Have you ever been to a music festival where there were two stages, but you never had to choose between the bands you wanted to see? Or where you had the ability to upgrade your tickets for a meet & greet with your favourites? If you have experienced this amazingness, then you probably know about the Rockstar Energy Disrupt Music Festival.
You see, at the Rockstar Disrupt Fest, which came through Hartford, Connecticut at Xfinity Theatre on July 7th, bands play one at a time, filling up each passing hour with one to two artists. So you weren’t forced to make a decision you might later regret, or just sit in the hot sun with zero entertainment, waiting for the next band. With the way this works, you have enough time to run to the bathroom, grab food, or beverage and get right to the next performance.
The festival stage, which was located outside started around 1 pm, and changed with a new artist roughly every 30 minutes. Hyro the Hero kicked off the day, followed by Juliet Simms, and Memphis May Fire. Performances by Four Year Strong and Sleeping With Sirenswrapped the parking lot performances.
It wasn’t until 6 pm that everyone moved indoors to the main stage area which was mostly covered by an overhang. Atreyu was the first band to take the stage. It was here that bands began playing every hour. The Story So Far, Circa Survive, The Used, and Thrice filled the rest of the lineup for this stage, each one putting on a highly enjoyable performance.
Anthony Green of Circa Survive climbed up on to the steps in front of the crowd in an attempt to get as close as possible, and everyone lost their minds over it. This seems to be a routine part of the act for Anthony, but you would never be able to tell that. Before the performance came to a close, he told the audience that his son was there and that aside from the crowd, this date of the tour was his favourite.
The Used really is a highlight to any lineup. When they took to the stage, it was in quite dramatic fashion as a white sheet was pulled to stretch out across most of the stage. Projected on to the sheet was an animated version of the Love and Death album cover, which collapsed to the floor once they walked on stage. More than once, singer Bert McCracken engaged with the audience, at first wishing their drummer, Dan Whitesides, a happy birthday, and again when he thanked the audience for the giving them this opportunity for the last 20 years to live their dreams.
From an audience point of view, this was probably my favourite tour yet. Access to food, water, and bathrooms was not at all limited. The crowd seemed relaxed, but feeding off each other as they crowd surfed and sang along to songs. The bands themselves all brought a great energy, parking was free, and everything ran on time. What more could you want?
If you too would like to have this experience, you have a little over a week left to catch the tour. Rockstar Disrupt will be rolling across the country with The Used, Sleeping with Sirens, Circa Survive, Sum 41, Thrice, Atreyu, and Four Year Strong. For most of the venues, tickets start at around 20 dollars, which is not a bad deal. However, if you are looking for a little bit of something extra out of your ticket though, you can purchase an upgrade. Upgrades vary greatly in pricing but can include limited edition shirts and posters, a laminate, side stage viewing of The Used, backstage tour, or a meet & greet with The Used, Sleeping With Sirens, Atreyu, or Memphis May Fire.
Remaining Rockstar Energy Disrupt Music Festival Tour Dates:
07/20 - Irvine, CA @ Five Point Amphitheater presented by Mercury Insurance
07/23 - Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
07/24 - Boise, ID @ Ford Idaho Center Amphitheatre
07/26 - Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
07/27 - Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
07/28 - Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
VANS WARPED TOUR’s 25th Anniversary in Atlantic City: Saying Goodbye to the Ultimate Rock Festival [w/ Photos] →
“I couldn’t wait for the summer and the Warped Tour” – a running inside joke to every band, vendor, and fan of the Warped Tour, is this one line from the widely-known Blink 182 song, “The Rock Show.”
The 25th Anniversary version of Warped Tour was something unique. (Be sure to also check out our festival preview here.) Handfuls of bands took to the 4 stages this last weekend, under the summer heat on one of the nastiest beaches in America known only as, Atlantic City, NJ.
Yes, that’s right. The festival took place ON the beach. In the sand. Surprisingly, most people thought it was a great venue location and talked about how AWESOME it was being able to see their favorite band on the beach. That was until we got evacuated. Kevin Lyman appeared on stage as he cut Atmosphere’s set short, saying everyone had to leave immediately, and that we could return in about one hour after the storm passes. Attendees were told to seek shelter in the casinos and to keep an eye on social media.
On the walk to my car, I hopped on Twitter. There were lots of mixed reactions. Some people saying that they did a great job on the evacuation, others complaining about how poorly planned this event felt with the long wait times for the ATMs and water.
No matter the feelings though, before we knew it crowds were navigating beyond the entrances and to one of the four stages waiting to see the remainder of Varials and Atmosphere’s sets. Warped Tour social media post an updated setlist. And just like that, the rest of the night was consumed by Good Charlotte, Set Your Goals, Bad Religion, 311, and of course, A Day To Remember.
Day two felt like it flew by, even with everyone sunburnt and probably dehydrated. The weather was a bit cooler, but Sunday was more nostalgic for myself, and for everyone I knew that was there. A recollection of our formative years hit hard between The Used, Taking Back Sunday, The Starting Line, and BLINK 182. Not to mention bands like, The Offspring, Thrice, and Sleeping With Sirens who take me back to the days when I street teamed at Warped, or the first time I covered Warped Tour for a publication.
The more I have discussed Warped Tour with people, the more I have determined what a rejuvenation it is for some to rediscover music that has been drowned out of their everyday lives. That not being able to wait for “summer and the warped tour” was once a way of life. But now - it’s just a 25th-anniversary show, what most would consider a special occasion and a good reason to spend the $100/day to see some of their favorite bands play the Vans Warped Tour one last time, for now at least.
There is one more chance left to catch the Vans Warped Tour 25th anniversary show - July 20th & 21st in Mountain View, CA.
BOSTON CALLING Music Festival 2019: Good Times, But Could Have Been Better [Festival Review & Photos] →
The Boston Calling Music Festival took place in, you guessed it, Boston, from May 24th to May 26th at Harvard Stadium with three stages and an arena full of comedy and various performances. Honestly, this was one of the best organized and easily navigated festivals I have been to. Plenty of restrooms provided minimal wait (maybe five minutes?), stages were no more than a ten-minute walk, lots of food options, and a map accessible in a phone app that would give you directions on where to go. Speaking of the app, it would also allow you to favorite the artists you wanted to see, where it would then show you a list of artists in order by appearance time each day, with the stage listed.
Boston Calling really let their local area businesses shine throughout the three days. Newbury Comics had a tent where you could spin a wheel to win a prize and/or purchase select items that you would typically find in their brick and mortar locations. Over 21 food spots, the majority of which were local were set up giving everyone something to fulfill any and all food cravings. From ice cream (FoMu Ice Cream), and grilled cheese with Roxy’s(who also has a location in the Boston area with a speakeasy-style arcade), to the local burger joint, Tasty Burger. Also, by far, some of the best pricing I’ve seen at a festival; water was two dollars, Red Bull, four dollars, and most food choices clocking in around 9 to 12 dollars.
While there weren’t many activities, we did have Angry Orchard, Sam Adams, Miller Lite, and Truly, each with their own version of a “beer garden” or hangout spot. Vans had a photo opportunity where you could jump inside a trailer and they would impose a backdrop of screaming fans to catch you. In between bands, you could hang out at the NBC 10 area where they had some lawn games like “corn hole” to play, or you could take a ride on the UBL Ferris wheel.
One of my favorite parts of the festival was the arena. It’s a nice addition to the venue, as it gives people a place to sit in a chair that is out of the sun and in an air-conditioned environment. It was a bit different than what I’ve seen at other festivals, showcasing DJs, comedians, a lecture, and ballet. However, this is the best thing about the arena, and also the worst. People going to a festival may not necessarily go to a comedy show, or go to see Imogen Heap demo/talk about her MiMu gloves, which was apparent, especially during Imogen Heap’s Saturday “performance.”
She talked about how there wasn’t really a description of what she was there to do, but that she would not actually be performing and instead would be discussing her gloves, and the technologies surrounding it. She sang part of, “Hide and Seek,” twice, once to demonstrate how they work, and once to demo how it makes her performance more interactive while she walked through the crowd.
While it was fascinating to learn all about this, those that were very obviously not there for a lecture loudly talked throughout the entire presentation. Persons standing around the sound booth, myself included, could barely make out what was being said, and it was really unfortunate that the festival did not make it a point to tell people to be quiet or to try and quiet them during her time. Imogen Heap’s patience for this was untouchable, and she made it through her entire presentation despite the rude crowd and technical difficulties.
The comedians that performed on Saturday were top notch. Lamont Price, Marina Franklin, and Jenny Slate all delivered their style of a great performance, but comedy is very much an energy/crowd-driven performance, and we did not deliver, collectively. While I love the idea of adding comedy to a music festival, I also feel that if a Venn diagram was created of comedy fans, and music fans attending Boston Calling, it’s a much smaller audience than expected.
Beyond the arena, some of my personal favorites of the weekend were Christine & The Queens, Logic, Twenty One Pilots, Betty Who, and Travis Scott. They all brought fantastic energy to their performances despite the heat at some points throughout the weekend.
While situated in a great location, getting in and out of the festival was a nightmare, with no parking nearby, and most of the roads closed off which made it hard to Lyft in. Which is why the festival staff made you walk about ten minutes to a Lyft pick up spot. Sunday night, Lyft prices soared to 40 dollars per car and 30 dollars per pool. The train stop was backed up with a wait (after an almost mile-long walk). I even waited for a bus that never showed, and after having walked the festival and surrounding areas for three days, all I wanted was to be back at my hotel, which took roughly ninety minutes before prices were reasonable again.
Overall, Boston Calling was enjoyable. Lots of great performances in a mostly excellent venue, but there was plenty of room for improvement. There were more activities outside of the bands, but affordable merchandise would have been nice —hoodies started at 60 dollars and went up to as much as 100 dollars. More options for getting to and from the festival without having to walk a ton at the end of the day are necessary, and some sort of guidelines for performances at the arena (or more transparency about what to expect from those performances) is also needed. As Boston Calling continues to grow and draw larger audiences, it will be interesting to see what changes they make to further improve upon things for the festival’s 2020 edition.