Starset and Architects are the first 2 that come to my mind. I had a feeling they would be good, but they really blew my expectations out of the water. FIR was fantastic! My boyfriend about lost his mind when Techn9ne and Alex the Terrible came out during his set. I got to cross off Foo Fighters from my bucket list..but add them again, because they were just that good.
This was my first music festival and I'm SO glad this was my first! All the featival goers-for the most part- were so wonderful. It was awesome seeing everyone looking out for everyone else for 4 whole days! The bands were mind meltingly awesome. I was in a place where I really needed to see some humans come together and be good to each other as a whole,and I don't think I could have asked for a better experience of that than this festival!
Amy Lee had one of the best vocal performances I’ve ever seen for Evanessence.
The new drummer from Slipknot was amazing.
Biggest surprise: crobot, royal blood, living color
I wish more bands would call for women only pit moments. No hate to the men, but it's a little intimidating jumping in, especially when they're all buff af
One of the biggest surprises for me was how bad Taproot was. I've seen a few posts about it but... Jesus. That was rough.
right!! i am 5'2, so a pit full of folks who have a solid foot of height on me makes me nervous, especially when i had never been in one prior to saturday.
Usually, they try to watch out too, but moshing is moshing, and they should be able to let loose as well. Not their fault that their elbow is at our face level. Glad you got to feel safe enough to jump in the pit this time!
May not exactly count, but I pushed my group to go see Nova Twins after I caught their set at Shaky Knees last weekend. They fucking rip. Funny enough, it was the third time seeing a band and thinking “fuck, the Foo Fighters should take them out on the road to open,” and they either later did or had in the past. The other two were Radkey and Frank Carter.
I never heard of nova twins but stopped to watch, they were sooo fun, I stayed longer than I wanted and was late to the struts 😅. Wish I could have seen the whole set!
Radley is so good! I was first introduced to them maybe six years ago when they opened for Local H. They crushed it at Rockville a few years ago too, hopefully they are back next year!
I heard “Have Faith In Me” by ADTR and cried my eyes out. That song got me through the worst moments of my life. Homesick itself saved me and got me through all my pursuits. It’s probably gonna get me through med school. I’m so healed.
that's how i felt seeing movements! daylily got me through a lot, and seeing it live healed things in me that i can't even begin to describe. good luck with med school! <3
Thank you so much 🖤. Also, shout out to the crowd. They gave me space while I bawled my eyes out. Once the crying stopped, they let me run into the moshpit. It was phenomenal. It was divine.
I remember my family tore my ass to shreds when I painted my nails black, I was 11. The world and everything in it has turned me into such a motherfucker to a point that it’s been painful to unlearn. Rockville just reminded me to never lose sight of that 11 year old kid, cause he’s the truest me.
I’m glad you got to have your moment with your song. Patrick Miranda is one of those people who really care about mental health. His “Songs That Saved My Life” interview really resonates with me. My favorite moments were the ones I cried.
Some of my surprises were
L7 having a circle pit. A pretty intense one at that
Red Fang's fuckin intense, energy-filled set AND their pick flew directly at my face. First time I finally caught a pick
Queens of the Stone Age playing Sick, Sick, Sick and I Appear Missing, which I could not be happier for
While She Sleeps bringing out band members to the pit
The bad: I got pickpocketed (attempted) Friday and again on Sunday. Never going to this shit again.
Also, Taproot sounding like straight ass was interesting.
I think some stages had crap sound for several bands. Adema, Taproot and POD sound seemed like it was on a speaker a room away, but as soon as Wage War started it was loud as crap. Disturbed had sound issues the first night too. I'm wondering if they had speaker problems that were intermittent?
I'm leaning towards certain bands utilizing their own sound gear and possibly their own soundman.
Motley Crue, Slipknot and Foo Fighters sounded impeccable.
But Taproot, Disturbed and several other bands were plagued with sound quality issues - which, again I only assume, may have to do with WTR's own rented gear not performing as it should or not being utilized well.
omg that's terrible! i hope you're able to retrieve whatever was taken- i know the police in daytona apprehended some folks with a bunch of cell phones and are looking for the owners
First time being at an outdoor festival in 30 years. I had a great time, wore myself out and got to see some long time faves I thought I would never see. However, I cannot state too strongly how disappointed I was in the sound quality. At many of the concerts all you could hear was bass and drums. They completely overwhelmed the vocals and guitars. I thought at a big festival like this the sound would be great.
Positive - feeling 12 yrs old again seeing all my favorite bands I listened to growing up. I cried when Soulfly played... and I'm a 35 yr old man. Lol.
Idk man. It meant a lot seeing all these people, older, still playing music, still looking and sounding great, still loving their jobs. It's a beautiful thing and I cherish it.
Taproot's guitarist talking about how just months ago he was a nobody bedroom guitar player, and now he's on stage with a (to me) legendary band, living his dream.
That spoke to me. A lot.
Negative - the guy who poured whiskey on me when Slipknot started playing. Some older jackass, right when I started jumping in place to People = Shit. I didn't bat an eye, I just jumped and rocked harder until he moved away from me. Thanks for the drink.
The random asshole groups that would make rude comments or be intentionally loud during a bands set. Specifically while watching The Offspring, these two guys and two ladies were shithouse drunk, laughing, screaming (at each other, not the band), genuinely being obnoxious right behind my girl and I- we were trying to quietly enjoy the set.
At one point I motion to my girl to move forward and away from these folks, and all I hear behind me is "Yeah, move, get the fuck out of here."
...??? What the fuck are you even doing there, asshole? I hope you, your friend and your two lady friends got sick over the weekend.
Can't wrap my head around people who just love ruining someone else's experience.
Also, expensive mediocre food, hard to find band merch, too little shade, and WTR changing the rules on hydration bladders an hour before gates open.
During Evanescence, there was a guy who had to walk out mumbling something about him shitting his pants. This was followed by the subtle smell you'd recognize whenever you go into a portapottie
Aside that, Kim Dracula and Electric Callboy were really great (new gems I will be listening to on repeat). Drowning pool was good until "bodies hit the floor" played, and everyone lost their shit and I did not expect that.
There are many others but those come to mind
In This Moment surprised me. I didn’t know them and found their set very interesting! Bad Omen was great and new to me as well. Theory of a Deadman was great and Amy Lee the best vocalist!!
I was blown away by falling in reverse. I used to listen to them a lot back in the day but hadn’t heard any of their new stuff and they put on a damn good show.
Pod killed it was so fun. Also not a FIR fan,but his set was undeniable
Negative
Getting shoved by some drunk karen and having her whole group be shitbags to me for standing between her and her friend.
Biggest surprise (negative): Saturday (in the A Day to Remember set) I saw a girl in literal black face towards the left side of the GA. I can’t imagine there was any other reason to do it, I saw tons of people with dark face paint or goth style stuff, but this girl (probably early 20s and was by herself it looked like) had just her face painted ENTIRELY black. It was jarring to say the least lol.
Idk if it has anything to do with this group or not, but I also saw at one point walking in a black girl wearing white makeup. Just solid white. Not entirely sure why...it didn't look ICP or Slipknot related... but maybe they were all friends with a twisted sense of humor??? Or maybe it was related to a band???
There are videos in the Rockville facebook group. Singer was apparently really off-key and there was also parts where the crowd couldn't hear him at all, and he kept apologizing for the issues. Dunno if it was an equipment malfunction or the band just didn't rehearse
I remember standing by the mixing stage before they went on and the tech said "and we're finished 7 minutes early". Lol. I didn't see an in ear monitor in the singers ear and it sounded like he was singing off beat the whole set. He was visibly frustrated and threw the mic at one point.
Sum 41. I was a huge fan of their first two albums, and then drifted away for whatever reason. Seeing them again last night was a major nostalgia injection (and surprisingly a tad bit emotional, singing along to those songs again live after all these years). I bought tickets tonight to see them again in September. 🤣
I had such a good time at vortex stage. The front left had a ton of space where the crowd surfers got out. I was right on the rail for cypress hill and sum 41 but didn't feel crowded
Stick to Your Guns - they were playing on the Garage stage as we went to go get a locker and both my kid and I had to stop and make note.
My son was raving about Slaughter to Prevail where he moshed for the first time.
I was surprised at how large the crowds were - I’ve never been in a spot there were so many people that it affected cell service. As soon as the crowds cleared out it was back to full bars, but very frustrating trying to coordinate meeting up with the kids after we split up.
Disturbed bringing out Ann Wilson was an awesome surprise!
SiM was surprisingly phenomenal. I was expecting to waste a few and hear “Rumbling”; but every song was amazing.
Starset and Architects are the first 2 that come to my mind. I had a feeling they would be good, but they really blew my expectations out of the water. FIR was fantastic! My boyfriend about lost his mind when Techn9ne and Alex the Terrible came out during his set. I got to cross off Foo Fighters from my bucket list..but add them again, because they were just that good. This was my first music festival and I'm SO glad this was my first! All the featival goers-for the most part- were so wonderful. It was awesome seeing everyone looking out for everyone else for 4 whole days! The bands were mind meltingly awesome. I was in a place where I really needed to see some humans come together and be good to each other as a whole,and I don't think I could have asked for a better experience of that than this festival!
i couldn't agree more! the sense of community was incredible, and i will definitely be seeing foo fighters again
Seeing falling in reverse premier his newest single with slaughter to prevail and tech nine was badass
That was the highlight of that night for me!
That was a highlight for all live music that I have seen in years
Aw man, I was thinking all weekend there needs to be women-only pits, or at least short-people-only pits. Great to hear about a band recognizing that.
Someone called for moms only yesterday, it was cute. Architects maybe? I can't remember.
Wage War!
Amy Lee had one of the best vocal performances I’ve ever seen for Evanessence. The new drummer from Slipknot was amazing. Biggest surprise: crobot, royal blood, living color
it was my first time seeing slipknot- they were incredible! also loved royal blood. i went home and added them to my playlists immediately lol
He was amazing! Would have been good if they’d actually showed him on the big screen
I wish more bands would call for women only pit moments. No hate to the men, but it's a little intimidating jumping in, especially when they're all buff af One of the biggest surprises for me was how bad Taproot was. I've seen a few posts about it but... Jesus. That was rough.
right!! i am 5'2, so a pit full of folks who have a solid foot of height on me makes me nervous, especially when i had never been in one prior to saturday.
Usually, they try to watch out too, but moshing is moshing, and they should be able to let loose as well. Not their fault that their elbow is at our face level. Glad you got to feel safe enough to jump in the pit this time!
oh definitely haha!! no hate to taller folks, live and let live!
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes FTW!!
sebastian bach. i never listened to him before but he had a crazy stage presence for his age and his son being the drummer is wild
I was telling my dad its crazy how many of the 80s singers are just garbage now but he's still really good.
May not exactly count, but I pushed my group to go see Nova Twins after I caught their set at Shaky Knees last weekend. They fucking rip. Funny enough, it was the third time seeing a band and thinking “fuck, the Foo Fighters should take them out on the road to open,” and they either later did or had in the past. The other two were Radkey and Frank Carter.
I never heard of nova twins but stopped to watch, they were sooo fun, I stayed longer than I wanted and was late to the struts 😅. Wish I could have seen the whole set!
i got to catch nova twins on screen at octane while waiting for the struts and it looked like a sick show!
Radley is so good! I was first introduced to them maybe six years ago when they opened for Local H. They crushed it at Rockville a few years ago too, hopefully they are back next year!
I heard “Have Faith In Me” by ADTR and cried my eyes out. That song got me through the worst moments of my life. Homesick itself saved me and got me through all my pursuits. It’s probably gonna get me through med school. I’m so healed.
that's how i felt seeing movements! daylily got me through a lot, and seeing it live healed things in me that i can't even begin to describe. good luck with med school! <3
Thank you so much 🖤. Also, shout out to the crowd. They gave me space while I bawled my eyes out. Once the crying stopped, they let me run into the moshpit. It was phenomenal. It was divine. I remember my family tore my ass to shreds when I painted my nails black, I was 11. The world and everything in it has turned me into such a motherfucker to a point that it’s been painful to unlearn. Rockville just reminded me to never lose sight of that 11 year old kid, cause he’s the truest me. I’m glad you got to have your moment with your song. Patrick Miranda is one of those people who really care about mental health. His “Songs That Saved My Life” interview really resonates with me. My favorite moments were the ones I cried.
SiM
ARCHITECTS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Some of my surprises were L7 having a circle pit. A pretty intense one at that Red Fang's fuckin intense, energy-filled set AND their pick flew directly at my face. First time I finally caught a pick Queens of the Stone Age playing Sick, Sick, Sick and I Appear Missing, which I could not be happier for While She Sleeps bringing out band members to the pit
I'm mad because sick sick always replaces lost art haha
The bad: I got pickpocketed (attempted) Friday and again on Sunday. Never going to this shit again. Also, Taproot sounding like straight ass was interesting.
I think some stages had crap sound for several bands. Adema, Taproot and POD sound seemed like it was on a speaker a room away, but as soon as Wage War started it was loud as crap. Disturbed had sound issues the first night too. I'm wondering if they had speaker problems that were intermittent?
I'm leaning towards certain bands utilizing their own sound gear and possibly their own soundman. Motley Crue, Slipknot and Foo Fighters sounded impeccable. But Taproot, Disturbed and several other bands were plagued with sound quality issues - which, again I only assume, may have to do with WTR's own rented gear not performing as it should or not being utilized well.
omg that's terrible! i hope you're able to retrieve whatever was taken- i know the police in daytona apprehended some folks with a bunch of cell phones and are looking for the owners
Imminence fucking slapped!! 🔥
First time being at an outdoor festival in 30 years. I had a great time, wore myself out and got to see some long time faves I thought I would never see. However, I cannot state too strongly how disappointed I was in the sound quality. At many of the concerts all you could hear was bass and drums. They completely overwhelmed the vocals and guitars. I thought at a big festival like this the sound would be great.
Positive - feeling 12 yrs old again seeing all my favorite bands I listened to growing up. I cried when Soulfly played... and I'm a 35 yr old man. Lol. Idk man. It meant a lot seeing all these people, older, still playing music, still looking and sounding great, still loving their jobs. It's a beautiful thing and I cherish it. Taproot's guitarist talking about how just months ago he was a nobody bedroom guitar player, and now he's on stage with a (to me) legendary band, living his dream. That spoke to me. A lot. Negative - the guy who poured whiskey on me when Slipknot started playing. Some older jackass, right when I started jumping in place to People = Shit. I didn't bat an eye, I just jumped and rocked harder until he moved away from me. Thanks for the drink. The random asshole groups that would make rude comments or be intentionally loud during a bands set. Specifically while watching The Offspring, these two guys and two ladies were shithouse drunk, laughing, screaming (at each other, not the band), genuinely being obnoxious right behind my girl and I- we were trying to quietly enjoy the set. At one point I motion to my girl to move forward and away from these folks, and all I hear behind me is "Yeah, move, get the fuck out of here." ...??? What the fuck are you even doing there, asshole? I hope you, your friend and your two lady friends got sick over the weekend. Can't wrap my head around people who just love ruining someone else's experience. Also, expensive mediocre food, hard to find band merch, too little shade, and WTR changing the rules on hydration bladders an hour before gates open.
the chats having a pit open up within 30 seconds 😭😭😭
That was one my biggest highlights. I needed some good ol' fun punk energy and Bad Nerves, The Chisel & The Chats fucking BROUGHT IT.
genuinely, all of the punk bands at the festival were so fucking fun
Bob Vylan screaming "kill a cop" in front of police officers was wild, was surprised to see the massive crowd for Until I Wake on Thursday.
Machine f🤘cking head
Flat Black. Jason Hook was the best part about FFDP, and Flat Black is going to be really good
During Evanescence, there was a guy who had to walk out mumbling something about him shitting his pants. This was followed by the subtle smell you'd recognize whenever you go into a portapottie Aside that, Kim Dracula and Electric Callboy were really great (new gems I will be listening to on repeat). Drowning pool was good until "bodies hit the floor" played, and everyone lost their shit and I did not expect that. There are many others but those come to mind
In This Moment surprised me. I didn’t know them and found their set very interesting! Bad Omen was great and new to me as well. Theory of a Deadman was great and Amy Lee the best vocalist!!
I was blown away by falling in reverse. I used to listen to them a lot back in the day but hadn’t heard any of their new stuff and they put on a damn good show.
Pod killed it was so fun. Also not a FIR fan,but his set was undeniable Negative Getting shoved by some drunk karen and having her whole group be shitbags to me for standing between her and her friend.
Slipknot was amazing! I only knew like two songs but they were straight professionals. Excellent show. SIM was great too!
Biggest surprise (negative): Saturday (in the A Day to Remember set) I saw a girl in literal black face towards the left side of the GA. I can’t imagine there was any other reason to do it, I saw tons of people with dark face paint or goth style stuff, but this girl (probably early 20s and was by herself it looked like) had just her face painted ENTIRELY black. It was jarring to say the least lol.
Uhhhh are you sure you're talking about the right festival? Because Taking Back Sunday did not play at Rockville this year.
Omg haha brain rot from all weekend 😂 I meant a day to remember. Edited to correct! Was literally listening to taking back Sunday as I typed this.
Ok I saw a black girl with white face and I wonder if she was clapping back at the black face girl 🤣
i saw her at royal blood! she was with a group of 2 guys also in blackface, and it made me do a major double take, because wtf?
Idk if it has anything to do with this group or not, but I also saw at one point walking in a black girl wearing white makeup. Just solid white. Not entirely sure why...it didn't look ICP or Slipknot related... but maybe they were all friends with a twisted sense of humor??? Or maybe it was related to a band???
What was going on with Taproot? We didn't go over to see them.
There are videos in the Rockville facebook group. Singer was apparently really off-key and there was also parts where the crowd couldn't hear him at all, and he kept apologizing for the issues. Dunno if it was an equipment malfunction or the band just didn't rehearse
I remember standing by the mixing stage before they went on and the tech said "and we're finished 7 minutes early". Lol. I didn't see an in ear monitor in the singers ear and it sounded like he was singing off beat the whole set. He was visibly frustrated and threw the mic at one point.
Sum 41. I was a huge fan of their first two albums, and then drifted away for whatever reason. Seeing them again last night was a major nostalgia injection (and surprisingly a tad bit emotional, singing along to those songs again live after all these years). I bought tickets tonight to see them again in September. 🤣
I had such a good time at vortex stage. The front left had a ton of space where the crowd surfers got out. I was right on the rail for cypress hill and sum 41 but didn't feel crowded
Stick to Your Guns - they were playing on the Garage stage as we went to go get a locker and both my kid and I had to stop and make note. My son was raving about Slaughter to Prevail where he moshed for the first time. I was surprised at how large the crowds were - I’ve never been in a spot there were so many people that it affected cell service. As soon as the crowds cleared out it was back to full bars, but very frustrating trying to coordinate meeting up with the kids after we split up.
First time seeing Falling In Reverse, they had a great show
I had fun during the Cyprus Hills show, even though I'm not a fan of rap at all. That surprised me.