Performance Times Released For Annual Festival

Courtesy: Ashton-Magnuson Media

Organizers of the annual “Welcome To Rockville” Festival presented by Monster Energy have released more information on this year’s festival.  2013 is the festival’s third year being held.  Performance times for bands on each stage have officially been released.  The “Monster Energy Main Stage East” opens with a performance by Pop Evil at 12:40pm.  Pop Evil will be followed by All That Remains, Halestorm, Papa Roach, Stone Sour, and headliners Alice in Chains.  Alice in Chains takes the “Monster Energy Main Stage East” at 9:45pm.  The “Monster Energy Main Stage West” is just one of the many stages from which audiences have to choose during the festival.  A full listing of bands and performance times is available below.

Saturday, April 27

Monster Energy Main Stage East

12:40 PM         Pop Evil

2:05 PM           All That Remains

3:35 PM           Halestorm

5:25 PM           Papa Roach

7:25 PM           Stone Sour

9:45 PM           Alice In Chains

 

Monster Energy Main Stage West

12:05 PM         Young Guns

1:20 PM           In This Moment

2:50 PM           Asking Alexandria

4:30 PM           Bullet For My Valentine

6:20 PM           Three Days Grace

8:30 PM           Limp Bizkit

 

Emerging Artist Stage

Noon                Rockville Rumble Winner

1:00 PM           Hell Or Highwater

2:10 PM           Gemini Syndrome

3:20 PM           Whitechapel

4:45 PM           Otherwise

6:20 PM           Escape The Fate

 

Jax Live Stage

11:30 AM         Rockville Rumble Winner

12:30 PM         Edens Fill       

1:40 PM           Rockville Rumble Winner

2:50 PM           Rockville Rumble Winner

4:05 PM           Stars In Stereo

5:35 PM           MonstrO

7:25 PM           Rockville Rumble Winner

 

Sunday, April 28

Monster Energy Main Stage East

11:45 AM         Red

12:55 PM         Saving Abel

2:30 PM           Filter

4:10 PM           Skillet

6:05 PM           3 Doors Down

8:35 PM           Lynyrd Skynyrd

 

Monster Energy Main Stage West

11:15 AM         Farewell 2 Fear

12:20 PM         Nonpoint

1:40 PM           Steel Panther

3:20 PM           Hollywood Undead

5:05 PM           Buckcherry

7:15 PM           Shinedown

 

Emerging Artist Stage

11:20 AM         Nebraska Bricks

12:20 PM         Soulswitch

1:25 PM           Girl On Fire

2:35 PM           Saliva

3:45 PM           Motionless In White

5:10 PM           Device

6:50 PM           Nothing More

 

Jax Live Stage

11:50 AM         (N)ception

12:55 PM         The Apprehended

2:05 PM           Rockville Rumble Winner

3:15 PM           Rockville Rumble Winner

4:40 PM           Rockville Rumble Winner

6:15 PM           Rockville Rumble Winner

 

The whole party will be preceded by the “Rockville Downtown Experience presented by Corona Light” pre-party on Friday, April 26^th.  Two post-show parties will be held Saturday, April 27^th.  Admission to these parties is FREE.  Friday’s show will feature Saliva, Evergreen Terrace, and Victr as entertainment.  The bands will perform live at the Underbelly in Jacksonville, FL.  More information on this party is available online at http://www.jaxunderbelly.com.  Saturday’s after-parties will feature performances by DJ Monk and Robert Goodman at 1904 Music Hall in Jacksonville, FL (http://www.facebook.com/1904MusicHall, http://www.1904MusicHall.com) and Icey at the Underbelly.

Fans that attend the festival will have plenty of opportunities to get their CDs, shirts, and more signed by their favorite band(s) at the f.y.e. tent and other onsite locations.  There will also be interactive experiences such as a gaming area and Dave’s Crazy Music Experience.  This experience lets fans find out for themselves what it’s like to make music in a studio environment.  It includes actual guitars, drums, basses, and all the gear used by today’s top acts.

Tickets are still available for this year’s festival.  Prices are listed below.

Single Day General Admission – $59.50 plus fees

Single Day VIP – $134.50 plus fees
2-Day General Admission – $107 plus fees
2-Day VIP – $219 plus fees
2-Day Party Pack (4 weekend tickets) – $357 plus fees

Along with the listed ticket prices, “no service fee tickets” are available at specific Metro PCS locations.  More information on this is available online at http://www.welcometorockvillefestival.com/tickets.html.  A limited number of VIP tickets and hotel packages are still available.  They can be purchased online at http://www.WelcomeToRockvilleFestival.com.  VIP tickets include entrance to all concerts through a VIP entrance, access to VIP lounge featuring dedicated bar, beverage and food service, viewing of the Monster Main Stage (both seated and standing areas), a seated area with shade for dining, private bathrooms and laminated VIP guest pass.    

More information on the “Welcome to Rockville” Festival is available online at http://www.WelcomeToRockvilleFestival.com, http://www.facebook.com/welcometorockville, and on Twitter at @RockvilleFest.

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

One Of Filter’s Best Records “Comes Out” In Its New LP

Courtesy: Wind-Up Records

Filter’s first new record in three years is a solid release for the band.  Having undergone numerous lineup changes and seemingly almost as many label changes, this new record is a testament to the band’s ability to keep going and making music.  So many lesser bands would have already folded long before.  But Filter has taken the road less travelled and crafted what is arguably one of its best records to date in The Sun Comes Out Tonight.  The record largely keeps the energy flowing from start to finish, holding back only a small handful of times.  The times that the band holds back are so spread out that even when they do make themselves known, it luckily doesn’t take anything away from the rest of the album’s songs.

The energy starts flowing right from the album’s opener, ‘We Hate It When You Get What You Want.’  This slightly techno-infused song will take long-time audiences back to the days of the band’s 1995 debut record, Short Bus all while sounding quite a bit like Linkin Park.  There are those that might consider such a comparison to be musical heresy of sorts.  But if one hadn’t known that this was Filter, it would have been rather easy to think it was the latter of the two.  This isn’t such a bad thing though.  The song’s energy and front man Richard Patrick leads the onslaught, while drummer Jeff Friedl, guitarist Jonathan Radtke and bassist Phil Buckman come together to make a song that is a proper opener.  The drive of the guitar and drums make this song an obvious hit both on the record and in a live setting.  It would be easy to see any live audience taking in the song, fists high in the air, voices raised, singing along together.  Being that this is the first impression for the band since its last release three years ago, it is an excellent first impression for the band in its return.

The album’s next song, ‘What Do You Say’ takes over at the end of the LP’s opener and keeps the energy flowing at top level.  And just as with the album’s opener, it’s just as certain to have live audiences singing along and pumping their fists along as Patrick sings, “Hey, hey what do you say/It doesn’t really matter/Cause it’s all the same/Hey, hey what do you say/They’re just gonna blame us anyway.”  Lyrically, this song comes across in a slightly cryptic manner.  The really good thing about it though is that it isn’t just one of so many countless songs about one’s relationship issues.  And the equally powerful hooks and choruses make the song even better and another sure bet to be a fan hit.

The energy kicked up by the album’s first pair of songs pulls back just slightly in its third song, ‘Surprise.’  That pullback is only momentary, as the energy kicks back into high gear in the album’s rather electronica infused semi-title track, ‘What The Sun Come Out Tonight.’  And it doesn’t let up from there until the band gets just past its halfway mark in ‘First You Break It.’  Again, that reduced presence is only temporary as the band once again sheds its softer sound in favor of something with more kick in ‘Burn It’ and ‘Take That Knife Out Of My Back.’  By the time listeners reach the album’s final pair of songs, which is definitely the album’s calmest, they will be left almost breathless thanks to the musical rollercoaster on which they have been taken over the course of the album’s previous ten songs. By the time the last notes of ‘It’s Just You’ fade away, listeners will know that they have just experienced one more album that is more than deserving of being added to the ever growing list of the year’s best rock records.

Audiences will have the chance to experience the music from this brand new album as Filter will be hitting the road beginning next Thursday, April 18^th in support of it.  The band will perform at the Black Sheep in Colorado Springs, CO that day.  Filter’s North Carolina based fans will also get the chance to experience the band’s new music live as the band will make not one but two stops in North Carolina on its tour.  The first of the band’s NC dates will be at the Red Hat Amphitheatre in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday, May 31^st.  The band’s second NC date is scheduled for Sunday, June 2^nd at the Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheatre in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Fans can get a full listing of tour dates from the band’s Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/Filter.  Fans can also go to the band’s Facebook page to pre-order the album, which is due out June 4^th.

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

ShipRocked, Sixx Sense partner for cruise giveaway

Not able to get to next weekend’s Carolina Rebellion Festival at Rockingham Speedway?  Well a couple of the bands that’ll be there will also be on this year’s Shiprocked music festival cruise.

The organizers of the annual ShipRocked music festival cruise has partnered with Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx’s radio show, Sixx Sense, to give the cruise of a life time to two lucky people.  The contest runs from April 30th to May 16th.  Fans of Sixx Sense can enter the giveaway online at http://www.sixxsense.com/pages/contests/sixxshiprocked. 

This year marks the cruise’s fourth straight year.  Along for this year’s cruise will be: Five Finger Death Punch, Godsmack, P.O.D., Sevendust, Filter, Fuel, Blackstone Cherry, Lit, Queensryche frontman Geoff Tate, Gilby Clarke (ex-G N’ R), and In This Moment.  The cruise will run from November 27th through December 1st. 

The cruise departs from Fort Lauderdale, FL.  It lasts four days and nights.  Cruise winners will receive: Free passage for two onbard the cruise, One (1) Oceanview Stateroom for two for the duration of the cruise, Two (2) roundtrip coach airfares to Ft. Lauderdale, One (1) night standard hotel room in Ft. Lauderdale, Free entry to all ShipRocked concerts, meet and greets, artist hosted events and other activities, and complimentary food and non-alcoholic beverages, including 24-7 room service.

More information on this year’s ShipRocked cruise is available online at http://www.GetShipRocked.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GetShipRocked, and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ShipRocked.