Welcome To Rockville ~ April 25-26, 2015 ~ Jacksonville, FL

Written by Jessica Morano

Photos by Joey Pye

Welcome to Rockville…or Welcome to Rainville?? April 25 and 26th some of the heaviest bands came to Jacksonville, Florida for the annual Welcome to Rockville festival. The party kicked off Friday night at the Landing downtown. Unlike previous years, this pre-party was free for anyone to attend instead of just those who purchased a ticket to the festival. The pre-party kicked off with performances by Scare Don’t Fear and Jacksonville locals World Gone. 36 Crazyfists got the crowd moshing with a huge pit forming just minutes after their set began. Swedish band Avatar brought special guests on stage.  Performers from Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow joined them for their song “Smells Like a Freakshow”.  Lead singer, Johannes Eckerstrom dressed up like a Circus ring leader and was definitely the most entertaining front man of the evening. When the freak show was over, Nonpoint performed classics “Bullet with a Name” and “What a Day:” The night closed out with rap/rock group Hollywood Undead. It was hard not to dance during their set. They brought 10 year old fan, Xavier, on stage to introduce the song “Comin’ In Hot” making the young boy’s night something to remember for years to come.

Saturday marked the official start of the festival. World Gone gave a strong performance despite having performed the night before. Bands Red Run Rising, Like A Storm and Stars in Stereo also put on stellar performances and prepared fans for a weekend of heavy metal. That was until Mother Nature stepped in. The festival had to be postponed twice due to severe thunderstorms and a tornado warning, a first in Rockville history. Fozzy, Scott Weiland and fan favorite Hollywood Undead were forced to cancel their sets while fans huddled under the nearby overpass. Once rain stopped fans got muddy in Periphery’s mosh pit, but then another storm halted the concert for a second time. Gates reopened just in time for Halestorm, Ministry and Suicidal Tendencies, but The Devil Wears Prada’s gear was completely destroyed by the rain leaving them unable to perform. Next up was Slayer who as one fan put it “Owned Rockville”. They performed songs such as “Postmortem”, “Hate Worldwide” and finished with “Angels of Death”.  Then came Mr. Controversy himself, Marilyn Manson. This was his first time performing in Jacksonville since his arrest in 1994. He opened with the song “Deep Six” off his new album The Pale Emperor. He kept his set pretty tame compared to past performances. He told the crowd that he wrote the song “Beautiful People” while in Jacksonville and then dedicated it to the people of Duval. Manson’s encore was the hard hitting “Irresponsible Hate Anthem”. When the song was over, he dropped the mike and simply walked off stage. Classic Manson. Welcome to Rockville veteran headliners Korn wrapped up the first day. They played their entire self-titled album much to their fan’s delight. Even Mr. Manson was spotted side-stage watching the show.

By Sunday all the rain and bad weather was gone. Met Park started rocking early with bands The Sweet Escape, From Ashes to New and ’68. Japanese band Vamps were extremely energetic as was newcomers Starset. Heavy metal chicks the Butcher Babies returned to slay concert goers with songs “Goliath” and a perfect cover of ZZ Top’s “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers”. Motionless In White also returned this year and delighted the crowd with their hits “Unstoppable” and “Devil’s Night”. Next up was Hatebreed, one of the heaviest bands of the afternoon. Breaking Benjamin also put on a solid performance. Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators were definitely the highlight of the afternoon. From start to finish the crowd was singing along to classic Guns N Roses songs like “You Could Be Mine” and “Paradise City”.  Sunday night ended with strong sets by both Papa Roach and Godsmack. Headliners Slipknot amazed fans. They played hits such as “Psychosocial”, “Wait and Bleed” and closed out the night with “(sic)” and “Surfacing”. Fan Angie DePaolis said, “Slipknot delivered a powerful performance. One that was easily enjoyed by old and new fans alike”.

Even with the weather delays on Saturday, the 5th year of Rockville turned out to be a huge success. Sunday’s show was completely sold out leaving some fans out of luck when trying to buy tickets at the gate. New this year was the Risk Interactive Graffiti art installation. This gave concert goers the opportunity to leave their mark by adding to the huge graffiti wall on display. Also, band Metalachi performed at the Tequila World tent throughout the day. Margaritas flowed as they played covers of some classic rock songs with a little Latin flavor added. They were definitely a welcomed surprise, hope to see them at future Rockville festivals. Crazy Dave’s Music Experience returned again this year. Fans were able to play some of the guitars on display as well as participate in meet and greets with stars such as Chris Jericho of Fozzy and Corey Taylor of Slipknot. With the Welcome to Rockville festival getting bigger and heavier each year, the diverse crowds keep growing with it. The continued growth of this festival is a sure thing and its draw is sure to put Jacksonville back on the map for big name shows. This is a festival that should not be missed.