Review: Carolina Rebellion 2018

Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC hosted Carolina Rebellion as part of the World’s Loudest Month for the 8th time on May 4th, 5th, and 6th. The festival continued with the tradition of having 3 full days of rock shows to appeal Rebels from all over the country.

The festival kicked off bright and early on Friday, and bands including Avatar, Red Sun Rising, Tremonti, Sevendust, Bullet For My Valentine, Stone Temple Pilots, and Stone Sour made sure to keep the Rebel energy high throughout the day. This year’s headliners included some familiar faces to the Rebellion stages, as well as some first timers. Shinedown closed down the Rebellion Stage before Alice In Chains closed down Friday’s festivities on the Carolina Stage. It was a special show for Shinedown as that was the release day of their latest album, Attention! Attention!, including a fireworks display with their musical talent.

Saturday catered to many more big names in mainstream rock, including From Ashes To New, Trivium, Shaman’s Harvest, Asking Alexandria, In This Moment, Halestorm, and Breaking Benjamin, to name a few. Rebellion veterans Five Finger Death Punch and Godsmack closed down the main stages for the evening, leaving Rebels wanting more and anticipating the last day of the festival.

Even though it was the last day and fans were exhausted and completely sunburnt, it didn’t stop them from rocking out to the bands taking over the stages and a hit and sunny Sunday. Performances included those by Thrice, Greta Van Fleet, Clutch, The Struts, The Sword, Incubus, Billy Idol, and Queens of the Stone Age. Rebel newbies Muse were the honorary band to close out the whole festival this year and they did not disappoint, making sure to incorporate audience participation with their giant balloons and confetti guns.

Carolina Rebellion continues to grow in size and reputation when it comes to rock festivals. It has become an annual event for many Rebels and will continue to be so as long as the festival exists. The general theme of the festival, as I’m sure every Rebel can attest to, rock is certainly not dead, and these bands will continue to melt your faces off for as long as you, the fans, will let them. If you are able to, definitely try to make it out to any of the other World’s Loudest Month festivals happening all over the country!