After roaring back into Columbus, Ohio in 2023, Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival 2024 welcomed a massive crowd of 138,000 music fans, retaining its reputation as the Pinnacle of Rock Festivals in America. This year’s event — held May 16-19 at the Historic Crew Stadium — was also the fest’s biggest with 120 total bands playing 4 stages on a larger-than-ever festival site.
In addition to a wide range of top talent headlining the event, including Disturbed & Evanescence (Thursday), The Original Misfits & Falling In Reverse (Friday), Pantera & Staind (Saturday) and Slipknot & Limp Bizkit (Sunday), the four-day destination event offered some incredibly special and exclusive collaborations, guest appearances and long-awaited returns.
Slipknot celebrated the 25th anniversary of their classic self-titled album, and one of the first shows with new drummer Eloy Casagrande
Slipknot’s Sid Wilson also made a guest appearance during Limp Bizkit’s set
Pantera performed in Columbus, Ohio for the first time since 2000; the set featured backing vocals from Dimebag Darrell’s longtime partner Rita Haney and SiriusXM’s Jose Mangin on “Walk”
Disturbed was joined by New Years Day singer Ash Costello for a rousing rendition of “Don’t Tell Me” from Disturbed’s current album Divisive
Evanescence’s hit “Bring Me To Life” featured guest vocals from P.O.D.’s Sonny Sandoval
Disturbed frontman David Draiman joined Nita Strauss to perform their collaborative song “Dead Inside”
Breaking Benjamin welcomed Lacey Sturm from Flyleaf to perform the version of “Dear Agony” that they recorded together for Breaking Benjamin’s Aurora album
Falling In Reverse welcomed Slaughter To Prevail’s Alex Terrible for a collaboration of the song “Ronald” that appears on the 2024 album Popular Monsters
One of Kerry King’s first performances with his new solo act, the day before his debut album From Hell I Rise was released
Crobot was joined by CKY and L7’s Jennifer Finch for their set-closing cover of Turbonegro’s “All My Friends Are Dead”
Soulfly and former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera joined Mr. Bungle for a rendition of Sepultura's "Territory”
Architects invited Royal Blood’s Mike Kerr to guest on the song “Little Wonder”
Sonic Temple also offered plenty of selfie opportunities with large-scale artwork created by world-renowned artists such as Terry Urban, AngryBlue, L’Amour Supreme, Jay Howell, TravMSK, Paul Rentler, Monster Steve and many more. Artist Jay Howell (Bob’s Burgers) sketched caricatures of fans in his signature style.
Sonic Temple activations and lounges included: The Dive, a local intimate hang featuring The Dive at Five, hosted by Jose “Metal Ambassador” Mangin, the White Claw Refresh Lounge, Bud Light Backyard, Jack Daniel’s (including frozen cocktails), BeatBox Beverages, The Blackened Whiskey Bar (featuring the super premium blend of straight bourbons and ryes created by the late, legendary Master Distiller Dave Pickerell and the almighty Metallica), Caduceus Wine Garden featuring Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards (both owned by Maynard James Keenan), Craft Beer Bar and Craft Cocktail Bars.
Metal Injection says of Sonic Temple, “the festival has since become an unwavering bastion of the heavy music scene,” while Rock Rage Radio says the event is a “master class in rock and metal” and Columbus Dispatch praised this year’s “cross-generational lineup that emphasized the musical diversity that is a hallmark of the festival.”
The 2025 festival dates for Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival will be announced soon.
Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival is produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, one of the largest independent producers of destination music festivals in America.
For more information on Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival, visit:
Website: https://sonictemplefestival.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sonictemplefestival | @SonicTempleFestival
Twitter: www.twitter.com/sonictemplefest | @SonicTempleFest
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sonictemplefestival | @SonicTempleFestival
