Saturday, April 20, 2024 was going to be a memorable day in Orlando. It was 101.1 WJRR’s Earthday Birthday 2024! The local rock station has been hosting this 1-day rock festival for 30 years and is a staple of the rock and metal community in Central Florida. Once again the festival was back at the Central Florida Fairgrounds and I had the opportunity to attend to review the event.
Gates opened at 11 AM ET and it was already hot. It was set to be a scorching day with no cloud cover in sight. Our day started out at the Vul-JRR Stage with the band known as Love Child. The band won a contest with WJRR to get to open Earthday Birthday 2024. Sadly, they opened to one of the smallest crowds I’ve ever seen at an Earthday Birthday event. I thought the band was OK. They didn’t move around much on the stage and seemed very stiff. They did have musical talent and the vocalist had a solid voice.
The day for all attendees would be moving back and forth between two stages. Heading over to the Nutrl Stage (Nutrl was one of the sponsors and they make vodka seltzer drinks in cans) to see Eras – Classic Rock Albums Live. Well, we got there waiting for the band to go on. And waited. And waited some more. The stage was having sound issues they ran 20 minutes behind schedule (they only had a 30 minute set). This caused this stage to run late until the set times got longer causing some attendees to miss half a set at the Vul-JRR stage. When they finally got started they knocked it out of the park with their covers of songs. Their vocalist is truly incredible. The band during their performances re-create an artist’s album live using the same instruments they used recording the album.
I left Eras set early to head back to the Vul-JRR Stage to see Sleep Theory from Memphis, TN. I’ve heard good things about them but never seen them live. The band delivered! You could see from their stage presence they were born to be rock stars. They played hard, they had fun, they had that crowd rocking. Vocalist Cullen Moore is a ringmaster of the stage. He had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. And these guys were leaving right after the show to head to Colorado for a show in 2 days. That’s hardcore. Cullen also had fun with the vibe of Earthday Birthday fans signing someone’s blow-up doll and then sang with it on stage before handing it back. I’m hoping Sleep Theory makes a return to another Earthday Birthday.
Back at the Nutrl Stage was rock artist Tim Montana. With 5 studio albums under his belt, Tim is no stranger to the stage, bringing his southern style of rock to Earthday Birthday. He reminded me of Kid Rock without the rapping and he is a good vocalist. His band are very complimentary to his style of music as well. The fans enjoyed his performance that day.
As we returned to the Vul-JRR stage, singer and songwriter Austin Meade took the stage. Blending country rock, hard rock, and southern rock, Austin entertained the crowd with his smooth guitar playing and singing. He was a great entertainer for the crowd and they cheered for him loudly after each song.
Following them on the Nutrl Stage was a long-time Earthday Birthday alumnus in Jimmie’s Chicken Shack. The band from Maryland has been together since 1992 and was happy to be back playing at Earthday Birthday. They starting ripping out tunes from song 1 and kept up the pace through their whole set. The crowd enjoyed their music and having fun, especially when they played “High” on 420 day.
I want to call out something regarding this year’s event. This was not like your normal Earthday Birthday. Missing were the bands like Nonpoint and Sevendust who seem to play it every year or every other. The hard rock music was replaced with more southern rock of Tim Montana and Austin Meade. Last year we had bands like Beartooth, The Pretty Reckless, and Black Veil Brides. This year’s Earthday Birthday didn’t feel as strong on the lineup. This year felt light a much smaller crowd than prior years.
But, Earthday Birthday did have some true gems on this lineup. Soil was one of those gems. The hard rock band from 1997 out of Chicago, IL was ready to turn up the energy and kick some ass. And holy, did they lay it out on the line. Vocalist Ryan McCombs belted out lyrics like it was no tomorrow and guitarist Adam Zadel was so energetic on stage. Ryan controlled the crowd getting them to sing along, throw middle fingers in the air, and literally got them bouncing and moving around. And when they closed out with “Halo” from their 2001 album Scars, the fans went nuts. This was the type of energy Earthday Birthday 2024 needed.
The energy continued at Nutrl Stage when rockers and another Earthday Birthday alumnus, Fozzy, took the stage. Led by former WWE, former WCW, and current AEW wrestler Chris Jericho, Fozzy rocked the Nutrl Stage. Fozzy’s hard rock sound and energy was transferred into the crowd who sang along as Fozzy performed. Rhythm guitarist Billy Grey was a maniac on stage playing his guitar on his shoulders at one point. While drummer Grant Brooks, twirled his drumsticks before every hit and even flipped them in mid-air catching them before the next beat. And the crowd ate up everything Fozzy gave to them. They were phenomenal.
Another Earthday Birthday alumnus from 2023, Ayron Jones, performed next. Ayron is a guitarist out of Seattle, WA. He’s one of the smoothest guitar players today using a combination of hard rock, hip hop, grunge, and blues to create some truly wonderful music. And the energy they deliver on stage is truly incredible. All of his band are not only fabulous musicians, they are very animated on stage. The unexpected thing was hearing them perform a cover of Nirvana’s “Breed”. Ayron is a do-not-miss performer. Catch him on tour this year if he comes to your city.
Back at the Nutrl Stage, Dayseeker took the stage to drop some post-hardcore music. The band stepped out on stage wearing black suit jackets and pants before ripping the crowd’s faces off with hardcore music. They had this beautiful transition between eloquent rhythmic music and then hardcore bombs. The crowd loved Dayseeker and rode their energy as they played through their set. The coolest part was having Tyler Levenson from Afterlife join Dayseeker for a song. Dayseeker had a fantastic performance that day.
The British rock band Asking Alexandria was the last act to play on the Vul-JRR stage. They wasted no time getting hard and heavy for the Orlando crowd. Asking Alexandria likes to keep it heavy through their songs with heavy guitars, drums, and screams from vocalist Danny Worsnop. The band graced the crowd with their latest single, “Dark Void”, a killer single. Asking Alexandria was a truly great addition to Earthday Birthday this year.
Throughout the day, multiple radio personalities from 101.1 WJRR were on stage to introduce the artists and thank the fans and the sponsors. They all consistently said if it wasn’t for the fans the radio station wouldn’t be where they are today. And Earthday Birthday wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the fans.
Next was another Earthday Birthday alumnus in Seether. The South African rock band has performed at Earthday Birthday a few times and fans were excited to see them back. They cranked out hit after hit as part of their set list including “Fine Again”, “Fake It”, and “Remedy”. They put on a phenomenal set for the fans that evening.
And lastly, the headliners Staind. Unfortunately, we were informed Staind’s management revoked all the media’s access to photograph the band that night except for the WJRR photographers.
Overall, this was a good Earthday Birthday lineup. While the lineup may not have been as strong as last year’s, the fans had a great time, which matters most.
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