Orlando, FL has always been a fantastic tour stop for music artists. We have five great venues from small to large sized shows and fans who are truly passionate about music. And as for festivals, rock and metal fans have been fortunate enough to have the Orlando local rock station run a one-day festival with national acts each year. But, we want more. For some reason, no one has been willing to stake their claim on multi-day rock and metal festival with national and international artists here in Orlando. If you live here, like me, and wanted to see one, you’d have to either go hours outside of the city or completely outside of the state. Now, Orlando rock and metal fans got their wish.
Stage Left Entertainment has staked their claim on the city of Orlando with their inaugural Rebel Rock. The festival, fueled by Monster Energy, will be held at the Central Florida Fairgrounds from September 24-26, 2021. First, it’s about time! Orlando has been prime to hold a rock and metal multi-day festival of this magnitude so kudos to Stage Left Entertainment for doing it. Second, the Central Florida Fairgrounds is a perfect location. It’s the same location our one-day rock festival has used for years and has plenty of room for the fans, concessions, merch booths, and parking. And, they actually have two permanent bathroom buildings so fans are not just stuck to using port-a-potties. Trust me, this is a big deal. And finally, the rock and metal fans are going to fill this place and rock it out!
Rebel Rock is boasting a great lineup for the 3 day festival and the fans should be stoked for this one. Let’s take a look at the festival per day.
Friday, September 24th – The headliner is none other than the legendary Limp Bizkit. The band from Jacksonville, FL has such fantastic hits such as “Rollin'”, “My Generation”, “Nookie”, and “Break Stuff”. After their recent performance at Lollapalooza, there is no doubt in my mind they’re going to have the crowd going wild. I personally love Machine Gun Kelly on this lineup. He’s been mixing up his music between rap and rock and is a phenomenal entertainer. He sold out a crowd in Jacksonville, FL in April 2021 and blew the crowd away. Fans will also get a special treat seeing Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals perform A Vulgar Display of Pantera. Now throw in bands such as Skillet, Pop Evil, Motionless In White, and From Ashes To New and you have yourself a killer day of rock and metal. Three other must see artists that day include Fit For A King, who will have the mosh pit running hard, Saul, and the always entertaining September Mourning.
Saturday, September 25th – Moshers should be well rested before tackling this day. Five Finger Death Punch headlines the night and with hits such as “The Bleeding”, “Lift Me Up”, “Never Enough”, and “Wrong Side of Heaven” the fans will be singing along with every word. And when they pull out “Burn MF” prepare for the Wall of Death to occur and the fairgrounds will be one huge mosh pit. What I love about this day is how heavy it is with metal. Papa Roach will perform right before Five Finger Death Punch and always provide an entertaining show. Also that day will be Underoath, August Burns Red, Nonpoint, and one of my favorites in Hatebreed who are sure to have the mosh pits grinding hard. My personal pick for that day is Killswitch Engage who’s last album Atonement was so good and hearing those tracks live is a must. And come early for a special treat with two bands of Them Evils and Small Town Titans. Both of these artists are amazing entertainers and have great rock sounds.
Sunday, September 26th – Closing out the festival that night are the headliners and punk rockers Rise Against. The Chicago natives will give the fans that one last adrenaline rush before the festival wraps up for good. Hits such as “Savior”, “Prayer of the Refugee”, “Re-Education (Through Labor)” and new hit “Nowhere Generation” will be blasting through the fairgrounds. Sunday has a great mix of music from artists The Used, All That Remains, Miss May I, Fire From The Gods, and Stitched Up Heart. The must see artist of the day for me is Sevendust. Orlando is a second home to the metal band who plays and visits here so frequently there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know them. They will tear up the stage and get the moshers moving hard.
SiriusXM Octane host and metal ambassador Jose Mangin will be hosting Rebel Rock throughout the weekend. And he will also be hosting a special event on Thursday, September 23rd known as Jose Mangin’s Taco Metal Party! The event will have Denmark’s own Volbeat as the headliner. If you’ve never seen Volbeat they are an absolute must watch performance. They’re fun, passionate, and truly love the fans. I once watched vocalist Michael Poulsen walk off stage to give a 6 year old child in the crowd a Volbeat t-shirt. And their music is awesome with songs such as “A Warrior’s Call”, “Seal the Deal”, and “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown”. Also, fans will be treated to P.O.D. performing their album Satellite from beginning to end. The night also hosts Slaves (US), Kyng, Erra, Sons of Texas, and Otherwise, which are all phenomenal performers. Early in the day don’t miss Fate DeStroyed who I interviewed earlier in August. Great music and they are looking for fans to throw the F*** down! The event will also have taco trucks, Riazul tequila and specialty margarita cocktails.
There will be 4 stages set up at the Central Florida Fairgrounds for Rebel Rock this year. They are labeled as Monster Energy Rebel Stage (headliners will perform here Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), Fire Lake Stage, That Stage, and the Liquid Death Mountain Water Stage. What I absolutely love about the Rebel Rock schedule and setup is there very little overlap. Fans should be able to see the majority of the bands with some small exceptions where two bands are playing at the same time. Outside of that, it’s just moving from one stage to the next. You can find the scheduled times for all of the artists on the Rebel Rock website under Schedules.
There will be other experiences to see at the festival this year. The Monster Energy BMX Experience will have talented athletes perform jaw dropping stunts on BMX bikes all weekend long. Even The Odds will have unique sideshows, tattoo artists, and more.
VIP tickets for Rebel Rock are sold out. But, General Admission tickets are still available for the 3 days and for Jose Mangin’s Taco Metal Party. You can purchase your tickets HERE.
For those who may be concerned about COVID-19 policies, Rebel Rock‘s Facebook page had this announcement on August 19th:
For more information on the festival, you can connect with them at these social media sites:
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