Welcome to Rockville: A Review

Welcome to Rockville’s first full day is in the books, and by all accounts, the music was grand, the food and drink selections were plentiful, but the prices to enjoy said food and drink were out of hand.

Let’s start with the music. There are over 150 bands playing the May 15-18 festival, that included a May 14 pre-party,

All three bands I watched on the first day were new to me in one way or another. In one case, I had not heard of them, in another case, I had heard of them but not heard their music, and lastly, a band I have been digging for nearly two years.

Those three bands were Of Virtue, The Pretty Reckless, and Halestorm, respectively.

Halestorm were as impressive live as they are in the studio. They played new material for an upcoming LP, “Everest,” that lead singer Lizzy Hale said they will tour to support in the fall. I am looking forward to that tour!

The multi-talented Taylor Momsen. Lead singer, The Pretty Reckless, performing at Rockville, Day 1, Thursday, May 15.

For me, typically not a great idea to see a band without some knowledge of its musical stylings. However, the quartet known as The Pretty Reckless overcame that and slid into the must-see category henceforth.

I loved the blues-infused stylings of The Pretty Reckless lead guitarist, Ben Phillips.

Lead singer Taylor Momsen has a wide vocal range, a sauntering way about her, while maintaining a great command of the crowd. Oh, and she played Cindy Lou Who in “How threw Grinch Stole Christmas” released in 2000, among a handful of acting roles.

The band that was completely new to me, had not heard of them nor their music, was Of Virtue.

If you’re playing Rockville, you’re playing with high energy, so to say any band that I watched was high energy is wasted typing, but here it is: Of Virtue is high energy. Their crowd was in sing-along, mosh-pitting mode, sometimes the mosh-pitting and body surfing was at the encouragement of the band.

Damon Tate, guitarist, vocalist Of Virtue.

The metalcore rockers (I noticed a great backbeat with a little reggae in one song) have a secondary message of seeking help for mental illness and celebrating sobriety. Co-vocalist and lead guitarist Damon Tate took a moment to tell the crowd that 2025 is his 18th year of sobriety.

Last year, some of Mr. Tate’s past indiscretions caught up with him as he explained in a social media post that he had to take time off from touring to be accountable for a previous misdeed.

At Welcome to Rockville, after the show, he obliged by repeating what he had asked the audience to do, “Show love, show kindness, show mercy, (give) second chances.”

Mr. Tate, a father who doubles as a front office supervisor for East Lansing Dental, responded “absolutely” when asked if that is something he says at every show, “because those, to me, those are like the building blocks of establishing that humanity with people.”

(Stay tuned for more with Mr. Tate and Of Virtue drummer Ryan Trinh in a piece I’ll post soon. I went back on Saturday and saw Liliac, they were fantastic. As one of the first bands of the day, they played a shorter, 25-minute set that included a cover of Holy Diver by Ronnie James Dio. Their originals are killer!)

Welcome to Rockville covers a wide expanse of the Daytona International Speedway, providing the feel and size that matches the Orlando, Florida-based Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando.

To that end, there are plenty of amusement rides, food and drink.

A quick rundown on the food, highlights only, can’t capture it all: Acai bowls, BBQ, chicken mac, empanadas, fish & chips, grilled skewered quesadilla, pizza, poke bowls, pretzels, Tex-Mex, and vegan eats.

My two food stops on Thursday were for a chicken Caesar salad and a market salad from Filo Mediterranean Kitchen. Filo’s brick-and-mortar restaurant is 15 minutes from the festival. I enjoyed both, the latter a little bit more than the former.

(On Saturday, I ordered the orange chicken rice bowl, minus the rice in favor of more broccoli. It was excellent!)

For drinks, again no way to list them all. Plus, that would be boring, included: Craft beer, wine, mixed drinks, smoothies, and Nutrl.

When it comes to drinks, the cost is prohibitive, so be discerning. The first glass of wine was purchased at the Caucasus Wine Bar. It was $32 including tip. At the regular bar, the wine was half that price but wasn’t chilled. I was offered a cube of ice to chill it. A Nutrl will set you back about $14.

As for the Filo market salad, their online menu shows a cost of $13, they charged $25 at the festival.

The temps throughout the festival will be in the mid-90s. To cool off, you will find plenty of misting fans, free water stations, covered areas and fire hoses dousing crowds during shows.

Welcome to Rockville is a Danny Wimmer Production. Fans said it compares favorably to how other rock festivals are organized. The expected attendance is 220,000, which would be record-breaking. Will it be more than 220,000? It could be, as Rob Zombie posted on social media, that he played in front of 70,000 people. If that is accurate, then the four-and-a-half-day festival is looking at attendance in the area of 280,000 people. Yours truly will be sleuthing for the official numbers. Stay tuned. (On Saturday, May 17, I got the confirm from Ashton-Magnuson Media that the expected attendance is 220,000.)

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Photo Credit: band and festival social media

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