From The Pit To The Crowd: Epicenter Festival Band Performance Times Review

The inaugural Epicenter festival produced by Danny Wimmer Presents is less than 3 weeks away! Hosted at the Rockingham Festival Grounds in Richmond County, NC this festival stands out amongst the rest. This festival provides fans with FIVE stages for entertainment and after-hours entertainment as well. With the band performance times released, let’s do a quick review of who’s performing when and who are the artists you don’t want to miss.

Thursday, May 9th (Camper’s Pre-party)

On Thursday evening those who are camping get an exclusive experience with band performances starting at 6:30 PM with Killakoi from Charlotte, NC. Then the Hellzapoppin Circus SideShow will blow your mind with their amazing acts before tribute bands Thunderstruck and Nighttrain complete the evening. It’s a great kick-off party experience for the campers and sets the pace on what to expect for the rest of the weekend.

Friday, May 10th

The festival doors open on all days at 11 AM. Before we go into the performance times, a quick note about the location of the stages. The Rockingham Village Stage is right inside the village itself. If you walk straight in from the village you will come to the SiriusXM Octane Stage on the left and the Pine Stage on the right. Based on the map, they are built side by side. If you walked to the left from those stages and past the Caduceus Wine Bar you’ll encounter the Quarry Stage. If you continue further to the left from there you’ll come to the Monster Energy Stage, which appears to be the largest of the five.

The day kicks off with the Hellzapoppin Circus SideShow at the Rockingham Village Stage at 12 PM. The first band is Black Cofee, which I think is a great kick-off artist, at 1:35 PM at the Pine Stage. From there you can stay in that area and watch the next two artists without missing anyone. It’s right at the 3:20 PM mark where you start to need making decisions. You have Wilson at 3:20 PM at Sirius XM Octane Stage, Amigo The Devil at 3:25 PM on the Monster Energy Stage, Hands Like Houses at 3:55 PM on the Pine Stage,  and Hyro The Hero also at 3:55 PM on the Quarry Stage. With the two stages side by side you can easily catch Wilson and Hands Like Houses without ever having to move much from the start of the day. My personal preference is to see Amigo The Devil and then run over to catch Hyro The Hero. 

The 4 PM hour has Zeal & Ardor at 4:25 PM at the Monster Energy Stage and Vein at 4:30 PM on the SiriusXM Octane Stage. This is an unfortunate tough call for fans having them both play so close together. If I had to choose I’d go with Zeal & Ardor. The 5 PM hour has Beartooth at 5 PM at the Quarry Stage, Slothrust at 5:05 PM at the Pine Stage, Knocked Loose at 5:40 PM at the SiriusXM Octane Stage, and the That Metal Show Reunion at 5:45 PM at the Rockingham Village Stage. My preference here is you hit Beartooth at 5 PM and then run your way over to see the That Metal Show Reunion. That reunion is a once in the lifetime opportunity not to miss. The 6 PM hour has both Skillet on the Quarry Stage and Black Pistol Fire on the Pine Stage both going at 6:15 PM. I’ll choose Skillet here as I’m a fan and truly enjoy their live shows. The 7 PM hour has two conflicts. Your first is Meshuggah at 7 PM on the SiriusXM Octane Stage and The Crystal Method at 7:05 PM on the Monster Energy Stage. If you’re looking for the heavy, Meshuggah is where you want to be. If you like the electronic rock genre, The Crystal Method is your choice. As for me, you’d find me throwing the horns up for Meshuggah and if you’ve never seen them, they are a metal act not to be missed. The second conflict in the 7 PM block is the Mark Lanegan Band at 7:50 PM on the Pine Stage and Evanescence at 7:55 PM on the Quarry Stage. Personally, I’d be at Evanescence never having seen them live and hearing they’re bringing back their rock setup to the stage instead of performing with an orchestra.

Machine Gun Kelly hits the Monster Energy Stage at 8:50 PM. If you’re not a fan of his music, you can make your way back to the Rockingham Village Stage to see the Hellzapoppin Circus SideShow at 8:55 PM. Then the evening on the festival grounds wraps up with Rob Zombie at 9:55 PM at the Quarry Stage and Korn at 11 PM at the Monster Energy Stage. But, the evening isn’t over! Head back over to the Rockingham Village Stage to see performances of Arrested Youth, Hyro The Hero, and Wilson into the wee morning hours.

Saturday, May 11th

The day kicks off like Friday with the Hellzapoppin Circus SideShow at the Rockingham Village Stage at 12 PM. And similar to Friday your first bands will be at the Pine Stage and the SiriusXM Octane Stage starting with Alien Weaponry, Tetrarch, Hyde, and Dead Girls Academy. Your first conflict comes at 2:45 PM between Dirty Honey at the Pine Stage or Sylar at the Quarry Stage. Two solid bands though I’d lean to Sylar. The 3 PM hour has Badflower at 3:15 PM on the Monster Energy Stage, Evan Konrad at 3:20 PM on the SiriusXm Octane Stage, and at 3:55 PM both Wage War on the Pine Stage and The Damned Things on the Quarry Stage. I like Badflower on the big stage and kudos to Danny Wimmer Presents for putting them there. And then Wage War at 3:55 PM for my personal preference to the heavier side of music.

The 4 PM hour has at 4:35 PM Crobot on the SiriusXM Octane Stage and Motionless In White on the Monster Energy Stage. Once again, another unfortunate conflict as I love both of these artists. You’ll be entertained at either choice though you’d probably find me at Crobot since I haven’t seen them often enough. At 5:15 PM you have Black Label Society at the Quarry Stage and Light The Torch at the Pine Stage. Most fans will probably lean towards seeing Black Label Society, but don’t count out Light The Torch who puts on great performances. I’d personally would go see Light The Torch. Yelawolf hits the Monster Energy Stage at 5:55 PM and Grandson will be at SiriusXM Octane Stage at 6 PM. For this one, I’d go with Yelawolf. Then you have both Bush at the Quarry Stage and Memphis May Fire at the Pine Stage both at 6:45 PM. This is probably one of the toughest choices this weekend as both bands have great rock music and both perform live exceptionally well. My guess is most fans will see Bush and I’d probably be there too.

At 7:45 PM Circa Survive plays at the SiriusXM Octane Stage and The Cult will be at Monster Energy Stage at 7:50 PM. The Cult wins this one for me, especially after seeing them tour with Bush last summer. The legendary Judas Priest closes out the Quarry Stage at 8:55 PM. But, if for some reason you don’t want to see them, you could can make your way back to the Rockingham Village Stage to see the Hellzapoppin Circus SideShow instead. Finally, Tool closes off the festival grounds on the Monster Energy Stage at 10:15 PM. Afterwards, head back over to the Rockingham Village Stage to see performances Grandson, Amigo The Devil, and Crobot. Who needs sleep right?

Sunday, May 12th

Sunday opens with the Hellzapoppin Circus SideShow at the Rockingham Village Stage at 12 PM and then with Demob Happy at the Pine Stage at 12:25 PM followed by While She Sleeps at 1 PM on the SiriusXM Octane Stage. Since Sunday wraps up early, the push the times closer together so conflicts start sooner. At 1:35 PM you have both Boston Manor playing the Pine Stage and Teenage Wrist playing the Quarry Stage. Boston Manor would be my pick here. At 2:10 PM we have both Scarlxrd at the SiriusXM Octane and The Dirty Nil at the Monster Energy Stage. I’d go with Scarlxrd. Next at 2:45 PM is Cleopatrick on the Pine Stage and The Glorious Sons on the Quarry Stage. I’m loving The Glorious Sons so they’re my definite choice. We then have Yungblud at 3:15 PM on the Monster Energy Stage or Ho99o9 at 3:20 PM on the SiriusXM Octane Stage. This is a hard choice with two great bands. If I have to pick, I’ll go with Yungblud. Later at 3:55 PM we have both Movements playing at the Pine Stage and Reignwolf playing on the Quarry Stage. As much as I love both bands, Reignwolf is my choice here for their heavy metal.

The 4:30 PM block gives Architects playing the SiriusXM Octane Stage and Fever 333 at the Monster Energy Stage. No doubt in my mind to see Fever 333 with their crazy high energy performance. We move on to 5:10 PM spot with Basement at the Pine Stage and The Interrupters at the Quarry Stage. This is a toss up as I think you’ll like either band. My preference is to go see The Interrupters. At 5:50 PM you have a seriously tough choice between Killswitch Engage at the SiriusXM Octane Stage and +LIVE+ at the Monster Energy Stage. With Killswitch Engage having to drop out of the festivals last year, I sense more people will go see them. For me, I’ll go catch +LIVE+ with their original lineup together again. At 6:40 PM your choices are Tom Morello at the Pine Stage or Mastodon over at the Quarry Stage. Mastodon is the choice for me, especially after seeing them at Louder Than Life 2017.

Surprisingly, at 7:35 PM you have no conflict. Bring Me The Horizon over at the Monster Energy Stage is the only one playing at that time. They’re followed by 311 at the Quarry Stage at 8:35 PM and Hellzapoppin Circus SideShow has their last performance at 8:55 PM at the Rockingham Village Stage. Foo Fighters close off the festival at 9:35 PM at the Monster Energy Stage. There are no after-hours performances on Sunday.

As you can see, Epicenter has musical tastes for everyone and music playing all day and night over this weekend. Though I can provide my suggestions on who to see, you need to make a plan ahead of the festival so you know who you’re seeing and when. Also, you need to account for times when you want to get food, bathroom breaks, and even check out the merchandise area. I actually used the performance times listing and made a spreadsheet. Though Epicenter does have a mobile app you can download to your mobile devices and mark off the bands you want to see and make your own schedule in the app. Most importantly, wear comfortable walking shoes. This layout is somewhat similar to the former Carolina Rebellion and when I went last year it was a lot of walking from stage to stage. Below is a layout of the festival from the Epicenter official website. I hope the review assists you in making your band viewing choices. Be sure to visit https://epicenterfestival.com/ for all festival information.