Blue Ridge Rock Festival: Soaking up all of the Memories After the Dust has Settled
The world has been in a state of flux for well over the past year. Because of this, the fact that a festival was happening at all was enough to get us excited here at Concert Hopper. Fast forward to the lineup announcements as they incrementally happened and we found ourselves at an absolute fever-pitch of hype. Blue Ridge Rock Festival bills itself as the “fan driver rock experience” and this was made evident as the lineup was mostly chosen based on fan polling. All of this culminated in a wild weekend descending upon the sleep town of Danville, Virginia.
Day one of the festival was a bit hectic as it seemed that everyone had to remember how to function in a festival environment. Despite this, once everyone figure it out, the show was on the road. The first band that we were able to check out was Slaves from Sacramento, California. The band was a lot of fun to watch live and their awesome mix of infectious and heavy grooves and powerhouse vocals made them a great way to break the festival ice.
After Slaves, we stopped at the food court for a perennial festival favorite, Atlanta’s own Island Noodles. The festival wristbands gave attendees a stress free way to purchase their drinks and food without worrying about carrying around cash or their card. With the grounds being so sparse, it was easy to find a spot away from the chaos at the stages to take a seat and enjoy your meal.
The day was far from over though as more awesome bands were set to take the stage including many we were so excited to see. Early in the day was one of the ones we were most excited to see because the world at large had yet to see them beyond their music videos. Coming all of the way down from Canada, Spiritbox was set to unleash their brand of awesome on those in attendance and they did not disappoint. Awash in blue, from the backdrop to vocalist Courtney Laplante’s hair, the band left the crowd hyped and shocked at their prowess.
Amongst the other stacked bands on the lineup, a rarity graced Virginia as The Ghost Inside took the stage. For those unfamiliar, The Ghost Inside had a horrific bus crash in November of 2015 that resulted in the driver of the bus passing away and the drummer Andrew Tkaczyk losing his right leg. As a result, the band has rarely played shows. Nonetheless, the fact that they take the stage at all is mind-blowing and the entire band, Andrew included absolutely shredded and played an amazing set and gave us our first glimpse at pyro at the show.
The day rounded out with two other amazing bands Halestorm and Breaking Benjamin. Halestorm is always a blast to see live and their stage show, including the lighting is phenomenal. Along with this, vocalist Lzzy Hale’s incredible vocal prowess is always something to behold. They wowed the crowd and were a great way to settle everyone in before Breaking Benjamin took the stage.
As day two dawned, more incredible acts awaited us and those in attendance. One of the first big acts up for the day and one that drew a crowd was Fozzy. For those who may not be familiar with the band but who may have followed wrestling, the band is fronting by former WWE superstar Chris Jericho. The band was awesome live and put on a great show, complete with all of the showmanship that Jericho learned in the WWE.
After Fozzy, Atlanta natives Sevendust took the stage. Having had the pleasure of being present for Sevendust’s return to Atlanta concert, we knew we were in for an amazing spectacle. Of course, Lajon Witherspoon and the band did not disappoint. They played an incredible mix from their deep discography and put on a visual and audio power display for the crowd.
After Sevendust, heavy metal legends Anthrax were an absolute bucket list band to see live let alone be in the photo pit for. As always, the band put on a spectacular show. Vocalist Joey Belladona ripped through the set with impressive ease and the crowd was left in awe after the showing from one of the big four of metal. With their colorful backdrop setting the mood, they ripped their many of their fan favorites.
After the excitement that was Anthrax, the festival was set to be turned into a demonstration as Fever 333 went on. Fever 333 has been taking the live music world by storm with their wild performances. They are known for going wild, having been spotted playing from atop port-a-potties, crowd surfing in their gear’s crates and climbing the stage scaffolding. Blue Ridge was not going to be spared from these theatrics as both guitarist St33vis and vocalist Jason climbed the stage’s scaffolding (St33vis with guitar in tow.)
Fever 333 was an electrifying way to segue to the later bands of the evening including I Prevail, Motionless in White and the closing act of the day, another bucket list artist, Rob Zombie. Decked out with his trademark dreads and a wild stage setup, Rob Zombie took to the stage to party with the crowd. Truly, Zombie and the band embody that spirit, creating an awesome visual show for the crowd to match their wild and varied music. It was an awesome way to close the evening down.
Day three had dawned in Danville, Virginia and I personally found myself giddy with excitement. As one of the ones into the heavier music here at Concert Hopper, Saturday was my day in particular, it was slam packed with heavy bands and I couldn’t have been more stocked to get to the venue and get to snapping photos. My excitement was not misguided because Saturday was an incredible day for heavy music fans in Virginia.
With a few of the bands having to drop off of the festival billing due to various issues, there was a bit of a gap for us to start day three which led to one of the most happy accidents of the whole festival. While waiting near the Staylit stage, the adjacent HeartSupport stage was being besieged by a band from Atlanta, Georgia known as Head Hunter. While the band is chock full of young members, their musical prowess proved to be timeless and as their set progressed, they soon had a flock of fans surrounding them. They left such a strong impression that on day four, while wearing one of their shirts, I was stopped numerous times by fans telling me how awesome they were. This is definitely a rising star to keep your eye on.
After Head Hunter had thoroughly shocked us with their performance, it was time for hardcore legends Hatebreed to take the stage. Right off of the bat, the crowd was rowdy as is to be expected as a Hatebreed show. The band seemed to feed off of this energy and they put on a performance for the ages. Crowd surfers poured over the railing as the circle pits kicked dust up against the bright blue Virginia sky.
As the night was wearing down and the sun was setting, the last two bands were not content to let the moon watch peacefully over a quiet night. First up was Virginia’s own Lamb of God. Never ones to disappoint, the band rocked the crowd with a wall of incredible sound. To compliment the roaring tones of their music, the band had their awesome stage show complete with pyro and vocalist Randy Blythe’s signature dreadlocks.
To close out the night another member of metal’s big four was set to take on the Virginia crowds. Megadeth, complete with an impressive wall of screens and massive walls of amplifiers were a sight and sound to behold. It wasn’t long before Dave Mustaine and the crowd were locked in unison singing through some of the band’s classics like “Sweating Bullets.”
The dawn of the final day at Blue Ridge Rock Festival continued the tradition of exciting sets to witness. Certainly if the crowd was feeling anything like myself, they were tired and sore but excited for what was to come. Right from the onset day four had us rocking with Seattle native Ayron Jones’ signature hybrid of blues and rock.
After Ayron’s set we continue to hang out at the Staylit stage as we waited to catch the next band. Known for their amazing costumes and incredible stage performances, Starset was not a band that we wanted to miss. This made the wait well worth it and we were certainly not disappointed. Having set aside their astronaut-like outfits, the band was outfitted in updated suits that had them looking like a cross between Jawas from Star Wars and something from a post-apocalyptic scene like Mad Max.
Closing out the festival were the power duo of Papa Roach who played their Infest album in its entirety and Shinedown. Both of the bands brought the energy to their sets. It was a wonderful way to close out the festival and send the crowd home on a high. Of course, Shinedown included their awesome fireworks display as well.
When it was all said and done and the dust had settled and we left the festival grounds in the rearview mirror, Blue Ridge had been an incredible experience. The festival had it all as it settled in its new location in Danville, Virginia. From awesome fans to wonderful supporting staff to the most insane lineup we have ever seen. While the world is an a state of evolution right now, we hope that one thing that we can count on is that in 2022, we will find ourselves back in Danville, Virginia in a photo pit with 30-40,000 of our closest friends having our minds blown by more live music.
As always, please feel free to browse around ConcertHopper’s website (including checking out our full photo coverage featuring all of the bands from all four days of the festival) further and to check out our articles covering a wide variety of topics. Please also check us out on social media on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Life is a beautiful thing and music only adds to that beauty, make some time to get out and celebrate beauty and life with a community of like-minded individuals at a concert soon, it’s always worth the price of admission.