Written by Sason Bishope Parry
The West Coasts’ biggest rock festival, Aftershock Music Festival, is less than
a month out, and anticipation is building. The festival returns to Discovery Park in Sacramento on October 6th – 9th for four days of music and mayhem. Artists topping the bill include Slipknot, KISS, My Chemical Romance, Evanescence, and a recently added MUSE to close out Sunday night. Unfortunately, the Foo’s had to drop out due to the sad and untimely death of their talented drummer Taylor Hawkins. Judas Priest will also, unfortunately, not be performing this year, as well as a few others. Still, Aftershock has announced great replacements and an updated lineup – SEE the poster below for a complete updated LINEUP.
Organizers say that this year will be bigger and better and it is now four days to enjoy! With so much to do and see at Aftershock, we wanted to share our top 6 HOT PICKS!
OUR TOP 6 HOT PICKS AT AFTERSHOCK 2022
1. FOURTH DAY ADDITION & NEW FESTIVAL APP
Well, we have to start, of course, with the addition of a 4th day as that is HOT!!! Aftershock has been three days in the past and now has decided to add a 4th, giving fans more music, excitement, and fun. We recommend planning ahead and downloading the Aftershock festival app (available for both Apple and Android) to provide you with the best festival experience.
Download the app here: https://aftershockfestival.com/mobileapp/
2. PAPA ROACH
Hometown heroes, 90’s rockers Papa Roach are one of the most anticipated acts this year. They are originally from Vacaville, which is only a hop, skip and jump away from Sacto, and NorCal fans couldn’t be happier. Founding member and lead singer Jacoby Shaddix said, “I am over the moon stoked to be one of the headliners. Honestly, this is like a dream come true. We have worked our whole career for moments like this and cannot wait to be back in SACRAMENTO, where it all began, for the hometown throwdown!!!! NorCal better be f**king ready, ’cause it’s about to go down at Aftershock 2022!!!!!” If you’re as excited as we are, then we will see you front stage and centre on Saturday, October 8!
3. KISS
Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley, known collectively by fans as KISS, started their face-painted rock and roll journey together almost 45 years ago in 1973! They are one of the biggest rock bands ever to hit the stage, and we couldn’t be more excited to catch them live for the 1st time! Their iconic hits, “Detroit Rock City,” “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “I was Made for Loving You,” and so many others, are singalong classics that are sure to ignite the fans at this year’s Aftershock. The lineup for the band will include original members Paul Stanley, Gene “The tongue Man” Simmons, guitarist Tommy Thayer, and drummer Eric Singer.
KISS headlines Friday night!
4. ROB ZOMBIE
Rob Zombie is more than an artist, he’s become a cult legend and an excellent filmmaker, mainly horror. He was tapped to do a feature film of the old comedy sitcom classic “The Munsters,” which is set to be released on Netflix later this month. Rob will be headlining Thursday night along with two other kickass acts, Slipknot and Evanescence, which are sure to bring the heat. “Aftershock is one of our favourite festivals. Always an amazing weekend. We are ready to take it to the next level this year,” says Rob Zombie. He also has just released a new single for the film, “It’s Zombo,” the Zombo Theme song. What we love about Rob is he does things on his terms and is an artist to the core. He’s also an avid vegan and animal activist, which is awesome. Catch Rob on opening night, Thursday, October 6!
5. AMIGO THE DEVIL
Beyond the well-known massive bands playing this year’s Aftershock are many other acts that deserve your attention. One excellent singer/songwriter playing that we are excited about is Danny Kirano’s known to fans simply as Amigo the Devil. He played Aftershock in 2018 and will be making his highly anticipated return on Sunday, October 9. Danny has been touted as a one-man band with AMIGO THE DEVIL, bringing dark humour, incredible talent, emotional songs that are sometimes stripped way down to beautiful acoustic folk gems, and lots of charisma to each of his live shows! Amongst a mountain of great live acts, this is one amazing and unique artist you don’t want to miss, as his set will surely be one of the most talked about on the closing day. AMIGO THE DEVIL plays Sunday, October 9
www.amigothedevil.com
6. ACTION BRONSON
Another act that we are excited about seeing is Action Bronson! If you like rap, rock, and food, meet New York rapper, songwriter, and chef Ariyan Arslani known by his artist name Action Bronson. Hailing from Queen’s New York, many have called him an enigma, an incredible rapper that can also shred a mean solo on guitar. He often raps about food and life, and given that he’s an accomplished chef, that persona, mixed with his larger-than-life music and character on stage, really showcases all sides of his passions. One thing that is always cool about Aftershock is they always have a few hip-hop acts that cross over, and Action Bronson is one act that is sure to go over well with all music fans.
Don’t miss ACTION BRONSON hit the stage on Sunday, October 9!
www.actionbronson.com
Beyond our hot list, there are so many other things to see and do at this year’s Aftershock, including lots of excellent attractions and cool vendors, a ton of great food, drink and alcohol options, and so much more! If you haven’t already gotten your tickets, we recommend you buy them now, as the festival is known to sell out in advance. Best buys are the weekend passes or weekend VIPs if you want to go in style. See you there!
For complete information, a full lineup, and to buy tickets, go to:
www.aftershockfestival.com
