Danny Wimmer 2017 Festivals Festival • Page 2

The only hard rock band that I have yet to see is Limp Bizkit. Between Rock on the Range and Open Air this year, I pretty much got to cross all the others off my bucket list.

 

When TOOL was announced for AFtershock this fall, I said then that was something of a test. Aftershock is also a Danny Wimmer festival. So I'm going to say TOOL will be playing a few of these.

 

Nice. I can see Limp Bizkit making a return to ROTR. They haven't played in a few years.

 

Of Mice and Men were being groomed to be the next big hard rock band. Red Sun Rising will be a force if their next album does as well as their last one. Motionless in White could take over OM&M's spot but again, it depends on how well Graveyard Shift is received.

 

Definitely see Limp Bizkit! They're unbelievable live and this was the setlist for that show: Limp Bizkit Setlist at The Stone Pony, Asbury Park

 

There is a talent gap generationally right now and not many headliners among newer bands. One big problem is that these festivals tend to default to "safe" bands when filling out main stages, so you see bands like Papa Roach and Pop Evil get pretty high billing when they don't really deserve it. At 2016 RoTR you had Steel Panther, a comedy act, playing on the main stage while Ghost was stuck in the middle of the day on the second stage right after winning a Grammy. At Chicago Open Air, they made the horrific decision to have Babymetal on the second stage and their crowd was bigger than most of the main stage crowds. The promoters could be a lot smarter in who they pick for prime positions on the main stage if they want to groom the next batch of headliners.

Someone else brought up Bring me the Horizon as a potential future headliner. I would say no because 1) their core fanbase mostly hated the last album and 2) they sound like gigantic pricks.

 

There's also a problem with taking from another genre instead of building up the radio rock genre. Most of these bands that are huge in the scene (Memphis May Fire, TDWP, WCAR) don't translate well for whatever reason. Like it or not, Papa Roach still draws incredibly well. Pop Evil, not so much. Promoters I'm guessing are going by how they draw in whatever area they're in rather than national and international success. Ghost this past summer was still a novelty act and just started a huge rise after the Grammy. If Ghost couldn't sell shit in Ohio but sells out everywhere else, the promoter is going to keep them on the 2nd stage. Is it wrong, yes, but they want those safe bands so they don't have to hear shit from their bosses. As far as BMTH go, their old fans may have hated the last album but they're still drawing a lot of people to their shows and selling them out. Pricks or not, as long as they sell, they can basically get away with whatever they want.

 

Agree to disagree on BMTH. I see a light burning brightly but briefly there. But then again, I am an old fart so I don't pretend to understand the big trends.

As for the rest, I do agree with the gist of what you are saying but at the same time the promoters need to recognize bands that are on the rise vs the same old shit. They usually do well early in the day with main stage acts being made up of up and coming bands but then quickly default to the comfortable acts in the middle of the day/early evening.

 

Fair enough. I think the only thing that will screw BMTH up will be if they change their sound again. If they have something in between Sempiternal and That's the Spirit, they'll become a headliner sooner than later.

I think the promoters are looking for that big 2nd and 3rd stage headliners instead of moving them up on the main stage. For example, Lamb of God would've been great on the main stage of RotR but it's like they're outcasting the big metal bands on the secondary stages and leaving the mainstream rock acts on the main stage. They don't think of it as Mayhem and Knotfest have done. It's like they're scared to mix it up. Then again, ROTR has been going strong for 20 years or something like that.

 

I think both RoTR and Chicago Open Air did a nice job with the 2nd stage headliners this past summer. RoTR had Megadeth, Lamb of God and At the Drive In. Both Megadeth and Lamb of God could have been middle of the day on the main stage but a better spot was 2nd stage in a more intimate environment. RoTR in the 2 years I went used the Sunday 2nd stage headliner as something different, in 2015 it was Tech Nine and 2016 was At the Drive In, who had been gone for years.

Chicago Open Air had Meshuggah, Gojira and Killswitch Engage and all were perfect for a 2nd stage headlining spot. All could do the main stage but also fit quite well late in the day on the 2nd stage. Gojira was destroying so hard that they let them play about 10-15 minutes more and didn't finish until a few songs into Manson's set on the main stage. Like I said before, the one really bad decision was having Babymetal on the 2nd stage. Their setup just works better on a bigger stage in front of more people. They continue to grow in popularity so at some point you could see them in a direct support role on the main stage, where they would get pretty much a full stage setup like they have in Japan.

 

It seems like RotR takes chances with their 2nd and 3rd stages. I wonder if they ever had an act boo'd off the main stage before? I think that would be the only logical reason why they're not putting those acts on there. Do you know who Babymetal was up against on the main stage?

 

At Chicago Open Air, the main stage starting early afternoon was All That Remains, Bullet For My Valentine, Marilyn Manson, Five Finger Death Punch and Slipknot. Also, there was an empty slot left from Asking Alexandria not being able to make it. So I would have done one of 2 things - 1) Have Babymetal fill the Asking Alexandria slot or 2) Bump All That Remains to the second stage and have Bullet For My Valentine go before Babymetal on the main.

I agree with you, they definitely put the more extreme acts on the 2nd stage and that works well. Chicago had bands like Carcass, Deafheaven, Devil Wears Prada, Hatebreed, etc on the 2nd stage and it worked quite well.

 

Thinking more about this, I wonder if in Babymetal's contract they had something about playing after a certain time? I know in some contracts where bigger bands either want to headline or not play at all. It could be possible that their management knew they had a hot act and wanted them to play in the middle of the day or later instead of opening the mainstage in front of next to no one. Also, ATR would've made a great 2nd stage band.

 

The Fort Rock and Welcome To Rockville lineups gets announced 12/05.

 

That'll be a good indication as to who's headlining next year.

 

In looking at the 2 lineups from Rockville and Fort Rock, ton of crossover last year, with Disturbed, Zombie, Shinedown, 5FDP and many others. Personally, I am hoping to see Tool and Metallica, as that will bode well for RoTR.

 

Both The Devil Wears Prada and Hatebreed have played a side stage at ROTR and both were great on those stages. I prefer bands like them on the side stages.

 

I imagine Devil Wears Prada will be back at RoTR this year, given they didn't play in 2016 and just dropped a new album. I didn't see them in 2015 because they were playing at the same time as In Flames. I did catch them at Chicago Open Air and they were very good.

There are rumors ramping up that Rammstein may be playing some festival dates in 2017 so RoTR would be a likely landing spot if they come to the states in May. They headlined many European festivals last year so I imagine they won't do a ton in Europe, unless they play the fests they skipped in 2016, like Wacken.

 

Was really hoping The Amity Affliction would blow up in the states like ADTR and BMTH have. I just don't think they appeal as much to the older fans in the rock/metal scene.

 

Looks like we will get the ROTR lineup on Monday.

 

Do the lineups for these leak early?

 

They have in the past but it doesn't seem to happen very often

 

ROTR lineup at 5pm EST/4pm CST today!

 

Announcement delayed until tomorrow morning. From ROTR's Facebook page:

"From the entire Rock on the Range team, our thoughts and prayers are with the students, faculty, families, and law enforcement officials at Ohio State University right now. Out of respect for those affected by the tragic situation this morning on campus, we are postponing our 2017 lineup announcement and the start of our pre-sale until 9:00am EST tomorrow (Tuesday. November 29). We apologize for any inconvenience. Please keep everyone at OSU in your thoughts today."

 

Someone on Facebook said ROTR posted a video including Metallica, Volbeat, Sum 41, and Chevelle that was quickly taken down. Someone else mentioned Taking Back Sunday, Bush and The Pretty Reckless too.