Rocklahoma has come and gone for another year and it was another massive event as always spreading across the long weekend in the state of Oklahoma. Full report is below.
You know the state is taking notice of Rocklahoma when the Lt. Governor opens the festivities and talks about how the weekend contributes to the economic development of the state! But the attendees weren’t there to hear about economic development – they were there to rock. The Glorious Sons took the main stage opening spot and got things started off right. A newer band on the lineup, really got things going with their brand of rock, and had the crowd singing along to their recent hit Sawed Off Shotgun.
Fever 333 was next up on the main stage playing their 40 minute set including Burn It, We’re Coming In, Made in America and more. They closed out their set with Hunting Season. Lita Ford rocked a full house at the D & B Roadhouse Stage. Kicking it off with Gotta Let Go, she got the crowd going full steam. Lita never lets her fans down and this set was no exception.
Next up on the main stage was festival regular, Pop Evil. Complete with Matt DiRito’s long hair whipping around, they kicked it off with Boss’s Daughter, followed by Deal with the Devil, Ways to Get High, Torn to Pieces, Be Legendary, Footsteps, Take it All, and Waking Lions, They completed their set in traditional form with Trenches and singer Leigh Kakaty going out into the audience to include everyone.
Corrosion of Conformity played next on the second stage featuring tunes Seven Days, The Door, Diablo Blvd, Albatross, and closing out with Clean My Wounds. Buckcherry was up next on the mainstage with singer Josh Todd, guitarist Stevie D., and bassist Kelly LeMieux, in top performance mode. The band rocked it hard in the opener, cover of Nine Inch Nails’ Head Like a Hole, followed by It’s a Party and two tunes from the latest album Warpaint, Bent and Radio Song. The crowd really came alive with Lit Up followed by Somebody F’d with Me from the F**K album. Josh talked to the crowd about relationships a bit before going in to Sorry then The Alarm. Of course, they closed it out with Crazy Bitch with a little Jungle Boogie in the middle. They definitely ended the set on a high note.
Gwar was next up on the side stage, complete with plenty of blood, even hitting our photographer Jessica with a bit of the red stuff. They performed their antics to the approval of the crowd. Seether lit up the main stage next starting off with Stoke the Fire, followed by Gasoline, always a hit with the crowd. Let You Down and Truth followed. Words as Weapons came next and Nobody’s Praying for Me had good crowd participation for the chorus. They continued with Country Song and Fine Again before going into Betray and Degrade which was followed by Fake It. They closed things out with Remedy, always a crowd favorite.
Steel Panther brought their own brand of entertainment to the side stage to close it down. Their glam outfits didn’t disappoint. They started out with Eyes of a Panther, followed by Asian Hooker and Poontang Boomerang before heading into a cover of Ozzy’s Crazy Train. Next came Girl from Oklahoma, Community Property, finishing out with Death to All but Metal. Always a crowd pleaser, they closed the stage out proudly.
Shinedown was the final act on the mainstage Friday. They kicked things off with Devil from their latest album, Attention Attention which was followed by Diamond Eyes, then Enemies. Front man Brent Smith noted they had a fill-in base player for the evening as Eric Bass had a back injury with a couple of bulging discs and couldn’t walk, much less move around the stage as he normally does. Shinedown vet Josh Sturm filled in beautifully for Bass. Sturm filled in previously for Zach Myers when he had his last child. Monsters and If You Only Knew came next followed by Unity and Bully. The older songs seemed less familiar to the crowd in general, making me rather sad as I feel the old Shinedown rivals their more recent music.
Front man Smith talked a bit about rock and roll music, where it came from and how it makes life, is life. He then went in to State of My Head, followed by a song they rarely do live, 45. Move On followed, then came Cut the Cord, Second Chance, and Simple Man before they closed out the set with Sound of Madness. To say the least, Rocklahoma Friday, rocked hard and good. You couldn’t have asked for better that you got on Friday.
FRIDAY PHOTO GALLERY
Photos By Jess Yarbrough
Gwar, Seether, Steel Panther, Shinedown
Poster Child, Rocket Science, The Glorious Sons, Fever 333, Alien Weaponry, Pop Evil, Corrosion Of Conformity, Buckcherry
Saturday the mud seemed to be more of a problem, probably due to the rainfall that followed Shinedown on Friday night. The grounds were soaked to say the least and Mudlahoma was back. Bad Wolves got things started on the main stage Saturday.
Bad Wolves opened the main stage on Saturday with a rocking set that began with Learn to Live, followed by No Masters. Vocalist Tommy Vext introduced Remember When with a heartfelt message on family. The next song was Better the Devil, then Hear Me Now and Officer Down. They closed the set out with a crowd favorite and cover of Zombie.
Hyro the Hero performed a rousing set on the second stage prior to Bad Wolves and was followed by Light the Torch. They played a rockin’ set of hard rock tunes. New Year’s Day was next up on the main stage with vocalist Ashley “Ash” Costello immediately took charge of the stage. Her larger than life persona filled the space and the crowd got into the music including Kill or Be Killed, Gangsta, and the tune getting some big airplay, Shut Up. Their 40 minute set rocked hard. I would interview Ash less than an hour after their set – what The Rockpit for that interview. Beasto Blanco featuring members of Alice Cooper’s band would take over the D &B Roadhouse Stage next, playing to a packed crowd.
Beartooth rocked the main stage next. Unfortunately I missed their set due to doing the New Year’s Day interview but from what I could hear from the media tent, they really rocked it to much crowd appreciation. Hatebreed was up next on the second stage, playing Defeatist, Perseverance, Looking Down the Barrel of Today, In Ashes They Shall Reap, Everyone Bleeds Now, As Diehard as They Come, Honor Never Dies, Last breath, Live for This, Destroy Everything, and I Will Be Heard. They were followed by Asking Alexandria on the main stage. They opened with Into the Fire and other tunes included Vultures and Alone in a Room.
Sevendust played the second stage next to a large crowd. A Rocklahoma favorite, they rocked it as only Sevendust can. In This Moment was up next, opening with the Steve Miller tune Fly Like an Eagle. Maria Brink and band played a truly theatrical set with perfectly choreographed dancers and a costume change for Maria each song. River of Fire followed Fly Like an Eagle, with Adrenalize and Natural Born Sinner following. Big Bad Wolf was next then Blood. The theatrics were great and the long pause after Blood was a distant memory when Maria talked about the next song being about rising about those who put you down and have low expectations. Prerecorded messages reinforced Brink’s comments and lead to the closing song, Whore. The crowd had been waiting for it and were not disappointed.
Tech N9ne followed In This Moment and had the second stage packed with fans. Tunes included N9na, Riotmaker, Am I a Psycho?, and more. Korn was the band to close out the mainstage, starting about ten minutes early with Falling Away From Me. Here to Stay and Rotting in Vain followed, then Y’all Want a Single was next. Make Me Bad and then singer Jonathan Davis, in his kilt, played the first strains on the bagpipes to introduce Shoots and Ladders. This was followed by Got the Life, Get Up!, and Coming Undone. The encore included 4 U, Twist, Blind, and Freak on a Leash. Korn always rises to the occasion and this performance at Rocklahoma definitely rose!
SATURDAY PHOTO GALLERY
Photos By Jess Yarbrough
Asking Alexandria, Light The Torch, Sevendust, In This Moment, Korn
New Year’s Day, Hyro The Hero, Beasto Blanco, Bad Wolves, TechN9ne
Sunday saw Dirty Honey open the second stage and Weathers open the main stage. Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown were next up on the second stage, and Palaye Royale took the main stage. Former KISS legend Ace Frehley was featured at the D & B Roadhouse State at 5:10 playing Rip it Out and several KISS tunes including Parasite, Watchin’ You, Shock Me, Cold Gin, Detroit Rock City, and Deuce.
Avatar was next up on the main stage with their own brand of rock and hair rolling! They are fun to watch for sure. The Steel Woods came up next on the second stage. Rocklahoma mainstay Jackyl played the main stage with the classic Lumberjack Song featuring Jessie James Dupree on the chainsaw. Black Stone Cherry was featured on the second stage and Bush took to the main stage after. Bush opened with Machinehead then went in to This is War, Sound of Winter, Disease of the Dancing Cats, Bullet Holes, Everything Zen, Little Things, and Glycerine. They closed out their set with Comedown.
Blackberry Smoke took on the second stage prior to the night’s headliner Disturbed mounted the main stage. They opened with a tune off their latest album, Are You Ready. This was followed by Prayer, The Vengeful One, Stupify, Ten Thousand Fists, The Game, No More, A Reason to Fight, Hold On to Memories, Indestructable, and Inside the Fire. They slowed things down a bit for the cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence. Silence was followed by The Light and Stricken before closing out the show with Down With the Sickness.
While the mud was less than pleasant, the rain mainly stayed away during the live performances. The crowd of over 10,000 was the largest Rocklahoma so far and fans got a great line-up this year.
SUNDAY PHOTO GALLERY
Photos By Jess Yarbrough
Bush, Palaye Royale, Avatar, Ace Frehley, Disturbed
Dirty Honey, Weathers, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, The Steel Woods, Jackyl, Blackberry Smoke, Black Stone Cherry
