Blue Ridge Rock Festival Prepares to Bring the Thunder to the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Rock Festival saw its inaugural year in 2017, initially beginning as a one-day concert with a ticket price of just $30. Since then, there have been two more iterations of the festival, first expanding to a multi-day experience in 2018 with ticket prices still hovering at an incredibly, low price. Like many things in our lives since COVID first reared its ugly head, the 2020 festival was cancelled. Fast forward through a year of stress and uncertainty and things seem to be getting back on track for life as a whole and, for us music junkies, concerts and festivals seem to be making their return as well.
For 2021, the lineup, just like in other years, is being announced incrementally. It does appear that many of the previously announced artists for 2020 prior to cancellation are being announced in the new 2021 lineup. Although, the full lineup, at the time of publication, is not available. With that being said, basing the excitement level purely off of who is available, the festival is already shaping up to be a killer lineup.
Several of the bands that have been announced already are ones that we at ConcertHopper are already familiar with and know just how incredible their live performances are. One example of this is August Burns Red, fresh off of the 2020 release of their album Guardians. The album sticks to the heaviness that we have come to expect from August Burns Red and has a theme that weaves throughout the record of helping others. This is something that vocalist Jake Luhrs takes to heart with the foundation that he created, HeartSupport which offers mental health advice and support in an increasingly digital world.
Swedish metal standouts, Avatar is another artist that we are familiar with at ConcertHopper. The band takes a unique approach of declaring themselves “royalty” and stating that they bring a kingdom with them to every show. With the anticipated crowd size of Blue Ridge Rock Festival, this kingdom should swell to an incredible number and those who are seeing the band for the first time will be in for a treat of theatrics and pounding metal.
Beartooth is another band that many of us ConcertHoppers have been able to catch live. Whether that be when they are on a headlining tour or they are on the festival circuit. The band certainly isn’t afraid of hard work and it should be awesome to see them reunite with their friends in Motionless in White after their massive coheadlining tour in 2019.
Halestorm has also been announced and they are sure to give the crowd something to be excited about.; With a generational vocalist like Lzzy Hale at the front of the band, hearing her vocals live is something to be hold as we learned first hand back during their tour with Godsmack. Combine the vocals of Lzzy with the antics of drummer Arejay Hale and this is not a set you are going to want to miss.
French metal tour de force Gojira has also been announced for the festival. Fresh off of the launch of their seventh studio album Fortitude back in April which was released to rave critical reviews, the band is set to take the world by storm again in 2021. Having witnessed the power of their liveshow first hand, we can’t wait to see them in a festival environment in front of the Blue Ridge crowd.
For the heavier music fans out there there are two bands in particular that we know are going to be a treat to witness live. Spite and Chelsea Grin are set to take Virginia by storm and they will most definitely not disappoint. They bring heavy, crushing vocals and instrumentals. These two sets will be absolutely insane.
At the time of publication, not much has been announced in the way of food and other vendors but there are some details about the festival that make it pretty unique. First, camping is incredibly affordable at $5 per person per day. There is also a guarantee that, if ticket prices ever drop below your paid price, you will be refunded the difference. Perhaps one of the most unique components of this festival though is that they offer a fan-driven voting experience to determine who makes the lineup. They also offer something I’ve never seen another festival offer which is a golf cart shuttle service to help guests maneuver the 300+ acre concert venue at the Blue Ridge Amphitheater.
Tickets are expected to be selling out quickly so if you are wanting to attend, take advantage of one of the provided opportunities to purchase your tickets on a payment plan to not have to absorb the total cost up-front. They also have some awesome package opportunities to combine your tickets with nearby hotels. Find more information about the festival, including lineup announcements, ticketing and package information as well as vending and other announcements at the festival’s website: Blue Ridge Rock Fest.
As always, please feel free to browse around ConcertHopper’s website further and to check out our articles covering a wide variety of topics. Please also check us out on social media on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Life is a beautiful thing and music only adds to that beauty, make some time to get out and celebrate beauty and life with a community of like-minded individuals at a concert soon, it’s always worth the price of admission.