As the COVID vaccination effort becomes more and more widespread, music fans’ ability to finally attend live shows again is slowly becoming a reality. In response, it appears that artists and organizers are pushing fests as the first big events of the post-COVID world, probably as both a cathartic experience for fans and a solid financial reward for musicians. Case in point, the line-up has been announced for WRIF’s Riff Fest in Clarkston, Michigan, this autumn, and damn is it pretty solid.
This year’s Riff Fest will take place over two days, Saturday, September 18th, and Sunday, September 19th. Saturday’s big three acts playing this year’s Riff Fest will be Rob Zombie, promoting his new album The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy; hard rockers Chevelle, promoting this March’s Niratias; and Swedish groove metallers Avatar, promoting last year’s Hunter Gatherer. Sunday, meanwhile, sees thrash legends Megadeth headlining, with groove metal giants Lamb of God joining the line-up, as well as long-time friends Trivium and In Flames taking part.
The fest is set to go down at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, MI, with tickets going on sale Wednesday, May 5th.
Here’s the full line-up as it stands:
Saturday, September 18th: Rob Zombie, Chevelle, Avatar, Candlebox, Ayron Jones, Twiztid, Eva Under Fire, South Of Eden
Sunday, September 19th: Megadeth, Lamb of God, Trivium, In Flames
Tickets for Riff Fest can be purchased via the event’s website.
This isn’t Zombie’s only festival show this fall — literally the weekend before Riff Fest, he’ll be playing this year’s Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival alongside acts like Slipknot and the newly-reunited Mudvayne. Take a look at that festival’s massive line-up below:
Friday, September 10: Slipknot, Mastodon, Killswitch Engage, Steel Panther, The Hu, Ice Nine Kills, Badflower, Escape The Fate, New Years Day, Local H, Currents, Spite, Reach NYC, Damn Nation, Mollo Rilla, To Us Below, Dead Bundy, Berklee College of Music, Paul Bartolome
Saturday, September 11: Mudvayne, A Day To Remember, Chevelle, Asking Alexandria, Pop Evil, August Burns Red, Crown The Empire, Bad Omens, Fame on Fire, Diamante, Saul, September Mourning, Dead Girls Academy, Along Came A Spider, Sink the Ship, Eclipsica, Ghosts Of The Sun, Dead Engine, Atimera
Sunday, September 12: Rob Zombie, Halestorm, Beartooth, Motionless In White, Fever 333, All That Remains, The Devil Wears Prada, Wage War, Attila, Fire From The Gods, Cory Marks, Stitched Up Heart, A Killer’s Confession, The Convalescence, Silent Theory, The Phoenix Within, Junexa, Saving Escape, Harmless Habit, Amun
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Words by Chris Krovatin
