Who Not to Miss At Welcome to Rockville 2025 (a curated guide)

 

Lots of bands are playing throughout the weekend at Welcome to Rockville this year, with festival set times compressed, you need to make the most of your time, while still giving yourself time to rest, so you make it to Sunday. Here is a guide to getting the most from your money, with the bands that are going to give you your money's worth. Let's face it, tickets for the entire weekend are expensive, even on the payment plan. from. I am not suggesting the most popular bands, so if you want to avoid the crowded stages, this list is for you. Given the fact that I hate most radio rock, we are going to be avoiding that and picking the most interesting artist who delivers consistently live. You can argue these picks all you want, but can the 2 million that read this blog be wrong? So let's jump into it...

Thurs

Inferno Stage 

Frozen Soul

 1 to 1:25 

Saw these guys open for Amon Amarth and Cannibal Corpse, they are crushing. 

Garage Stage

Candy

2:10 to 2:35 

This band is kicking off our campout at the Garage Stage, which is always a solid plan to find a spot and get comfy. High energy, hard-core that is willing to experiment, they are filling the void left by Code Orange, who just went on indefinite hiatus.  

Harm's Way

3:05 to 3:30

This band's burly metallic stomp blends hardcore fury with industrial weight; they are incredible. 

Full of Hell

4:00 to 4:30

Last conert I went to saw these guys blowing Better Lovers of the stage with their spastic blend of blackened grindcore drenched in bizarre sounds. 

Converge

5 to 5:30

Have seen this band multiple times, they always bring it, the godfathers of metalcore. 

HEALTH

6 to 6;35

The perfect blend of detached androgynous vocals muses over the end of the world, while bringing the beats to bring said apocalypse. 

Quicksand

7:05 to 7:45

Ok, no Deftones. You are getting one of their ex-bass players and a band that influenced them. 

Apex Stage 

The Pretty Reckless 

8:00 to 9:00

Thankfully replacing 3Doors Down, the sultry Taylor Momsen and friends have impressed me with their last couple of albums, and by this point, you will want to switch things up a bit, and they promise to be a fun live band. 

Octane 

Rob Zombie 

9:05 to 10:15

Sure, he now makes big, dumb music for people who drink domestic beer and like goth girls, but he is also a total pro who puts on a great show

Friday

Vortex Stage

Left to Suffer

12:35 to 1 

Their take on metal-core is fresh, but legit, worth waltzing through the gates at noon for. Then you have most of the day to relax and just take in the sights as this is the weakest lineup of the weekend. 

Octane Stage

Bush 

5:15- 6:00

One of the last great bands from the grunge era was not even from Seattle; these guys continue to put out great stuff that is better than what most of their peers who are still alive from this period are doing.

Inferno Stage

Jinjer

6:45- 7:25

At this point, does this band need an introduction? They are great at what they do, and bring live harder than other bands playing at this time slot.  

Aliee in Chains was supposed to play the 7:50 -8:50 slot, but cancelled, so I suppose as a default, if you have to check a band out, go see Killswitch Engage, but I felt like the last Killswitch album was so mediocre it bored me, so I can't stand my recommending a band I personally would not stand through, so take a break and position your self to be near the Vortex Stage for my next recommendation.  

Vortex Stage

Knocked Loose

9:10 - 10:00

If you have a friend who would pick Good Charlotte over these guys, you need to get new friends. Ending their set at 10 gives you time to get out while the idiots at the main stage are watching Billie Joe try to pass off 90s pop music as punk

Saturday 

Vortex Stage

Havok

2:30 - 2:55

Hope you enjoyed sleeping in, eating breakfast, and hitting the gym before your casual stroll in to get really woken up by these thrashers. You also get to camp out at this stage for the bulk of the day. 

Nails

3:35 -4:05

The second heaviest band of the weekend

Obituary 

6:05 - 6:40

Florida legends always deliver

Acid Bath

7:30- 8:10

These guys were the main reason I wanted to go, but they booked a show in St. Pete! Any metal band out after 1991 owes them a debt of gratitude. Dax Riggs is the most underrated metal singer ever. 

Octane Stage

Pierce the Veil 

9:05 - 10:15

You're are not gonna want to see another heavy band after Acid Bath, and these guys might be a pop band, but they are a lot of fun, and write cute lil tunes to smoke one to. 

Sunday

Vortex Stage 

Sanguissugabogg

1:35 to 2 

The heaviest band of the weekend

Gatecreeper

2:35- 3:05

Keeping the death metal day going, these guys are sure to be headbanging fun. 

Garage Stage 

200 Stab Wounds 

4:00- 4:30

Their last album was killer, and they are the future of death metal. 

Deafheaven 

7:05- 7:45

It was hard to consider Deftones heavy after seeing Deafheaven play before them a few years ago. 

Powertrip 

8:15 - 9;05

Never saw them with their original vocalist, but can't imagine his more hardcore-leaning delivery would be hard to replicate. 

Apex Stage 

Korn 

10:20- 11:50

Haven't seen these guys since "Life is Peachy," and while their output has been a mixed bag in recent years, they should still be fun. 

pst212