'A marathon, not a sprint': Day 1 at Louder Than Life has crowd ready to rock all weekend
Time to get loud.
The heavy metal, rock, punk, and alternative music festival Louder Than Life, from Danny Wimmer Presents, is back. Nearly 100 rocking performances are scheduled to wow what may be record-breaking crowds through the weekend.
Eager fans pressed into the Highlands Festival Grounds at 937 Phillips Lane under blue skies with strong breezes in Louisville at noon Thursday, greeted by Magg Dylan, a four-piece metal band that released its first full-length album in February 2020 just before the pandemic. Magg Dylan is based out of Virginia Beach and brought to the stage a sound of hard rock, metalcore, nu-metal, melodic metal and pop punk fused together.
Most guests stopped near the entrance to consult their Louder Than Life apps for scheduling before making their way to lockers or their first performances of the day.
A guide to the event:When is Louder Than Life 2022? Everything to know about Louisville's rock festival
Amber Lahnum of Springfield, Illinois, met a friend then headed right for Dorothy's performance. It would be several hours before headliners Nine Inch Nails, Bring Me The Horizon and Evanescence took the stage Thursday.
"It's large, but I love the open space," Lahnum said. "I've been to Rock on the Range in Ohio and they have a lot less space and the stages are separated. I like the fact it's a free-for-all here."
Other big names performing Thursday, in addition to headliners Nine Inch Nails, Bring Me The Horizon and Evanescence included Halestorm, Tenacious D, Yungblud, Highly Suspect, Spiritbox, Apocalyptica and Maggie Lindemann.
Crystal Clay and Dave Walker from Lexington, Kentucky, said they are spending their festival weekend in a pop-up camper, though they're considering an upgrade for next year. Clay said she was most excited for Nine Inch Nails and Shinedown, plus Papa Roach, a band she's seen before.
They're both festival pros. But for first timers, the couple had some advice.
"It's a marathon, not a sprint," Walker said. "Hydrate and don't drink too much, you don't want to be too hungover tomorrow morning. Enjoy yourself."
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Amber Rall of Finley, Ohio, said this year's Louder Than Life is her first-ever music festival, but you wouldn't know it: she fit right into the crowds of attendees in black outfits with her black lipstick, mesh top, corset and pink crystal earrings.
"Lamb of God and Slipknot were my first metal bands I ever heard, so I'm excited to see them," she said.
In addition to music, festivalgoers enjoyed some 80s nostalgia with the Bulleit Arcade games, visited several whiskey bars and tuned into "That Space Zebra Show," hosted on Danny Wimmer Presents' Twitch channel.
New this year was decked-out, darkened pop-up called "The Headbangers Hall" with celebrity guest bartenders, culinary offerings from chef Chris Santos and appearances from Jose “Metal Ambassador” Mangin. Attendees could even sample whiskeys by Slipknot, Metallica, ZZ Top, Gwar and Beartooth.
Miriam Moore, who volunteers with music scene accessibility company Fahntoosh Enterprises, said she volunteers for most festivals in Louisville. At Louder than Life in 2019, she brought her 12-year-old son to see his first concert: Metallica.
"I like the fact there isn't an age restriction here, you can bring little ones and it's pretty kid-friendly," Moore said. "I think the artists are also loving the venues. This brings a lot of people together and everyone loves the music. I have not had a bad experience whatsoever, people are here and just having a great time."
Reach features reporter Dahlia Ghabour at dghabour@gannett.com.
Louder Than Life
WHAT: The heavy metal, rock, punk, and alternative headliners music festival has a rocking lineup of nearly 100 performers heading to Louisville for the four-day event. Headliners include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot, KISS, Shinedown, Rob Zombie, Bring Me The Horizon, Alice In Chains, Alice Cooper, Incubus, Evanescence, Tenacious D, Lamb of God, Yungblud, Mastodon and more among the more than 90 bands scheduled to perform during the festival.
WHERE: Highland's Festival Grounds, 937 Phillips Lane
WHEN: now through Sept. 25
MORE INFORMATION: louderthanlife.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louder Than Life: Thursday rocks Louisville, with 3 more days ahead
