DAY 1
DAY 2
Everyone who’s been knows that Blue Ridge Rock Festival is far from perfect. Every year it’s something and the veteran Ridge Runners have our own little inside jokes like “Fuck Hay Hill.” All its little, or big, imperfections are kind of what makes Blue Ridge itself. This year was different though. At the time of the festival, we had no idea what was happening behind the stage. We didn’t see any of it or experience it first hand so it’s not our story to tell. We do have friends in the industry that went through it all and it’s really heartbreaking to hear what they had to go through. Again, not our story to tell.
As always though, we choose to look at the things that did go right and focus on all the good memories that were made.
This was our third year in a row attending Blue Ridge. Our first year, 2021, was a complete shit show, but every day it was a fun “what now” game. We had a blast and got “trauma bonded” with so many others, so we decided to come back. Then in 2022, the fest had a venue change and things seemed to run way smoother than the year before. Still a work in progress but it was better. Coming from a media point of view though, we were treated like absolute shit. A small group of us “Media Crew” got together and discussed what we wanted for 2023 if we were going to come back. We had a lead take it to the promoter, he agreed, and we got a lot of what we needed with a new PR team. Again, we gave this venue so many chances because we believe it is a work in progress and to get to that certain level, you have to go through all the growing pains. The promoter does Facebook Lives and is very interactive in the “Blue Ridge Rock Festival Fan Zone,” going through all the parts of the festival and answering questions. This is what makes Blue Ridge feel more like a family and we felt like we were part of a growing festival that just needs to work out a few more bumps but it will be great eventually.
Coming into day 1 of 2023, we thought the festival had a huge turnaround from previous years. There were clear signs and every staff person we encountered knew where to direct us. Our credentials were easy to pick up and everything was going swimmingly so far. The weather was bright and sunny and we were dying from the heat already at the beginning of the day. Usually around this time of year in Virginia, the average temperature is 85, but it got up to 100 this day! I was talking to some of my other Blue Ridge buddies who have all been to the same years as us and we were all saying that this was the most brutal day at Blue Ridge ever and it’s only Day 1! Blue Ridge did a totally new layout of the grounds to eliminate the infamous “Hay Hill” this year. This layout was amazing because they brought one of the side stages closer to the main stages and you didn't have to make so many sacrifices on bands you wanted to see because all four stages were nearby. With that we were able to catch, Outline in Color, Kingdom Collapse, Kingdom of Giants, Caskets, Psychostick, Vended, DRUGS, Alphawolf.
I was having a blast crossing so many bands off my “Must See” list and running into friends all day like a family reunion! Around 6:30 though, the weather did a complete 180. I was waiting in the crowd for Escape The Fate when all of a sudden it started raining. It felt so good at first because it was cold rain and I was literally overheating all day. The crowd started cheering because we were all in the same overheating boat. I got to watch Motionless in White in the pouring rain last year and that was one of my favorite experiences ever so I was excited to be able to see Escape the Fate in the rain this time! The rain started to get progressively harder, the wind started to pick up, and the tone totally changed.
It went from a fun, ecstatic, feeling to an “Are we in danger?” feeling.
I noticed the leaves starting blowing into circles and I was getting nervous thinking we might get caught in a tornado at that point. The crowd was making all sorts of noises like laughing, screaming, and whatnot but suddenly in unison the crowd went “OOOH” and I looked at the screen and it said “Severe Weather Approaching. Please exit immediately and seek shelter in your campsite vehicle or our shuttle buses.” It was such a dream state feeling because of how fast this unexpected weather came in because this was something that had not been on the weather radar all day. This was actually a freak storm that literally came out of nowhere.
We weren't sure exactly what to do or where to go, because we were working with very little to no instructions other than to seek shelter. We don’t have weather in California so we weren't sure if this was a normal thing or if we should be panicking. The lightning and thunder was directly above us at this point as we made our way out of the exit. We decided to just go to our car and wait it out there. On our long walk to the car, we were half running and watching the wind behind us like we were being chased. We were trying to make the best of this situation and make the walk go by faster, by two-stepping and singing emo shit in the rain. We were almost to the car when the weather got exponentially much worse! The rain started going sideways, the wind was getting stronger, and then it started to hail. It was pretty decent-sized hail too and it felt like we were getting shot with those Orbees guns. After going through war, we finally made it back to the car and just waited, watching the lightning. Our Jeep looked like we had just jumped in a pool before getting in the car. All the floor mats were puddled and the seats were soaked. Everything in backpacks got drenched as well. We were soaking wet but we were still down to go back into the fest if they were to continue the show. After the sun went down though that was a totally different story. We decided to leave and shortly after, they canceled the festival for the day anyway. We were bummed to miss bands like Five Finger Death Punch, Staind, Three Days Grace, and Escape the Fate, but it is what it is.
Going in the next day, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Were the grounds going to be completely flooded? Was there going to be a Hayhill 2.0? We got there and you would have never guessed that there was a freak storm the night before. I know some campsites got completely destroyed though which is devastating but I heard that the metal community came together to help clean up and restore each other’s sites!
Angelmaker was the first band I caught that day and they absolutely blew me away. I’ve seen bands that have two lead singers before where one is clean vocal and the other is dirty. Angelmaker has two dirty vocalists and it was seriously unlike anything I’ve heard before. They harmonize their screams and they have this Synergy that just makes their performance insane! We also caught Upon A Burning Body, Crown the Empire, Catch Your Breath, and Of Mice and Men, before yet again, around 6 pm, the weather started to change. Clouds started to come in from all directions and we heard that another evacuation was going to happen for sure, they just didn’t know when. We kept going to bands as the clouds came closer, and the skies got darker. It was giving the same vibes as the day before and I was really hoping this cell would go around us because all my actual favorite bands were playing that night.
It was such a weird feeling just waiting for something not knowing if it’ll actually happen.
I don’t love Knocked Loose by any means but their set has now become a core memory of mine. I had a sudden thought during their set like I just wanted to live this day like it was my last day at the fest. My friend and I ran from the top of the main stage hill all the way down to the pit to crowd surf. We got up in the air just in time for the “ARF ARF!” That was the most chaotic and the most fun I’ve ever had crowd surfing! I almost got dropped into the mosh pit but some guy carried me on his back safely to the other side of the pit and then at some point after that, this girl and I were overlapping each other crowdsurfing! On our way out of the crowd, we ran into a Row Pit, so we got down and rowed for a minute. If that moment was all I got out of Blue Ridge, then that was enough for me! That is something that I’ll never forget.
Sleep Token completely changed the atmosphere of the festival. It was something so hard to explain and I hate to be the person that says you had to be there, but you had to be there. Sleep Token is already a very ominous and mysterious band but they just take it to a whole different level live. Job for a Cowboy made Deathcore history when they had Lorna Shore lead singer WIll Ramos come out on stage during “Entombment of a Machine.”
Motionless in White has been invited to Blue Ridge for the past three years and it’s so amazing to watch them grow each year! Starting off in 2021, they closed out one of the side stages, last year they played a Main Stage but during the day, and this year they played on a main stage again but this time being direct support to Slipknot!
With that, this was one of Motionless in White's biggest US shows ever!
Before Another Life, lead singer Chris Motionless asked everyone to hold up their flashlights. The lights went so far back and even Chris was getting choked up, saying “I can’t even sing right now.” It was an emotional moment for the band but also for the fans who have been there and have watched them grow, especially in just the last two years. Motionless in White closed out their set with Eternally Yours and Chris mentioned that this was the last time they’d be playing this song in a long while.
This was the second year in a row for Slipknot headlining! Slipknot played a totally different set than we’re used to. At all the Slipknot shows I’ve been to before, they drop their curtain and go straight into some really heavy shit like People = Shit or Disasterpiece. Something that just ignites the crowd immediately. This time though, they dropped the curtain before the band came on stage and sort of faded into their first song, “The Blister Exist.” I’m not sure if it was a weird change or a nice change from previous Slipknot shows but it was definitely different. It was drummer Jay Weinberg’s birthday, so the whole crowd serenaded him with a Happy Birthday song. It started off strong but after the first line NO ONE was singing at the same time and it turned into a mess. Even Corey Taylor was like what the fuck happened? Slipknot closed out with “Spit it Out,” and as we were walking out of the grounds, we had no idea that that was the final day of Blue Ridge Rock Festival
We woke up on Saturday to another rain delay.
We were thinking oh cool, we’ll have some extra time to get some rest and not have to rush to the grounds. A few hours later we got the notification that the day had been canceled. That news was crushing but not as crushing as the news to follow at 5pm that the entire festival had been canceled due to “weather.” We and a couple of other “Media Crew” people were out at Applebees drowning our woes in House Margaritas and Bahama Mamas. So now when people say, where were you when you heard the news? I can say I was drunk in an Applebee's crying over not being able to see Chevelle. The after-concert blues hit a little earlier and a little harder this time but despite it all, we’ll probably see you again next year Blue Ridge!
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