Welcome To Rockville Metropolitan Park Jacksonville, FL April 26th and 27th, 2014

Welcome To Rockville was the first music festival I covered in my career. I did everything on my own: applied for press passes, set up band interviews, planned my entire trip, on my own. 

My first band of the weekend was Digital Summer. I had wanted to see them for a very long time and I was fortunate to have an interview opportunity with them later in the day. The band following them was Rev Theory and I had an opportunity to interview their guitar player as well. 

The bands setlists are as follows:

Upon my interview with Adelita's Way, Their performance included several new songs from their upcoming album. 

Chiodos always delivers the best sets for their audience. Half of the people there had no idea who they were, but they still played the show like it was their last, as they do every show. They played

Right after Chiodos, I finally got to see Alter Bridge. They never came close enough for me to get to, but now I finally could. Myles Kennedy is a wonderful performer. They played almost all of my favorites too, which made my first AB experience wonderful. There were people flipping out when they played Blackbird. I was surprised at how many people had Blackbird tattoos because of that song.  

Chevelle is one of those bands that I enjoy, but has always been a little too "Art Rock" for me to understand. That does not mean I do not enjoy their live show, though. Their super fans were cracking me up the whole time too. They kept screaming the lyrics to certain songs. At the time of their set, I was honestly just ready for A Day To Remember, one of my favorite bands of all time.

A Day To Remember, as I said earlier, is one of my all time favorite bands. It was the first time I had seen them since their acclaimed album Common Courtesy was released and the band was on point. Not to mention, it was basically a hometown show for them. This was my favorite set of the weekend, not because I'm biased, but because I had just met Jeremy McKinnon earlier in the day and I was on cloud nine. The energy that this band brings to their crowds is unmatched by any band I have ever seen. My only question is what kind of monster puts We Came As Romans and A Day To Remember at the same time? Both are two of my favorites, but I had to choose. I had recently seen WCAR, so I went for ADTR. The choice was not easy. ADTR played a wonderful set.

I walked over to meet WCAR after the ADTR set and caught part of The Cult, but I do not think they are really worth reviewing since I did not particularly enjoy them.

The last band of the night was Avenged Sevenfold. I like A7X, but I was exhausted and I left after Bat Country, since the first time I saw them, they did not play it. The rest of their set included

And that concluded Day 1 of my first music festival coverage experience. 

Day 2 of Rockville was underway and I was fortunate to see Birmingham, AL favorite, Within Reason. It made me feel a sense of pride for my home state and I was glad to have that sense of normalcy so far away from home. Of course they rock, but I am biased. They played

Following them, I saw The Pretty Reckless, Sick Puppies, and Lacuna Coil. GIRL POWER!!! Their setlists are as follows

It is always an anticipated show when one of your favorite bands is about to release a new album. It is also exciting when you get to interview them as well. Theory of A Deadman always brings it live and their new album will be amazing. They played 

When I found out Staind was going to be at this festival, I was so excited. I could finally cross them off my bucket list. They do not tour as much anymore so I was happy to be one of the few to witness the performance. They played

On the way out of the festival, I saw Five Finger Death Punch. I know you are probably thinking, "Why did you leave before Rob Zombie and Korn?" Well, it was exam week at the University of Alabama and I had a final the following Monday on top of an almost 10 hour drive home. Luckily, I had the excitement of everything I had just accomplished to carry me home. Until next time, Jacksonville.