So, it’s taken me a bit to digest what happened between September 9-12. If you were anywhere near social media, or even watching national news, you may have caught wind of the debacle that was the Blue Ridge Rock Festival. In addition to there being a lot of production issues, the event was kind of viewed as a potential “super-spreader” for covid. I will say that, behind the scenes, a lot of the performers and staff wore masks. But in the crowds, I would say that probably 75% of the patrons were unmasked. And this wasn’t an event where they required proof of vaccination or negative covid tests, so there was no knowing how exposed one was to covid-19. I never did check reports, but supposedly some people did contract cases of covid after attending the festival.
The Blue Ridge Rock Festival, touted as the “The FAN DRIVEN Rock Experience,” had humble beginnings, starting out in 2017 as a smaller festival held in a vineyard in Concord, VA. They had yearly events until the onset of the pandemic. In 2020, pretty much anything outside of your home was cancelled. 2021 was a beacon of hope as covid cases started declining enough that the world slowly started opening up. In hindsight, it was probably not the time to attempt moving to such a large-scale format.
Having submitted for a media pass a bit later than I normally would have for a concert, I was pleasantly surprised to get an approval three days later. Things seemed off to a good start. There were not the usual parking accommodations for media covering the event, but I was assured that there would be regular shuttles from the prepaid parking lots. Accommodations were tough to find in the last-minute situation, as all hotels and onsite festival camping sites were sold out. But I was able to find an AirBnB in Greensboro, NC. (That was a nightmare in itself, but that’s a story for another time.)
DAY ONE
I decided to drive down the day of September 9th, hoping to get to the festival in time to catch Sabaton onstage and then just proceed with the remainder of the day’s line-up. Unfortunately, driving down took much longer than GPS had originally indicated, so I was behind schedule. When I got to the parking areas, they turned me away from two of the three lots. The third lot was not clearly marked, so I had to turn back around to try again. I was baffled as to why I couldn’t park in the lots when there looked like plenty of open field…AND I had also paid in advance for parking. When I had circled back around to the lady at the second parking lot who pointed again to keep on moving, I stopped anyway to try to find out where the open lot was; she kept pointing and saying it was “down the road.” She indicated it was about a mile further and that I “wouldn’t miss it.” So, I moved along…and definitely missed it.
Accessing the official website to view the PDF that showed the different parking lot addresses was futile because the entire website was down at the time. I called and texted the media contacts to find out if there were any alternatives and was basically told that they couldn’t help. Finally, at one point, I got a response from a fellow concert-goer with a screenshot of the PDF on the Blue Ridge Rock Festival Facebook page. The third parking lot ended up being a building construction site. There were no parking lot attendants, which meant no one could turn me away. There were six people in line waiting for the next shuttle—a group of four and a mother and daughter. We actually didn’t have to wait too long for the shuttle, but when it pulled up, the bus attendant said there was only room for two. The mother-daughter duo climbed aboard. I was also accommodated, once the duo said they could sit in each others’ laps. (Thanks, ladies!)
The third lot was about five miles from the Blue Ridge Amphitheater where the concert was taking place, so it shouldn’t have taken too long to get there, especially since it was near the end of the day. The main road into the grounds had no one directing traffic, which was stuck in both directions. Some people, including myself, got off the bus to walk the mile or so to the venue gates so we wouldn’t miss more of the concert than we already had.
When you think of the word “amphitheater,” you think of some sort of established structure with seating. This ended up just being an extremely large field of grass, dirt, and plantlife; there were quite a few tripping hazards, as the ground was uneven and pitted…and there were low-lying plants with roots to entangle your feet. Once I actually got into the stage (in time to catch Skillet!) things seemed to be a bit better. The rest of the evening pretty much went off without a hitch, as I was able to catch A Day to Remember, Halestorm, and Breaking Benjamin. Prior to A Day to Remember’s set, emcee Lou Brutus had announced that they hadn’t been onstage since 2019. For Breaking Benjamin, the count had been 555 days.
After concluding my coverage of Breaking Benjamin, I headed towards the buses that would shuttle us back to the parking lots. I really lucked out as the first bus in line was going to the lot I’d parked. After the hour drive to my AirBnB, I threw my memory card into my laptop to download the day’s photos. While waiting for my cards to download, I began reading the comments on the BRRF’s Facebook page…and there were A LOT of complaints!!! This became my nightly routine the rest of the weekend.
DAY TWO
Now knowing where the far lot was, I just drove straight there because it was what I knew. I was hoping to start my day photographing Fozzy, but I was still waiting behind a long line of people at the parking lot. Even if a shuttle appeared, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get on the first one, based on the previous day’s experience. There just weren’t enough buses running to keep up with the amount of concert-goers. Luckily, a local man with a pick-up truck offered people in line a free ride to the turnoff from the main road, meaning the walk would only be a mile and not five. Being that several people were taking the man up on his offer, I felt safe climbing into the vehicle. I even gave the guy five dollars as a tip for being such a generous citizen. I later found out that, in addition to locals charging to taxi people over, there were rogue buses charging exorbitant amounts. And some people, with it being their first day in attendance of the festival, weren’t aware that they were being scammed.
Once there, things again went a bit more smoothly. I was able to catch D.R.U.G.S., Sevendust, Clutch, Asking Alexandria, Anthrax, Fever 333, Rise Against, Atreyu, I Prevail, and Rob Zombie. For those not familiar, D.R.U.G.S. (Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows) is a kind of post-hardcore super group that include members such as Craig Owens (Chiodos) and Jona Weinhofen (Bring Me the Horizon). They’d actually dissolved some time in 2012 after releasing one album. They had announced it had been eight years since they’d last performed, yet they sounded great and were so fun to watch. Sevendust was fantastic to see live. I’d actually never seen them before. The lead singer has such a stage presence. He and the band were so grateful to be back onstage after a long period of no concerts. I swear I saw tears in his eyes as he spoke about it.
There were actually quite a few bands at this festival that I’d never seen. Asking Alexandria was a fun band to watch. I had been most excited for Anthrax, as they are rock legends. Guitarist Scott Ian has one of the most recognizable faces in music, and his was full of joy while he played for the crowd. Bassist Dan Lilker played so hard for the crowd, his fingers were bloody. Joey Belladonna was wailing on his short mic stand as he roamed the stage. The whole band was a well-oiled machine.
I’d missed Fever 333 when they’d been on the “last” Vans Warped Tour at the Merriweather Post Pavilion date. Catching them at the festival, lead singer Jason Aalon Butler came out on the stage with a black cloth bag on his head. After singing through the bag for a short time, he took it off to expose his shaved head. Though the band just consists of three members, energy just emanated from them all as they played their set. The crowd was definitely receptive. At one point, guitarist Stephen Harrison filled his mouth with water and spewed it into the crowd. (Not having been in public often since the pandemic, and now slightly germaphobic, I was a bit aghast and tried to escape the spray.)
Another standout for me was Atreyu. Having seen them on many a Warped Tour, it brought us some nostalgia, and the guys sound as good as they did back in the day, if not better. (They’re actually coming to Baltimore on November 17, if you want to catch them!) Rise Against gave a stellar performance, as usual. Those guys are real professionals. I Prevail was new to me. Portions of their performance were punctuated with sprays of smoke, much to the crowd’s delight. They were definitely a crowd pleaser with vocals from Brian Burkheiser and Eric Vanlerberghe.
Closing out the evening was Rob Zombie. His shows are always a huge production in light and visuals. Not surprising since his other job is in the film industry. He shimmied across the stage in a fringed jacket and some sort of leather loincloth over patterned pants. John 5 did his normal drooling routine, which is fascinating to watch; I have no idea how a human can contain so much saliva.
Following my coverage, I went back to the areas where the buses picked up the first night…only to find out that they’d moved the pick-up area nearly a mile away. The festival did end up bolstering their fleet of shuttle buses though. According to the bus driver on the shuttle I was on, they had been hired at 7:00pm. A bit late in planning, but early enough to accommodate audience members after the show concluded.
DAY THREE
Things were finally looking up and we were told that we could park closer to the staging grounds as members of the media. This saved me a lot of turmoil and time, as I was able to get onsite prior to the gates opening…without having to wait for any shuttles. Access was a short walking distance from parking.
My must-sees for the day were Avatar, Suicidal Tendencies, Body Count, Cypress Hill, Lamb of God, and Megadeth. In between those acts, I caught bands like Aurin, Alyxx, Hatebreed, Awesome Ray Ray, and Seether. One issue that popped up for the day was that they rescheduled Jelly Roll for the next day for reasons unknown, which kind of screwed over audience members that had bought tickets just to see him that day.
Avatar is a band from Sweden that has a bit of carnival/circus vibe to them. I’d seen them open for BabyMetal and have been enthralled with them ever since. They’re got a flair for showmanship when on the stage, using these cool microphones for the guitarists that fold down when not in use. The lead singer Johannes Eckerström is usually wearing heavy make-up emphasizing an overly exaggerated grin that can be borderline creepy. I had actually been a bit worried that they might not make the festival since a few of the non-American bands had issues with entering the States for travel. But, they made it, and their performance was as exciting as the first time I’d seen them.
Suicidal Tendencies was another bright spot of the festival. The only original member of the hardcore punk band is Mike Muir. Joined by guitarists Benjamin A. Weinman (Dillinger Escape Plan) and Dean Pleasants, bassist Tye Trujillo, and drummer Brandon Pertzborn. Mike “Cyco” Muir is ball of energy, spazzing all over the stage with his head jerking and a “jazz hands” kind of motion. Besides Mike, I was entranced by the bassist and the drummer. Tye is the son of Robert Trujillo (Metallica), but the 17 year old has skill; this tour date was his first show with Suicidal Tendencies, and it’s safe to say he killed it. Also a younger member of the band, Brandon is only in his mid-twenties, but he’s got the chops to have played drums for Black Flag, Doyle (Misfits), and Marilyn Manson.
I was also curious to see Body Count….mostly because I watch Ice-T as Finn Tutuola on Law & Order: SVU. It was nice seeing him and the rest of the band onstage. Megadeth was the last band of the day that I was really looking forward to, as they’re a huge name in heavy metal. Dave Mustaine played guitar and sang as his eye peered from behind a curtain of hair. The drum kit was high up on the stage, sitting atop this wall of speakers.
DAY FOUR
Day four was a full day. Lou Brutus, who had been emceeing the first three days had flown back home, and the emcee position was filled by Steve-O of Jackass fame. There were smaller acts opening each day. Among the ones I got to see were Fame on Fire, Burn on Re-Entry, and I caught the singer of MAGG Dylan performing “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette.
The first national band that played was Pop Evil. The singer shared a story about testing positive for covid-19 in August, and stressed that he wanted the audience members to be safe. Jelly Roll played his rescheduled set to a pretty large crowd. He was a rapper in a sea of metal musicians, but people had really been looking forward to seeing him. Underoath had announced as they came onstage that it had been 653 days since they’d last performed. All that pent-up energy showed as they performed. From there, I caught Il Niño, August Burns Red, Mastodon, Drowning Pool, and Killswitch Engage. After leaving the pit for Killswitch, that uneven ground came back to haunt me. I rolled my ankle pretty badly. In the process of getting medical attention, I was so mad that I had to miss Chevelle. They are kind of a bucket list band for me.
Fortunately, I wasn’t too hurt that I couldn’t finish the day out. I had really been excited for The HU, a Mongolian band famous for a folk-metal sound that includes throat singing. Their musical instruments were beautiful and their performance was fascinating. I then caught Ice Nine Kills, a band known for horror theatrics. At points, they brought out a severed head and a chainsaw. Finishing out the day was Papa Roach and Shinedown. Having seen them before, and my ankle starting to throb, I got in my snaps and then headed back to my AirBnB.
For me, I’m not sure I’ll go back to the Blue Ridge Rock Festival. If I do, I may just do a shorter run. Four days is a long day for a festival for me, personally. Also, I cannot imagine being a camper at this particular event, as there were issues with water and sewage. Supposedly, one of the earlier days saw a type of sewage “explosion” that left human waste on cars, tents, and the surrounding area. Rumor had it that the festival contacted those in the affected camping areas to provide alternative lodging as well as car washes for vehicles. Allegedly, one of the major issues encountered for this festival was the lack of American Disability Act (ADA) accommodations, which potentially makes a federal case against the concert planners
In the end, some commenters on the Blue Ridge Rock Festival’s Facebook page was comparing the event to the Fyre Festival. And some people were out large amounts of money due to overbooking of campsites. There were also issues with the perks promised for the VIP “Gold Circle” tickets. There have been talks of lawsuits. On September 17th, an official statement was put out by organizer Jonathan Slye. Read it and determine on your own if the rock festival was a success, failure, or something in between.
