This fall, Hinder shares the stage with Candlebox, a co-headliner both bands have been looking forward to for quite some time. Devour the Day joins the bands on the road on select dates as well.
HINDER:
With the absence of lead vocalist, Austin Winkler, SavingAbel‘s Jared Weeks steps in with the rest of the gang: Joe “Blower” Garvey (guitar), Mark King (guitar), Mike Rodden (bass), and Cody Hanson (drums). By the looks of it, Hinder is ready to welcome their fans to the freakshow.
CANDLEBOX:
Hailing from Seattle, Washington, the five pieced band, consisting of Kevin Martin (vocals), Peter Klett (guitar), Sean Hennessy (guitar), Adam Kury (bass), and Scott Mercado (drums), hit the stage with Hinder in support of their latest album, Love Stories & Other Musings. Candlebox is more than ready to show what sort of surprises they have up their sleeves.
DEVOUR THE DAY:
Formed in 2012 by the two ex-band members of Egypt Central, Blake Allison (vocals) and Joey “Chicago” Walser (bass), Devour the Day tours with Hinder for a second time this past year. They continue to support the release of their debut record, Time & Pressure. These “Good Men” are ready to knock everyone out of the ballpark with their killer performance!
Be sure to check out the tour dates on www.hindermusic.com! This is a show you will not want to miss!
As the leaves begin to change into those Autumnal hues, it starts to sink in that the Summer festival season has come to a close. Thankfully, there’s still Fall festival season! First in line is the accurately named Fall Down at Camp Farnam in Durham, Connecticut, October 4-6.
Fall Down festival is described as New England’s premiere, theme-oriented music experience. The Fall Down encapsulates all the beauty of the East Coast. The festival began as just a simple gathering that included a fire, camping and some jams among friends. A year later the Fall Down became a festival that encapsulates the spirit of October (yes, that means a lot of pumpkins.) This festival does not strive to be the biggest, just simply the best. With art installations and a stellar lineup, the festival is not to be missed. Two things are a must for attendees of Fall Down; a costume, and a carved Jack-O-Lantern. The Jack-O-Lanterns illuminate the camp grounds, and the costumes embody the spirit of October, and of course, Halloween. There is simply no better way to welcome the Fall than with great music, art, costumes and A LOT of jack-o lanterns.
So far this years lineup will include Dopapod, Marco Benevento, Alan Evans Trio, Superhuman Happiness, Turkuaz, Soule Monde, Voodelic, Vorzca, Shakedown, Straddledaddy, Skyfoot, Gatsby’s Green Light, Steam Boars, Brummy Brothers and Birdseed Bandits.
After a long anticipated wait, the daily lineup for City Bisco has been released, as well as a kick off date in Baltimore, MD. The long weekend will start at the Baltimore Soundstage on September 26th and end in the Disco Biscuits home town of Philadelphia, PA. Disco Biscuits fans from all over the country will convene at the Mann Center in Fairmount Park for two nights of astounding musical guests on September 27th and 28th.
After the great success of last year’s City Bisco, and the tremendous success of Upstate New York’s own Camp Bisco, it seems the buzz surrounding this festival is greater than ever. Over the past 18 years the Disco Biscuits have created a vast following that spans from coast to coast. The boys have played Mayan Holidaze on the Riviera Maya, hosted Bisco Inferno at Red Rocks, and brought world renowned artists to the quaint town of Mariaville that hosts Camp Bisco. City Bisco has become an urban installment of their beloved Camp Bisco which has grown with great intensity to accommodate 25,000 patrons annually. Since the early 90’s The Disco Biscuits have created their own genre of “Jamtronica,” as well as forged the path for the exponentially growing music scene that is home to many electronic acts from all parts of the world. City Bisco will bring together a diverse group of artists for an epic weekend of music in Philadelphia that should not be missed.
The lineup will include two nights of The Disco Biscuits, Method Man and Redman, Big Boi, Treasure Fingers, Kill Paris, Twiddle, Risky Disco, Horizon Wireless, Suspence, a Simon Posford Shpongle DJ set, Emancipator, Gigamesh, Killowatts, Less Foss, Pimps of Joytime, Space Jesus, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and the Cosmic Dust Bunnies. This is sure to be a weekend to remember, so grab your City Bisco tickets now.
The music playing in the overhead speakers came to a screeching halt, hinting it was time for the insanity known as Carnival of Madness to begin. We As Human was the first to hit the stage, starting their speedy setlist with “Sever” and “Dead Man”. Skillet’s John Cooper accompanied the band for the performance of “Zombie”, and the band finished the set with “I Stand” and their current single “Strike Back”. They left the eager concertgoers hungry for more of their music, but they all knew it was time for In This Moment to carry the torch of madness.
In This Moment began with the first song from their latest record, “Rise with Me”, the daunting setting intensified as a cool fog rolled across the stage and the two white-masked backup dancers made their way to their posts and waited for Upstate New York’s siren to make her presence known. Maria Brink, clad in a red ringmaster coat and a top hat, stepped onto the platform and grabbed the skull staffs as the band began to play “Adrenalize”. Her dancers then handed her a smoke gun, hinting the next song to play was “Blazin’”, her piercing shriek gave the ever-adoring fans such chills. For the next song, “Whore”, Maria wore a white button down shirt and a plaid mini skirt with a cone hat that read WHORE. At the end of the song, Brink gave the hat to an over-eager fan. In This Moment ended their set with “Burn” and “Blood”. During those two songs, Maria wore a red billowing cape, definitely a fitting outfit for both songs. In This Moment definitely pumped the fans up for Skillet’s heavenly arrival.
To say Skillet‘s introduction was “awesome” is a huge understatement. They started with a heavy electronic remixed version of “Hero”, the anticipation from the fellow concert junkies growing within every booming second. Finally, Skillet made their presence known, immediately starting their set with “Hero”, quickly followed by “Whispers in the Dark”. John introduced the next song from their latest album, Rise, “Sick of It” to which the fans began to chant with Cooper, then the band went straight into the catchy, heavy-beat song. Skillet then brought out their two musicians who played the strings intro for “Comatose”. The next to be performed was “Rise” and the band surprised their fans with their rising platforms during the performance of “Awake and Alive”. Before Skillet proceeded with “The Last Night”, John gave a brief explanation of the song, of a close friend attempted to end her life, and he wrote the song to say that God is more than willing to give second chances, because everyone deserves them. Afterwards, the band played “Not Gonna Die”, “Circus for a Psycho”, ending the set with “Monster” and “Rebirthing”. Skillet sure did put on a very powerful performance, filled with songs that will haunt the back of the music lovers mind for the rest of the night. Oh, but the madness did not end there. It was Papa Roach‘s turn to reveal what they had in store for us.
By the looks of it, Papa Roach was more than ready to blow everyone away, starting their set with “Still Swingin’”, proceeded by “Blood Brothers”, and “Give Me Back My Life”. The madness brewing from the crowd was definitely kicked up a notch with Papa Roach‘s killer performance. But the party was really getting started, they continued their set with “Between Angels and Insects”, “Where Did the Angels Go”, and “Burn”. The moshing and head-banging intensified with every waking minute that Jacoby Shaddix was doing what he does best, riling up the crowd with his fantastic pipes. Still, he was not done with heating the fans up with “Forever”, their current single, “Leader of the Broken Hearts”, and their classic, “Scars”. Papa Roach left the very excited crowd with “…To Be Loved”, “Getting Away with Murder”, and their very well known single, “Last Resort”. Now it was time for Shinedown to blow a hole in the stormy sky.
Shinedown started with a giant black drape set in front of the stage with their symbol in the dead center of it. The lights dimmed, hinting it was time for the madness to continue. Brent Smith’s powerful, melodic voice could be heard from behind the drape as he began to sing “I’m Not Alright”, then the drape dropped and revealed what was really going on behind the curtain. Street performers waving flames around, fire-breathers on the stage, it was the very definition of what is expected of the Carnival of Madness. Shinedown continued their set with “Enemies”, “Devour”, and “Unity”. Through the speedy setlist, they proceeded with “The Crow and the Butterfly”, their fast paced track, “Adrenaline”, and their very moving yet powerful current single, “I’ll Follow You”. The next song to play was “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay, Boom-Lay, Boom)”, the overhead lights spelled out BOOM after each time Shinedown yelled out the word. The thunderstorm outside of the amphitheater began to intensify with every beat of the song and at the last BOOM, a crack of thunder shook the ground, as if God was really rocking out to Shinedown as well. They then continued with “If You Only Knew”, “Amaryllis”, and “45”. But the evening did not end there. Shinedown briefly left the stage, leaving some of the fans chanting their name, begging for more. They then returned to the stage, giving the crowd the encore they’ve all been waiting for: the song that fits their performance perfectly, “Sound of Madness”, “Second Chance”, and their infamous cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “Simple Man”. Shinedown ended the evening with the first single from their latest record, “Bully”. One mind-blowing way to end the evening.
All in all, this event was just definitely indescribable. One would have to be there to witness the insanity known as Carnival of Madness. Be sure to check out upcoming tour dates on the website, www.carnivalofmadness.com. This is something you will not want to miss!
Despite the fact that not that many people seemed to be interested in the opening bands, quite a few fellow concert junkies really warmed up to Surrender the Fall.
Surrender the Fall started their speedy setlist with “Love Hate Masquerade”, quickly followed by “Everything You Want Me to Be”, and “Bleed”. The concert goers from the back of the small venue began to make their way towards the front of the stage, intrigued by this band’s unique gruff sound. The band then continued with “Pitiful” and “Deeper Inside”, by the end of the song, a small group had formed in front of the Tennesseean band, completely mesmerized by their killer sound and rocked their hearts out. The band finished their set with their current single, “Some Kind of Perfect” and “Nothing”.
To say the least, this opening band made their mark with their energizing vibe, their very catchy tunes, and their strong ability of connecting with the fans. All in all, Surrender the Fall rocked the House of Rock.
Equifunk: The All-Inclusive Music Festival, by all accounts, was the greatest weekend of the year. From the music to the Saturday Pool Party to an epic late night campfire set by Marco Benevento to the incredible weather, everything worked out perfectly all weekend long. Set in the beautiful Pocono Mountains at a functional summer camp, Equifunk gave a weekend to festival attendees that drew smiles for all three days of music from every face that could be seen.
Sunset
This festival originally was just a bachelor party for about 50 friends with a couple of bands, but has swelled to three days of music, with multiple stages, and about 1500 attendees. One aspect of the weekend was how small everything felt. Multiple people over the weekend said they felt like they crashed a private party. Artists could be seen walking around the grounds, dancing with the crowds to the music, and chatting up music lovers. Everything seemed very accessible to all attendees and gave the festival a leg-up on all other festivals in the Northeast Region.
Basketball Tournament Winners
The music kicked off Friday with The Woody Brown Project at The Tee Pee Stage and their disco-laced funk. Having two percussionists and two horns solidified this sound and had those who arrived early enough to catch the first act of the festival dancing under the trees. A great cover of “Billie Jean” finished their set just as The Weeks were getting started on The Equifunk Pool Stage. The Weeks play southern rock with a bit of soul mixed in for good measure. The band has a lot of energy on stage and the small crowd that saw them appreciated it and got up and danced. Next was the first major highlight of the festival, 13 year old Bobby Paltauf and his band. Bobby has such amazing control over the guitar. Covering Jimi Hendrix, Warren Haynes and The Grateful Dead, he and the band showed off how much talent they have. Bobby directs the band with ease as to where he wants the music to go. This kid is not to be missed if he comes around to your area. He finished his set with “Tweezer Reprise,” much to the crowd’s delight.
Marco Benevento
King Lincoln brought their brand of rock to the stage and it was perfect music to have the daytime wind down prior to the first night of the festival starting up. Festival goers got their first free meal of the weekend as the beer started flowing while the sun went down. The all-inclusive model is really a great thing and makes Equifunk very unique. To start off The E-Rena, The Main Squeeze came on and brought the funk to the festival. These guys have a great chemistry after only being a five piece for about a year and they owned every second they had on the stage. The crowd was electric throughout their set. Their cover of “No Quarter” had lead singer Corey Frye and guitarist Max Newman showing off their skills, much to the crowd’s excitement. Artist in Residence for the weekend, Sister Sparrow came out to join the band on Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” and blew the roof off of the E-Rena.
The Equifunk All-Stars
JJ Grey and Mofro were out to keep the energy level high. JJ is a great front man and engaged the crowd during the entire set that felt like a rock, funk, and soul revue. “99 Shades of Crazy” as well as “Slow Hot Sweaty” were standouts of the set. The New Mastersounds were the headliners for night one and for this set they had James Casey, another Artist in Residence for the weekend, joined them for a good part of the set. These Englishmen know their funk and from the moment they hit the stage they showed the crowd a good time. Their non-stop hour and a half set oozed with energy that the crowd gave back to them just as hard. Each member of the band is so skilled at their respective instrument, it lets them take each song in any direction they want. When James came out, the addition of the saxophone increased the funk levels exponentially. The set was excellent and afterwards many people went to their cabins or tents, while some faithful stayed up for Boombox and their looping beats with beautiful guitar licks mixed in over them.
The Equifunk All-Stars
Day two of Equifunk started with breakfast and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. The food was good and the games were competitive. The Main Squeeze had three of their five members involved in the tournament as well, which was fun to watch. I’ll Be John Brown started the music and their country rock was a perfect way to start the all-day pool party that went down, especially their cover of “Ophelia”. People could be seen rocking out in the pool throughout the day, as well as going down a water slide, while all the bands threw down great music. Superhuman Happiness and their funky disco rock took turns towards spacey jams at times, and it was very noticeable that some of their influences include LCD Soundsytem, The Talking Head and TV on the Radio, and Stuart Bogie confirmed this after their set saying that all three of those were among his favorite bands. Their songs are very complex with two keyboards and two guitars going all at once, and all of it being heavily distorted from song to song, yet the grooves are easy to dance to. These guys are very talented and are a group not to miss. The Monophonics made use of a great horn section to showcase their version of funk and soul. Their set was heavy on the covers but it was the back to back of “Gimme Shelter” and “Bang, Bang” that really made an impression on everyone. With a sound deeply rooted in the ’70s, these guys did a great job of honoring the classic Motown and Stax funk sound in their set.
The Pool Party
Keller Williams & More Than A Little took over The Pool Stage and saw the biggest crowd gathered yet. A set mixed of covers and originals from their forthcoming album made for a very enjoyable set. Keller controlled the audience with ease, not only during the songs, but also during his in between song banter that was very funny. “Samson and Delilah” as well as “Once in a Lifetime” were two great highlights from his set. Keller is never one to be missed and this goes double if he has this band with him. The Heavy Pets had James Casey out to assist them on a fantastic “Help Me Help You”; having James up there pushed the band to a new level and they kept the energy of the sit-in for the rest of their set. They are no strangers to us here at and their set was, as expected, another great one. Marco Benevento closed The Pool Stage down and did it in grand fashion. Wearing American flag jeans and his trademark tiger mask for “Limbs of a Pine,” Marco brought the sun down and got us ready for the nighttime. His high energy set was a definite highlight of the weekend and everyone started to move to the main stage with nothing but smiles after he was done.
The M&M’s
Nigel Hall Band was tasked with opening the evening. James Casey was there to help out as well as Eric Krasno on bass for the whole set. Nigel is a great front man and the smooth funky soul that the band produced was a wonderful start to the evening. Anders Osborne with John Medeski thenwowed the crowd from the moment they all hit the stage. Anders is an amazing guitarist with tons of energy, obvious in every ripping solo that he took. Medeski was laying down beautiful key work throughout the set. The highlight was a very long and absolutely rocking “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” early in the set that had the E-Rena yelling in approval. Near the end of the set there was also a “Wilson” tease that got the crowd going as well.
Pork Tornado
Soulivewith The Shady Horns and Maceo Parker were the headliners for night two and the set was as outstanding as one would expect. Everyone on stage was a virtuoso at their instrument and the music coming from the stage was jaw dropping. Once Maceo hit the stage a few songs into the set, the crowd ate up every second. Sister Sparrow and Nigel Hall came out to help with Ray Charles’s “Night Time is the Right Time” that had the crowd in a frenzy. Maceo was perfect throughout the set both on saxophone and on vocals. Marco Benevento then had a campfire set, in what hopefully will be a yearly tradition. Playing in the round and having audience participation throughout, Marco ran through originals and covers in what many people thought was the moment of the festival. From “Bennie and the Jets” to “The Real Morning Party” to “9 to 5,” Marco had the crowd in his hand the whole time. The New Mastersounds second set of the weekend started around 3 AM and they had many guests throughout the set, including Maceo. They rolled through rock, funk, and soul, just as they had the previous night and again showed their brilliant work on their instruments. The music coming from the stage was beautiful and no one watching could help but dance. As their set ended around 5 AM many people packed it in, but Marco started up an unannounced second campfire set and played until 9 AM. (Author note: I did not see this as I was calling it a day, but I was told from everyone who saw it that it was amazing and guest filled and the highlight of the festival.)
The New Mastersounds with Maceo Parker
This year the festival decided to add Sunday music to the festival and it made for an incredible day. The FrankStalloners started the day with tons of energy and covers that set the tone for the day. Frank has a Joe Cocker vibe to him and rocked the stage hard. “Turn on Your Lovelight” and “Crosstown Traffic” were played great by him and the band. Following his set Papa Mali came out and had Bobby Paltauf as well as Joe Tatton from The New Mastersounds on guitar and keys respectively. Lots of blues came from the stage throughout the set and it was wonderful watching Papa and Bobby trade guitar licks. Mike Dillon Band was next and brought a wild energy that had not been seen the rest of the weekend. Mike’s instrument was so different than most percussionists’ instruments: a mix of a xylophone and a drum kit. Carly Meyers, who plays the whistle, trombone, and vocals in the band, was a ball of energy not only on stage, but in the crowd as well. The whole band had an energy to them that set them apart from every other band at the festival. After the set I asked Dillon where the music comes from, as it is different from anything I had ever seen, saying “It comes from the head and the heart, what can I say”, with a smile. Carly also said “We usually play until we get kicked off the stage, which is three hours sometimes.” This is a band not to miss.
The M&M’s
The London Souls brought their music to the stage and showcased their brand of funk via rock throughout their set. Their cover of “Apostrophe” by Frank Zappa was a clear highlight letting each member of the three piece band some air to show their talents. The Equifunk All-Stars made up of Eddie Roberts and Pete Shand of The New Mastersounds, Nigel Hall, and Stanton Moore were up next. Mike Dillon, James Casey, Carly Meyers, Tash Neal of The London Souls, and Joe Tatton helped out as well throughout the set. The talent on stage was amazing. It was an hour of straight improv that saw every person on stage trying to one-up the energy of another member of the band. Each musician could be seen having a great time with smiles all around on stage, but the smiles were also in the crowd as members of the audience were constantly stunned with joy over the music coming to them from all of this talent. To close out the Pool Stage for the weekend, The Main Squeeze were back up for their second set of the festival. Talking with Corey prior to the set, I asked how it felt to not only open up the main stage at the festival, but also close the pool stage and he said, “It’s been nice growing together with the festival and it was important for them (the festival) to have us do both.” This was third year that The Main Squeeze has played the festival and it seems they will be there every year as both they and the festival have been gaining momentum in the past few years. Their second set was just as beautiful as their first set of the weekend. Corey worked the crowd perfectly again, while Bob “Smiley” Silverstein donned a keytar and tore the stage down near the end of the set. Their version of “Papa was a Rolling Stone” was filled with so much funk; the audience couldn’t help but scream their approval.
The Revivalists and their high energy show opened the E-Rena stage. David Shaw can easily command a crowd like few front man know how to anymore. The moment he stepped on the stage he was a magnet for attention. Ed Williams’ pedal steel playing is great and you can see that everyone on stage is enjoying their time up there as they all interact with one another regularly to bring the energy up even higher than it already is. Pork Tornado headlined the evening and brought their country-rock to the stage in glorious fashion. Jon Fishman is the big draw here, but everyone else in the band holds their own. Joe Moore’s saxophone playing and vocals were wonderful as was his interaction with the crowd, especially during the Divinyls cover “I Touch Myself”. The band was all over the place musically going from Frank Zappa to Frank Sinatra, but it all sounded perfect. This was only their second performance in the last ten years yet it seemed as if they had been together constantly over that time. The set drew one of the loudest ovations from the crowd throughout the whole festival, but it was the final set of the weekend that may have had the best music of the weekend. The M&M’s, a super group made specifically for the festival consisted of Maceo Parker, Papa Mali, Rob Mercurio, Stanton Moore, Marco Benevento and John Medeski; this group had enough talent on stage for an army. As an added bonus, Mike Dillon came out a few songs into the set and stayed for the remainder. The set had loads of covers including, “The Harder They Come,” “Walk On,” but it was “Eminence Front” that brought the funk to the stage. Throughout the song every member of the band had a chance to show why they were on stage at that moment. The band could have just jammed on this one song for an hour and everyone in attendance would have been happy, but there was more music to be heard from this great group of musicians. They closed their set, and the festival, with Led Zeppelin’s “How Many More Times” and then it was all over.
As everyone began to leave it felt very much like summer camp with new friends saying goodbye to one another and people making promises to stay in touch and to see one another again next year. Equifunk was managed great all weekend and the sky is the limit for this festival. This year was the biggest yet and it’s only going to get bigger. Another great aspect of the festival is that they raffled off a poster signed by every artist for The Mockingbird Foundation. Hopefully something like this can be an annual thing and a bonus for festival goers to get involved in a great cause and have the chance to win a cool prize. Being so close to the Upstate Region, this is a festival not to miss for music lovers. Do yourself a favor and go to the Poconos next year to take in the mountains, the people, and the funk at Equifunk.
Fine wine, craft beer, and pick-your-own orchards aren’t the only things that will draw visitors to Nelson County, Virginia this Fall. Taking place September 5-8th, Lockn’ Festival (formerly known as Interlocken) will draw thousands into the county for a weekend-long influx of music, featuring nothing but the finest Rock ‘n’ Roll and Jamband acts heard throughout the national circuit today.
Not only does Lockn’ offer world class music, but it offers it in a most picturesque setting. Located at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Central Virginia, the festival will take place at the 5,000 acre Oak Ridge Estate in Arrington. Over 15,000 tickets have already been sold and organizers are expecting a crowd twice that size. Ticket prices range from $285 – $1099, including camping, RV and VIP options. Lockn’ isn’t the first music festival to hit Central Virginia and the surrounding area, as the state is also home to Floydfest and The Festy Experience, among many others. Yet Lockn’ proves itself to be quite different.
Longer sets from fewer artists will make the Lockn’ experience unlike any other. Organizers Dave Frey and Peter Shapiro have made the Oak Ridge Estate the final stop on Summer tour and whether one’s been following Furthur, or traveling from town to town catching the Crowes, come September the wheels will stop in Arrington for a cumulative and collaborative four day epic show with multiple artists, two main stages, no breaks, no overlapping sets – a weekend of continuous music.
Saturday, Furthur will perform Workingman’s Dead in its entirety and Widespread Panic will hit the stage with John Fogerty sitting in. With the cancellation of Neil Young and Crazyhorse, the Trey Anastasio Band has been added to the bill and The Black Crowes, Punch Brothers, The London Souls, and Love Canon complete the Saturday line-up.
Jorma Kaukonen, Jeff Sipe Trio, and Indecision will also be performing as special guests and a live soundtrack cinema, featuring specially-selected silent films will compliment performances taking place throughout the weekend.
Live music isn’t the only thing Lockin’ has to offer to its patrons either. New York based civic engagement group HeadCount is organizing Participation Row, an interactive Non-profit village. Anchored by the “Qello Lounge” the village will feature a number of organizations and provide a space within the festival grounds for people to gather consciously. Upon entering the festival, patrons will receive a card they can bring to any non-profit booth on Participation Row. Booths will be giving away stamps for taking specific actions, and once a card has four stamps, it can be brought to the Qello Lounge, where one will find couches and a sampling of the world’s largest library of on-demand music content.
While Lockn’ may be the premier festival of the season, there is a simplicity that lives at its core. This simplicity is a movement, an interlocking if you will. Lockin’ brings together all that is worth celebrating in life: world-renown and regional music, local sustainably sourced food and drink, picturesque camping and so much more – all at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the quaint, quiet town of Arrington, Virginia. Nelson County better get ready.
The Aura Music Festival has just released their biggest line-up yet for the fifth annual festival at the Spirit of Suwanee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida. The festival will be taking place February 14-16. The eclectic lineup will include two nights of Lotus, two nights of Papadosio, Conspirator, Zoogma, two sets of the Werks, Mike Dillon Band, two sets of Kung Fu, two sets of Dopapod, The Heavy Pets, Superhuman Happiness, Brock Butler, Jimkata, and many more. There are a limited number of tickets now available for $125 and can be purchased online.
Since its humble beginnings in Brooksville, FL, AURA has become one of the premiere multi-day boutique music events in the Southeast US, attracting fans from around the country. Now comfortably at home at the famed SOSMP, AURA comes to life in the midst of 800 acres of Spanish moss-draped oak and cypress trees along the Suwannee River and utilizes one of the most beautiful natural amphitheaters in the country only made more awe-inspiring by AURA’s attention to sound and lighting production. True to nature, AURA 5 will feature live painters, an interactive arts village, craft and food vendors, yoga & meditation, and inspiring transformational workshops. Stay tuned for additional details and artist announcements.
Buffalo’s favorite intense groove rock experience Aqueous has announced an extensive fall tour that brings the band to many new markets as well as established ones. The band has been hitting the road harder then ever this year and this new batch of dates will bring them to over 120 shows for 2013.
Highlights include the tour kick-off at the esteemed Brooklyn Bowl with Turkuaz and Jimkata for the Catskill Chill music festival pre-party. Several Upstate NY dates follow as well as the band’s second international date in Montreal. October features a four-show North Carolina run and will also bring them close to one of their mentors; performing an after party for the Rochester Phish show (w/ Jimkata). Washington D.C. and Brooklyn will be treated to some undoubtedly well planned Halloween antics to start off November before a pilgrimage to jam-mecca Nectar’s in Burlington and another pair of upstate dates in Buffalo and Rochester.
The summer may fade, but the rage lives on. Check out the full schedule below!
Aqueous Fall 2013 Tour Dates with Upstate NY highlighted
The lights dimmed and a blue hue lit up the stage as a roar of cheers erupted from the crowd. Fog rolled along the black stage, some of its mist licking the skins of some of the bouncers and fans. Then one by one, Sick Puppies made their appearance, Mark Goodwin (drums), Emma Anzai (bass), and Shim Moore (vocals/guitar). They began their set with the first song from their latest record, Connect, “Die to Save You” followed by “Cancer”, and the album’s leading single, “There’s No Going Back”. The crowd sang along whole heartedly, waving their horns in the air, all so excited to see their favorite Australian trio. Then, Emma dedicated the next song to all the ones who felt that they were different from the rest of the crowd, “Odd One”. Next was “Riptide”, “Maybe”, and “My World”.
Sick Puppies did not end their connection with the fans there; they continued with “Connect” then sped up the set with the heavier tunes, “War”, “Gunfight”, and “Pitiful”. After “Nothing Really Matters”, the band slowed the set briefly with “All the Same”, then picked up the haste with “Walking Away” from their new record, finishing the set with their hit single, “You’re Going Down”, to which a sea of bodies began to bounce along to the beat of the song.
All in all, it was a great set filled with classic songs as well as new catchy ones. Sick Puppies was, indeed, very connecting with their ever-adoring fans. If you haven’t already, check out their latest record, Connect, available for digital download and to purchase at your nearest music store. Prior to the show, Upstate Metal’s Kate Drexel had the opportunity to interview Shim Moore, which can be seen below.
HINDER:
After the great success of last year’s City Bisco, and the tremendous success of Upstate New York’s own Camp Bisco, it seems the buzz surrounding this festival is greater than ever. Over the past 18 years the Disco Biscuits have created a vast following that spans from coast to coast. The boys have played Mayan Holidaze on the Riviera Maya, hosted Bisco Inferno at Red Rocks, and brought world renowned artists to the quaint town of Mariaville that hosts Camp Bisco. City Bisco has become an urban installment of their beloved Camp Bisco which has grown with great intensity to accommodate 25,000 patrons annually. Since the early 90’s The Disco Biscuits have created their own genre of “Jamtronica,” as well as forged the path for the exponentially growing music scene that is home to many electronic acts from all parts of the world. City Bisco will bring together a diverse group of artists for an epic weekend of music in Philadelphia that should not be missed.
In This Moment began with the first song from their latest record, “Rise with Me”, the daunting setting intensified as a cool fog rolled across the stage and the two white-masked backup dancers made their way to their posts and waited for Upstate New York’s siren to make her presence known. Maria Brink, clad in a red ringmaster coat and a top hat, stepped onto the platform and grabbed the skull staffs as the band began to play “Adrenalize”. Her dancers then handed her a smoke gun, hinting the next song to play was “Blazin’”, her piercing shriek gave the ever-adoring fans such chills. For the next song, “Whore”, Maria wore a white button down shirt and a plaid mini skirt with a cone hat that read WHORE. At the end of the song, Brink gave the hat to an over-eager fan. In This Moment ended their set with “Burn” and “Blood”. During those two songs, Maria wore a red billowing cape, definitely a fitting outfit for both songs. In This Moment definitely pumped the fans up for Skillet’s heavenly arrival.
To say Skillet‘s introduction was “awesome” is a huge understatement. They started with a heavy electronic remixed version of “Hero”, the anticipation from the fellow concert junkies growing within every booming second. Finally, Skillet made their presence known, immediately starting their set with “Hero”, quickly followed by “Whispers in the Dark”. John introduced the next song from their latest album, Rise, “Sick of It” to which the fans began to chant with Cooper, then the band went straight into the catchy, heavy-beat song. Skillet then brought out their two musicians who played the strings intro for “Comatose”. The next to be performed was “Rise” and the band surprised their fans with their rising platforms during the performance of “Awake and Alive”. Before Skillet proceeded with “The Last Night”, John gave a brief explanation of the song, of a close friend attempted to end her life, and he wrote the song to say that God is more than willing to give second chances, because everyone deserves them. Afterwards, the band played “Not Gonna Die”, “Circus for a Psycho”, ending the set with “Monster” and “Rebirthing”. Skillet sure did put on a very powerful performance, filled with songs that will haunt the back of the music lovers mind for the rest of the night. Oh, but the madness did not end there. It was Papa Roach‘s turn to reveal what they had in store for us.
Shinedown started with a giant black drape set in front of the stage with their symbol in the dead center of it. The lights dimmed, hinting it was time for the madness to continue. Brent Smith’s powerful, melodic voice could be heard from behind the drape as he began to sing “I’m Not Alright”, then the drape dropped and revealed what was really going on behind the curtain. Street performers waving flames around, fire-breathers on the stage, it was the very definition of what is expected of the Carnival of Madness. Shinedown continued their set with “Enemies”, “Devour”, and “Unity”. Through the speedy setlist, they proceeded with “The Crow and the Butterfly”, their fast paced track, “Adrenaline”, and their very moving yet powerful current single, “I’ll Follow You”. The next song to play was “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay, Boom-Lay, Boom)”, the overhead lights spelled out BOOM after each time Shinedown yelled out the word. The thunderstorm outside of the amphitheater began to intensify with every beat of the song and at the last BOOM, a crack of thunder shook the ground, as if God was really rocking out to Shinedown as well. They then continued with “If You Only Knew”, “Amaryllis”, and “45”. But the evening did not end there. Shinedown briefly left the stage, leaving some of the fans chanting their name, begging for more. They then returned to the stage, giving the crowd the encore they’ve all been waiting for: the song that fits their performance perfectly, “Sound of Madness”, “Second Chance”, and their infamous cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “Simple Man”. Shinedown ended the evening with the first single from their latest record, “Bully”. One mind-blowing way to end the evening.
Featuring sets from 
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