shine, which means the show must go on. That is unless the rain causes electronics to not work. Earlier in the day, tarps were tossed over gear in attempt to save the day. There were occasional delays, a few minutes or so to make sure it was safe for the performers and the crowd, but nothing like what happened here. As Stick To Your Guns was attempting to do a mic check, nothing came through the monitors. The fans waited so long for the band to start that it appeared the rain caused the days first cancellation. As STYG was about to give up, Jesse Barnet (vocals) picked up his mic for one last test, and my a miracle it worked! STYG started with one of their best tunes, Nobody, and continued with banger after banger, including Such Pain, The Bond, Amber, and Weapon. It was well worth the wait, to say the least!
What an end to Blue Ridge day three!
DAY FOUR
SILENT PLANET
It's the fourth and final day, and we got to start off with Silent Planet!
STRAY FROM THE PATH
From Long Island, hardcore band Stray From The Path takes to the stage at Blue Ridge playing songs from 6 different records, including their newest release, Euthanasia. The band is known for their politically and socially charged lyrics and that hasn't changed a bit!
DYING WISH
NEW BAND ALERT: Dying Wish is absolutely filthy! Their new/debut record is phenomenal and they rip live. From the riffs, to the breakdowns and the powerful vocals, you're blowing it if you missed DW at Blue Ridge. Mark my words, Dying Wish will be massive very soon!
NEW FOUND GLORY
Not only does Blue Ridge Rock Festival host metal and hardcore, they also have pop-punk bands like New Found Glory. It was a nice change of pace after all the face-melting riffs over the last 4 days!
TEXAS IN JULY
Another reunion show, Texas In July, played their 4th comeback show since they ended in 2015. It was an honor to witness TIJ after all these years, backed by arguably the best metal drummer around right now, Adam Gray.
KNOCKED LOOSE
Knocked Loose headlined the Fan Driven stage on the final day of Blue Ridge and they brought all the stage effects. Visually it was breathtaking and you can tell they put a lot of work on their live set. Being possibly the heaviest band on the festival, KL stood out from the rest!
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
I've seen this band more than any band in my life. Local to me, also from Massachusetts, Killswitch Engage has always put on a good show and this one was no different.
LAMB OF GOD
Virginia's own Lamb of God! Seeing LOG in their home state was unreal.
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!
GET YOUR TICKETS FOR 2023 HERE:
