The West Coast’s Biggest Rock Festival, Aftershock, went even bigger for its 10th anniversary year, held October 6-9 at Discovery Park in Sacramento, CA. In total, 160,000 music fans gathered for the four-day event that featured nonstop music from 90-plus bands, some of the best food and drinks that the Sacramento area has to offer, as well as various sponsor activations and experiences. The popular event brings an economic impact of $30 million to the region annually, says Visit Sacramento.
Aftershock’s memorable music performances included showstopping headline performances from chart-topping metal act Slipknot (Thursday), who played their brand-new album The End, So Far; rock icons KISS (Friday) in one of their final Northern California shows on the End Of The Road World Tour; My Chemical Romance (Saturday) as part of their anticipated reunion tour; and British rock giants Muse (Sunday), heralded as one of the best live acts in the world.
Other big draws included Lamb Of God’s performance on the same day the fan favorite metal act released their new album Omens. To celebrate, the band streamed their full set live on DWPresents on Twitch channel for fans to tune into at home, and also welcomed a rare third guitarist for the show with guest star Phil Demmel (Machine Head, Vio-lence).
Sacramento’s own Papa Roach also enjoyed one of their biggest hometown shows ever. To mark the occasion, they teamed up with UC Davis’ marching band for a voluminous performance of hit single “Born for Greatness,” and welcomed guest Jason Aalon Butler (Fever 333) for a collaboration on “Swerve.” Another memorable moment was when guitarist Jerry Horton brought out his bassist daughter Emilia for a special instrumental intro to “Scars.” Singer Jacoby Shaddix took the occasion to talk about supporting the future of music, a sentiment echoed earlier in the day when Aftershock’s official host Jose “Metal Ambassador” Mangin introduced his daughter Maya on stage before Halestorm’s set, sharing that Maya was inspired to start her own band by the “I Miss The Misery” hitmakers.
Jacoby Shaddix also made a couple guest appearances throughout the weekend, during Nothing More’s set on the song “Don’t Stop” and also with Ice Nine Kills for “Hip To Be Scared.”
There was also a touching tribute to Foo Fighters, who were previously scheduled to play Aftershock, by L.A. ska-punk act The Interrupters who covered the Foos’ hit “Times Like These.”
Another exclusive opportunity at Aftershock was the first chance to buy goods from Jonathan Davis’ new pet line, “Freak On A Leash” before it officially debuts worldwide on October 28. The first 100 fans in line who made a purchase also were treated to a special meet and greet with Davis at the festival, and proceeds from all sales were given to animal rescue nonprofit Take Me Home.
Aftershock was also unique for having a strong international band presence this year. In addition to U.K. headliner Muse, there were also Bring Me The Horizon (England), Nemophilia And Band-Maid (Japan), Bloodywood (India), Meshuggah (Sweden), Apocalyptica (Finland), Airbourne (Australia) and The Warning (Mexico).
Fans from around the world also were able to tune in to “That Space Zebra Show” hosted on DWPresents on Twitch channel (https://www.twitch.tv/dwpresents) throughout the Aftershock weekend, and were given an immersive backstage experience every day of the festival, featuring artist interviews and exclusive, behind-the-scenes action, as well as streaming of the DWPresents Stage performances.
DWPresents on Twitch has shared archived videos of several of the festival’s interview highlights, hosted by SiriusXM’s Jose “Metal Ambassador” Mangin and Shannon Gunz, singer Rue Vox and MTV’s Matt Pinfield, that originally aired live on DWPresents On Twitch throughout the weekend.
Highlights include:
Falling In Reverse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkhd58B5F-M
Spiritbox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GSiGpvr-9E
GWAR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEit3B3Ek9I
Motionless In White: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7RS2zbFSGQ
Nothing More: https://youtu.be/G8ZNC6UPK78
The Pretty Reckless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoGNIM73gGg
Theory of a Deadman: https://youtu.be/KiIfSbOKucA
The Struts: https://youtu.be/1wxboVobAUs
L.S. Dunes: https://youtu.be/0AtWtiMGn-g
Chevelle: https://youtu.be/gsO-5T8GfZM
Jared James Nichols: https://youtu.be/Qp1LrrIHDBU
Beartooth: https://youtu.be/xj7SyeyxmUw
Since launching in June 2021, DWPresents Twitch channel has broadcasted over 900 hours, brought in 17.5 million live views, 7.9 million unique views, and viewers have consumed 82.9 million minutes of content. New programming airs six days a week at www.twitch.tv/dwpresents.com.
Here’s what media had to say about Aftershock this year:
"The economic boom from Aftershock is impressive. The festival started as a one-day event in 2012 and has since grown into four full days of music with an overall economic impact of more than $26 million in 2021, according to Visit Sacramento. That included more than $1.5 million in hotel and sales taxes collected by the city and county, along with the support of 7,000 jobs.” — Sacramento Bee
"Three of the most popular female-fronted acts in hard rock are set to perform at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento. We’re talking about Evanescence, the Pretty Reckless and Halestorm — led, respectively, by Amy Lee, Taylor Momsen and Lzzy Hale. Still, these three acts only hint at the staggering amount of talented female artists set to perform during the four-day festival set for Oct. 6-9 at Discovery Park. The acts hail from all corners of the heavy music universe — from emo, alt-rock and industrial to pop-metal and more…" — San Jose Mercury News
“The largest rock and heavy metal festival in the western United States is attracting fans near and far.” — KXTV ABC 10 News
Details will be announced soon about Aftershock 2023 dates and on sale info. Stay tuned to www.AftershockFestival.com and official social media accounts.
Aftershock would like to thank its 2022 premier partners: Jack Daniel’s, Coors Light, TickPick, KOLAS, Deep Eddy Vodka, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, Hop Valley, Monaco Cocktail, U.S. Army, Spencer’s Gifts, Elite Healthcare Resources, ESP, Mortus Viventi, Royalty Cosmetics, The Pretty Cult, Fearless Records, Nowhere Fast, U.S. Marines, Hellflower Soap Company, Parlor Root Beer, Ronz World, Thunder Valley Casino, J.J. Pfister Distilling Co., Blackcraft, Zen Garden and Heavy Grass.
In addition, Aftershock is thrilled to welcome its non-profit partners Animal Place, Artists for Trauma, Fxck Cancer, Take Me Home, and To Write Love On Her Arms.
Aftershock is produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, one of the largest independent producers of destination music festivals in America. Additional DWP events in 2022 include Bourbon & Beyond, GoldenSky Country Music Festival, Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival, Louder Than Life and Welcome To Rockville.
For more information on #Aftershock please visit:
Website: www.AftershockFestival.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AftershockFestival
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AftershockSac
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AftershockConcert/
