The Blue Ridge Rock Festival tried to improve on the previous year’s festival, once again taking over the campgrounds near the Virginia International Raceway in rural Alton, Virginia on September 7, 2023.

On the plus side, they reduced the number of stages down to 4, and laid them out in a way that you could easily move between the side-by-side main stages and the two supporting stages. They seemed to have more accessible food and drink stations. Reports from the campgrounds were that facilities were improved.

The day started out great, with scorching sunlight and slamming sets from a variety of metalcore bands. We were able to catch sets on all 4 stages, including Stitched Up Heart, Vince Neil and Highly Suspect on the Zyn Main Stage; Kingdom Collapse, Stephen Pearcy and Coheed & Cambria on the Monster Energy Main Stage; Vended on the Famous Monsters Stage; and D.R.U.G.S. on the Smartpunk Records Stage.

Suddenly, just as Coheed & Cambria finished their first song, the PA was cut and the screens and big voice alerted the massive crowd that a storm was coming and we needed to evacuate. Campers were sent back to the campground. Everyone else was instructed to wait in line for the “dozens” of school buses which the festival had purchased to drive them back to their parking lot, which was 5 miles away down single-line, winding country roads, where they could wait out the storm in their vehicles, before later being shuttled back to the festival grounds to watch whichever bands remained on the schedule.

I don’t know the actual math, but the logistics of moving tens of thousands of people five miles away in “dozens” of school buses ahead of an impending storm simply did not add up. In fact, it took longer than 4 hours to shuttle everyone back to the remote parking lots, meaning that the majority of them were just standing in a cattle call lineup as the storm did hit the festival for about 15-20 minutes of high winds, driving rain and even hail. It seems unlikely that they would be able to return anyone from the parking lots back to their cars in time to see any more performances. Perhaps the only ones who would have been able to see any more shows were the ones who had already been standing in line for more than 3 hours, waiting on a bus.

The first evacuation message came at 7:01 PM. At 7:15 PM, the message was sent that “Shuttle busses are continually loading now.” and that fans waiting to be returned to their vehicles should “Please be patient.”. Around 8:00, after the storm had ended, there was a social media post explaining that the remote venue had no curfew and the festival organizers were working with the 4 headliners for each stage to be able to return fans to the venue and get those performances in. At 10:14 PM, the message was posted claiming that the festival grounds and equipment were “good to go” but that the artists were claiming equipment damage which made it impossible to play. This was a confusing explanation, as none of the headliners had their equipment on stage yet, since their set times were hours away.

The end result was a half day of music, and the passionate and dedicated fans of hard rock music were robbed of the chance to experience Evanescense, Rise Against, Cypress Hill, Five Finger Death Punch, Tech N9ne, Machine Head, Blessthefall, Staind and Three Days Grace. This left a bad taste in the mouths of many, but hope remained for a rocking 3 days to come.

BRRF23 Day 1

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Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023 Day 1 Half Review first appeared on Game On Media.

The first 100 artists have been announced for Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023, taking place at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia from Septmber 7th – 10th, 2023. With 5 headliners yet to be announced, and a total of 144 acts scheduled to appear,

BRRF 23 is shaping up to be THE rock festival of the year.

Get tickets, camping spots, and all lineup and venue information at https://blueridgerockfest.com/

Blue Ridge Rock Festival actively involves their fans in the selection of artists, using social media polls to help set the stage. The first 100 performers for 2023  have been announced:

Pantera, Shinedown, Limp Bizkit, Evanescence, Megadeth, Three Days Grace, Chevelle, Parkway Drive, Pierce The Veil, Motionless In White, Coheed And Cambria, Beartooth, Highly Suspect, Corey Taylor, Coal Chamber, Flyleaf with Lacey Sturm, Bad Omens, Black Label Society, Machine Head, Blue October, The Ghost Inside, Asking Alexandria, Spiritbox, VV, Tech N9ne, Testament, Biohazard, Job For A Cowboy, Cavalera Conspiracy, Jinjer, Vince Neil, Avatar, Static-X, The Amity Affliction, Slaughter To Prevail, Stephen Pearcy, The Black Dahlia Murder, Exodus, Overkill, Electric Callboy, Sleep Token, Atreyu, Finger Eleven, Taproot, Death Angel, Drowning Pool, Trustcompany, Memphis May Fire, Crown The Empire, Dayseeker, Senses Fail, Stabbing Westward, The Color Morale, Cold, CKY, Dope, After The Burial, Emmure, Northlane, Bury Tomorrow, Escape The Fate, Attila, Fit For An Autopsy, Gemini Syndrome, Adema, Alpha Wolf, Woe Is Me, Make Them Suffer, Holding Absence, Born Of Osiris, Kublai Khan Tx, Like Moths To Flames, Upon A Burning Body, Caskets, I Set My Friends On Fire, Vended, Landmvrks, Psychostick, Rain City Drive, Bleed From Within, Bodysnatcher, Stitched Up Heart, Eva Under Fire, Thousand Below, Angelmaker, Paleface, No Resolve, Tallah, Catch Your Breath, Ten56., Hanabie, Patient Sixty-Seven, Until I Wake, Dropout Kings, Eternal Frequency and Heartsick.

Campers get a free bonus on-site pre-party on Wednesday night, featuring Scott Stapp of Creed, 10 Years, Nonpoint and Tantric.

One of the great features of Blue Ridge Rock Festival over the years has been its ability to deliver unique special performances. So far, this year’s event promises:

• Parkway Drive bringing their full pyrotechnic performance usually only seen in Europe.
• Cavalera Conspiracy performing a special set of Sepultura songs.
• Electric Callboy exclusive U.S. festival appearance.
• Finger Eleven rare U.S. performance.
• Hanabie U.S. debut.
• Patient Sixty-Seven U.S. debut.
• Cold 30th anniversary performance of “Year Of The Spider” in its entirety.
• Attila performing “About That Life” in its entirety.
• Heartsick fan voted talent search winner.

Once again, BRRF will satisfy its fans desire for band reunions, including:

• Lacey Sturm and Flyleaf original lineup reunion.
• Biohazard original lineup reunion.
• Trustcompany original lineup reunion.
• Woe, Is Me original lineup reunion.
• Coal Chamber reunion.
• Job For A Cowboy reunion.
• Taproot reunion.
• The Color Morale reunion.

In addition to most of your favorite bands playing shows, this fest also showcases some speical lead vocalist solo performances:

• Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour.
• Ville Valo of HIM.
• Vince Neil of Motley Crue.
• Stephen Pearcy of Ratt.
• Scott Stapp of Creed.

Blue Ridge Rock Festival offers VIP upgrades, hip-hop after parties, acoustic performances and artist meet-and-greets. Plus plenty of music-based vendors and charities, and all the food and drink options you have come to expect.

Don’t wait. Get tickets, camping spots, and all lineup and venue information at https://blueridgerockfest.com/

For reviews and photos from previous editions of the Blue Ridge Rock Festival, click here.

BRRF22 Day 1

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BRRF22 Day 2

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BRRF22 Day 3

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BRRF22 Day 4

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Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023 Announces First 100 Artists Including Pantera, Shinedown, Limp Bizkit, Evanescence first appeared on Game On Media.