The Ville music festival announced an initial lineup for their Memorial Day 2015 lineup featuring a diverse range of sounds. Continuing a 20+ year tradition of music on Memorial Day weekend, The Ville will be held May 21-24, 2015 at Clay’s Park in North Lawrence, Ohio. The spacious, family-friendly venue is complete with wooded and field camping, a grass covered dance area and a water park suitable for adults and children of all ages.
The Ville is a truly grassroots event featuring music throughout the weekend on two different stages. A limited amount of Early-Bird tickets are available now at www.thevillefestival.com where a 3-day pass is $80, 4-day pass including Pre-Party Thursday with Papadosio is $100. Children 12 and under are free with parents holding festival tickets.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced their nominees for induction in 2015. Voting is now open at their website for fans to weigh in with their opinion. As usual, there will be much discussion over who has been left-out of the balloting, and why some of those included were selected. This year’s nominees include a wide variety of genres, continuing the sometimes confusing traditions of The Hall.
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band – American rock and roll collides with Southside Chicago blues. Chic – A powerful combination of groove, soul and distinctly NYC studio smarts. Green Day – Perennial punk adolescents, true to the basement and garage-rock band ethos. Joan Jett and The Blackhearts – A potent mix of hard rock, glam, punk and garage rock that’s relevant in any era. Kraftwerk – The foundation of all synthesizer-based rock and roll and electronic dance music. The Marvelettes – Motown’s first official Number One hit makers. N.W.A. – Massive influence, sonic power and boundary-smashing perspective. Nine Inch Nails – The sounds and sights of transgressive art launched into the mainstream. Lou Reed – Forty-plus years shaping the sound and the sense of contemporary music. The Smiths – Four band-mates, five years, four albums and a vast sphere of influence. The Spinners – One of the world’s most beloved R&B vocal groups. Sting – A singular worldview reflected in a broad musical palette. Stevie Ray Vaughn – A fiery show-stopper who influenced a generation of blues players. WAR – A steamy mix of blues and soul, rock and R&B, built on a strong Afro-Latin foundation. Bill Withers – A unique composer and vocalist, with songs that spoke for everyone.
The top five artists, as selected by the public, will comprise a fans’ ballot that will be tallied along with the other ballots to choose the 2015 inductees. There have been 29 previous Induction Ceremonies that produced a total of 726 people in the current Hall of Fame comprised of 304 Inductees, including 108 bands so far. Out of these, 18 have been inducted twice and Eric Clapton stands alone with three inductions.
Located lakeside in Cleveland, Ohio, the Hall of Fame has become a must-see destination for fans of music across the country and around the world. A pilgrimage to “The Hall” provides visual and auditory delights for fans of all genres of music.
(Band descriptions courtesy of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)
Not quite ready to admit 2014’s music festival season is over yet? It does not have to be. The first annual Resonance Music & Arts Festival takes place from October 2-4 at the Frontier Ranch in Pataskala, Ohio. Located 20 miles east of Columbus, the festival features two nights of Ohio natives Papadosio as well as Greensky Bluesgrass and Nahko and Medicine for the People as headlining bands.
The music starts Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m., and plays continuously for more than 12 hours per day on Friday and Saturday. Resonance boasts an eclectic lineup—from the multi-layered electronic beats of ESKMO to Twiddle‘s uplifting jams and The Mantras‘ heavy shredding to deep funk from The Main Squeeze, most branches of rock are covered.
The Empire state will be well-represented each day. Tauk and Aqueous play Thursday, Aqueous jams again Friday afternoon, and Consider the Source closes the music early Sunday morning after a long set from Dopapod Saturday night. Tauk has been touring furiously in support of their 2014 album, Collisions, while Consider the Source plans to release the first part of their new album, World War Trio, on Halloween. Dopapod has a new album, Never Odd Or Even, scheduled to come out on 11/11/14.
If the music is not enough, there will be visual arts, fire dancing, yoga, and The Amazing Giants will be hard to miss, donning colorful outfits and performing acrobatics on stilts. Each ticket also includes car camping, so you will never be too far from extra blankets or a quick heat source at this early autumn festival.
View the complete schedule and purchase tickets here.
On day three of Rock on the Range, rangers traded in their ponchos for T-shirts and bikinis. Already a step ahead of the first two days before it had even begun, a karaoke version of “Sweet Caroline” had everyone singing at the top of their lungs. The music faded out, replaced by the heavy guitar intro to “Pleasure and Pain”. Rather than waste time with small talk, they made the most of the short set, packing in as many songs as possible.
An opening slot on the main stage didn’t seem to do Trivium justice. Following the recent departure of drummer Nick Augusto, the band was still on point, getting everyone moving on their latest single “Strife” and setting the bar high for the bands that followed, with a contagious energy on closing song “In Waves”. Australia’s Twelve Foot Ninja brought the Jäger Stage a quirky and refreshing fusion of rock and reggae before it was time to return to the main stage for Adelitas Way. Lineup changes and some time off the road served the band well. Frontman Rick DeJesus never stood still, promising to join whichever side of the stadium gave him the most energy. The closing notes of “Invincible” came, and DeJesus made good on his promise, crowd surfing from the front of the pit to the back, and then back again. Asking Alexandria’s lead singer Danny Worsnop is working his way up again in new project We Are Harlot, featuring members of Silvertide and Sebastian Bach. The new group were obviously no stranger to big crowds, delivering an impressive and fast paced set. Wolfmother seemed to be an unusual choice with this years metal heavy lineup. Donning short shorts, guitarist and singer Andrew Stockdale hit every note without hesitation throughout a set that seemed to flow together like one long guitar solo.
Mastodon hit the main stage next, fueling the crowd with melodic metal. Each song had it’s own character with each member of the band singing a song or two to keep things fresh. Over at the Ernie Ball Stage, Of Mice and Men were playing to perhaps the most insane crowd of the weekend. A circle pit that looked more like a running track moved nonstop amidst an insane sea of bodies flying through the air.Impeccable skill from guitarist Mark Tremonti combined with the powerful vocals of Myles Kennedy made for an unforgettable set from Alter Bridge. The new single “Addicted to Pain” marked the first sighting of Spider-Man crowd surfing his way to the front, and the classically inspired guitar played against heavy riffs throughout the too short set.
The general consensus at past years of Rock on the Range appeared to be that Five Finger Death Punch brought a performance far bigger than their opening set times. This year the band was second to last on the main stage, and security had doubled in size in preparation. A traffic jam of crowd surfers rolled above the crowd the instant “Under and Over It” began. Each and every member did their part to entertain and interact with the crowd as they sped through a hit filled set list. Guitarist Jason Hook sat down with an acoustic guitar midway through the set, accompanying singer Ivan Moody on “Remember Everything”. The lighter ballad was the calm before the storm, which picked back up for the duration of the set.
Just a few short minutes after 9 pm, the lights on the Main Stage dimmed for the last time as headliner Kid Rock slowly made his way out onto the stage. Before he walked out, a clip of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin”” was played from the speakers and cut off appropriately during “born and raised in south Detroit” leaving the audience to scream the lyrics from the top of their lungs and officially introduce Kid Rock. He spoke a small prayer from behind the stage getting the crowd riled up in anticipation and finally emerged onto the stage accompanied by sparklers going off in the background. Kid Rock took into account that it was a rock show so he kept the energy high by jumping up and down across the stage and doing cool little mic tosses during “You Never Met a Motherf***er Quite Like Me.” Other songs included in the setlist were “American Badass,” “Cocky,” and of course, “All Summer Long.”
Columbus, Ohio promised sunshine for Day Two of Rock on the Range, and by early Saturday morning it was pretty evident that we had no such luck. Sponsors and staff manned each and every entrance to Crew Stadium, armed with ponchos to hand out to already wet and weary rangers. What looked like a sea of garbage bags was really a dedicated horde of music revelers who stuck it out right from the start, filling the Ernie Ball Stage up in preparation for some Christian rock.
Kicking off the festivities was female fronted Stars In Stereo. With everyone’s ears still ringing from the night before, the melodic tone of front woman Bec Hollcraft’s vocals were a great way to ease into the harsher male dominated lineup to follow. Fellow Christian rockers We As Human hopped on next, wowing the crowd with their nonstop antics. Between climbing the scaffolding, towering high above the stage, and jumping into the pit for some crowd participation, the set was anything but dull.
The Main Stage didn’t get off to quite as energetic of a start, with opener Rev Theory clearly growing frustrated by the lack of enthusiasm. As the rain poured down for the worst storm of the day, the band did their best to distract the crowd and finally succeeded when they broke into “Hell Yeah”, during which it was nearly impossible not to crack a smile.
The Jägermeister Stage hosted one of the biggest breakout acts of the weekend next. Pennsylvania’s Crobot reminded rangers what true rock ‘n’ roll is all about – dirty, grungy hooks to bring the genre back to its purest form.
The sun finally started to “Shimmer” when Fuel took the stage to rock out to some newer tracks followed by the old favorites. The second half of their set was a welcome throwback for twenty-something’s to reminisce their glory days.
Winning the award for quirkiest band of the day was Sweden’s Avatar. The metal band’s short Jägermeister Stage set provided some unique entertainment while the main stage was set up for Pop Evil.
With a recent string of #1 singles under their belts, it was no surprise that the main stage was packed when Pop Evil arrived. Drummer Joshua “Chachi” Marunde moved around more than most singers do, and frontman Leigh Kakaty made sure the crowd was awake by jumping in for “Last Man Standing”. The real show began, however, when members of the armed forces joined the band on stage to close the set with “Trenches”, featuring a jaw dropping collaboration with Run DMC that had everyone talking for the rest of the day.
Another new act hit the Ernie Ball Stage next, Texas natives Nothing More. They incorporated some unique elements, including a separate small drum at the front of the stage that frontman Jonny Hawkins would drum and jump on throughout the set.
Theory of a Deadman lit up the main stage with some entertaining singalong tracks, including “B***h Came Back” and “Bad Girlfriend”, as well as throwing in a more serious ballad, “Not Meant to Be”. With everyone bouncing and singing along to each of the songs, it was clear that the band was a Rock on the Range favorite.
The Pretty Reckless, the second of two female fronted bands slotted for Day Two, hit the Ernie Ball Stage. Lead singer Taylor Momsen’s voice was a force to be reckoned with, and the overall charismatic nature of the band shone through throughout their set. Chevelle began what was to be a heavy night to follow, building up the energy level that would remain until the final band left the stage with nonstop crowd surfing and moshing. The band may be a trio, but lead guitarist/singer Pete Loeffler had no problem amping up the crowd on his own.
With the side stages closed for the evening, it was finally time for Slayer.
The pit suddenly transformed into a hulking mass of muscles and bald heads, scaring away the younger crowd for the duration of their hour long set. Holding nothing back, the band powered through an intense set, clearly unaffected by recent lineup changes. Closing out with “Raining Blood”, Crew Stadium exploded into a frenzy of bodies flying in every imaginable direction.
Not to be outdone, Avenged Sevenfold brought their spectacularly haunting stage set up to close out Day Two. With too many hits to choose from, the band did their best to please everyone from the most diehard fans to brand new ones, making sure to include a few from each album. Without the addition of fireworks and pyrotechnics, the set would arguably be one of the best of the day. With them, it was a no brainer.
Midway through the set, lighters filled the sky as the band slowed things down a bit to honor the band’s late drummer, Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan. Frontman M. Shadows took a moment to let the crowd know that they are not a band to usually use tracks in their live show, but revealed that that the vocals we had been hearing in the background all night, in fact, belonged to Sullivan. An impressive guitar solo preceded the final few songs of the night, wrapping up with “Unholy Confessions”.
Rock on the Range promised to bring Columbus, Ohio the biggest and best lineup to date for this years festival, and on day one, they certainly delivered. This year’s festival marked the first featuring a full 3-day lineup, and Rangers were eagerly waiting outside the stadium early on Friday morning to get their weekend started. Cold weather and rain tried to put a damper on the sold out crowd, but the bands and tens of thousands of fans energized one another and made sure the weekend was unforgettable.
Featuring former members of Egypt Central, Devour The Day were given the task of warming up the Ernie Ball Stage early on Friday afternoon. Mixed in with the new material was an unexpected surprise, Egypt Central’s hit “White Rabbit”. The Monster Main Stage was christened by Redlight King. The instantly recognizable opening notes of “Comeback” got the crowd going immediately. The band steered clear of their more relaxed rap-rock tracks, keeping it heavy for the festival crowd.
Intro music could be heard at the Ernie Ball stage the moment the main stage wrapped up, allowing a few seconds to rush over in time for Thousand Foot Krutch. Playing mostly newer material, the band was sure to bring it back for the old fans on “Move”, which had the entire field doing just that. Black Stone Cherry had just the right balance of entertaining lyrics, southern charm, and high energy rock to convert just about any ranger into a fan, taking the main stage to deliver a set that was nearly impossible to not sing along to.
While We Came As Romans played the Ernie Ball Stage, Japanese four piece ONE OK ROCK took the Jägermeister stage for their first US festival performance, a not so modest transition into their upcoming Warped Tour appearances. Killswitch Engage seem to never disappoint, and that certainly held true for the band’s main stage set. The fun and eccentric playing style of guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz was contrasted by the growl of vocalist Jesse Leach, who held his own on the final track, a cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver”.
Black Label Society were next up on the main stage to ensure that the lucky few not exhausted following Killswitch Engage were completely worn out by the end of their 50 minute set. While the band may cater to the middle aged biker crowd, it’s safe to say that everyone that caught the set appreciated the undeniable talent of Zakk Wylde as he effortlessly shredded through guitar solos that lasted as long as some band’s songs.
(Interview with Seether from Upstate Rock Station Q103’s Wes Styles)
The anxiously awaited return of Seether to the festival scene was well received next at the Monster Stage. Following the addition of a touring guitarist, the former trio sounded better than ever. Not even the slightest split second of silence occurred throughout the entire set, with improvised transitions from song. On top of the old favourites the band included their brand new single “Words As Weapons”, which many devoted fans had already memorized word for word.
Also having laid low for the last few years, Staind took the stage next to show Columbus that they are far from finished. Despite the fact that each of the members have been working on various side projects in recent years, the band proved to be as in sync as ever. Flames lit up Crew Stadium on rock ballads like “Outside”, with Seether’s Shaun Morgan accompanied Aaron Lewis on vocals. Time for rest on the lighter tracks allowed fans some much needed time to catch their breaths and rest up for heavier tracks like “Mudshovel”, during which bodies flew in every imaginable direction amongst the crowd.
Guns N’ Roses may have been a surprising choice to close out day one of Rock on the Range, but the rest of the day’s killer lineup left little room for complaints. Whether it was out of mere curiosity or genuine excitement, the majority of the sold out audience stayed for the final show of the night. After starting out slow with a newer track, the famous guitar intro of “Welcome to the Jungle” caused every single face in the stadium to light up. Backed by a theatrical stage set up and scorching pyro, Axl Rose wowed with powerful vocals that haven’t wavered since day one. After teasing everyone with a taste of the GNR classics, he number of newer songs included in the band’s set list left many disappointed and rushing for the exit to beat lines of traffic on the way out. While the set list wasn’t spectacular, Guns N’ Roses put on a solid performance worthy of closing out an incredible day of rock.
On Friday May 23rd, Trey Anastasio Band rolled through Cleveland for the first of two Ohio shows leading up to headlining Summer Camp Music Festival on Sunday. Taking the stage shortly before 8pm, the septet certainly didn’t waste any time, jumping right into the reggae flavored ” The Land of Nod”.
Fresh and tight from the get-go, the band showed absolutely no signs of rust from the three month break. If there’s one thing that’s clear, TAB brings the heat on a nighty basis. Trey certainly wasn’t hesitant in reintroducing the midwestern crowd to the slew of new material debuted back in February. Anastasio also premiered two new originals – “Flying Machine” and “The Song”, while later confirming the band is working on a new album. Master of harnessing energy, Trey and company delivered two high octane sets complied by a mix of new and old school staples. “Magilla”, “Drifting” and “First Tube” provided the closing credits to an incredible night of music on the shores of Lake Erie.
Setlist – Trey Anastasio Band, House of Blues, Cleveland, OH 5/23/16
Set One: Land Of Nod, Bounce, Cayman Review, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Flying Machine*, Pigtail, Money Love and Change, Frost, Dark And Down, Valentine, Gotta Jibboo
Set Two: Sometime After Sunset, The Song**, Night Speaks To A Woman, Shine, Plasma, Architect, Sand, Clint Eastwood, Push On Til The Day
Encore: Magilla, Drifting, First Tube * – First Time Played (Anastasio) ** – First Time Played (Anastasio/Pollak)
Prog-Rock superstars, dopapod recently announced their Spring 2014 Tour Dates. The band will be playing some Upstate, NY dates – 4/24 at Saratoga’s Putnam Den with Aqueous, 4/25 at The Westcott Theater in Syracuse, NY with Aqueous and then 4/26 at The Waiting Room in Buffalo, NY with a third night with Buffalo’s own Aqueous and favorites and Albany natives, Mister F. For tickets and info please visit www.dopapod.com.
Fresh and tight from the get-go, the band showed absolutely no signs of rust from the three month break. If there’s one thing that’s clear, TAB brings the heat on a nighty basis. Trey certainly wasn’t hesitant in reintroducing the midwestern crowd to the slew of new material debuted back in February. Anastasio also premiered two new originals – “Flying Machine” and “The Song”, while later confirming the band is working on a new album. Master of harnessing energy, Trey and company delivered two high octane sets complied by a mix of new and old school staples. “Magilla”, “Drifting” and “First Tube” provided the closing credits to an incredible night of music on the shores of Lake Erie.