160,000 Fans Attend This Year's Aftershock Festival
() Aftershock promised its biggest lineup yet and the fan favorite event delivered with four nonstop days at Sacramento's Discovery Park over October 10-13. The 12th edition of the annual festival welcomed 160,000 music fans from all 50 states and 30 countries around the world, retaining its title as the West Coast's largest rock festival and bringing an estimated $30 million economic impact to California's capital city.
With more than 130+ bands across five full stages, the Aftershock weekend hosted a number of special performances and guest appearances including Slayer's highly-anticipated reunion set (one of just two shows from the metal legends in 2024); Slipknot who marked 25 years of their self-titled debut album, released in 1999; Iron Maiden's two-hour performance and only 2024 U.S. festival appearance; and Motley Crue's final show in a massive two-year world tour.
In addition, Disturbed singer David Draiman made a very special appearance in Nothing More's set for a performance of their collaborative hit "Angel Song," while singer Royale Lynn guested with Disturbed for Ann Wilson's part on the track "Don't Tell Me." Breaking Benjamin and Tom Morello also had guests in their sets that hit close to home - Benjamin Burnley's son Benjamin Jackson Burnley V joined to offer vocals and guitar while Tom Morello's son Roman Morello joined his father to play guitar on the Rage Against The Machine classic "Killing In The Name."
Sen Dog from Cypress Hill also performed with Biohazard on the song "How It Is," and Dead Poet Society linked up with The Warning drummer Paulina "Pau" Villarreal Velez on the track "The Hurt." There were also incredible sets from Till Lindemann (Rammstein) in one of his first solo shows in the U.S., Mastodon celebrating the 20th anniversary of their classic album Leviathan by playing it in full, Marky Ramone playing all the classic hits from The Ramones and a rare appearance from Insane Clown Posse, among other highlights.
The bands at the Coors Light Stage attracted huge crowds of some of the most dedicated death metal and metalcore fans over the four days, including impressive performances from Kublai Khan, Whitechapel, and Lorna Shore.
In addition to the highly anticipated music performances, fans took part in new onsite activations including BeatBox's BeatBus and a real tattoo parlor, the Coors Light bar and photo booth and Tito's Handmade Vodka's cocktails, swag, photo booth and airbrush tattoos.
Metal Injection shared about Aftershock, "Boasting a colossal lineup of prestigious acts that seamlessly bridged the divide between rock and metal's past and the genre's rising stars, Aftershock 2024 embodied the true essence of a live music festival at its peak. With twelve years of ever-growing success now behind it, the future of this West Coast powerhouse remains an exciting mystery, destined to push the boundaries of rock and metal even further."
Metal Hammer said of Aftershock, "This year's lineup [is] one of the most stacked of 2024 ... with some of the most exciting young bands and artists in heavy music today," and "[the] performances weren't just shows, they were the savage heart of the festival itself, solidifying Aftershock's place as one of metal's holiest pilgrimages."
Mercury News called Aftershock "one of the world's best festivals for fans of metal and hard rock," while KOVR CBS 13 in Sacramento said the event is "now a worldwide destination."
The 2025 festival dates for Aftershock will be announced soon.
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