The 12th annual Rock on the Range wrapped yet another sold-out weekend May 18 to 20 at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
After selling out in record time in 2017, capacity was expanded in 2018, and Rock on the Range had its biggest year yet, with 140,000 on hand to witness performances from Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, Alice in Chains and more. This marked the festival’s sixth consecutive sell-out.
Rock on the Range 2018 featured nearly 60 bands on three stages, which also included Godsmack, A Perfect Circle, Stone Sour, Stone Temple Pilots, Machine Gun Kelly, The Used, Black Veil Brides, Greta Van Fleet, Code Orange, Power Trip, The Fever 333 and New Years Day. In addition, the Rolling Rock Comedy Tent featured national and local comedy talent every evening throughout the weekend, including J.B. Smoove, Trae Crowder and Big Jay Oakerson.
While fans packed Mapfre Stadium and the surrounding grounds, music fans from around the globe were able share in the action at Rock On The Range via the LiveXLive live stream in partnership with Loudwire, Revolver and Metal Hammer, which featured live performances and backstage interviews all weekend long.
On the anniversary of Chris Cornell’s death (one day before Soundgarden was to headline the opening night of Rock on the Range 2017), Friday night headliners Alice in Chains closed their set with a special tribute to their Seattle brother, covering Soundgarden’s “Hunted Down” (the first song from Soundgarden’s debut EP) and “Boot Camp” (the final song from Soundgarden’s final album before their initial breakup in 1997). And on Sunday, headliners Tool began by dedicating its set to Cornell’s friends and family.
Local act Pray For Sleep—winners of 99.7 FM The Blitz’s “Battle for the Range”—took the stage Sunday to the sounds of “Pomp & Circumstance” (as band members Cameron Dickson and Hayden Kissler missed their high school graduation to perform at the festival) before jumping into their show-opening set.
On Sunday, more than one hundred motorcycles roared into the parking lot of Mapfre Stadium as part of the first-ever Rock on yhe Range Charity Motorcycle Ride, hosted by Yelawolf. Rock on the Range and A.D. Farrow Co. Harley-Davidson raised funds for the Ohio Fallen Heroes Memorial (www.ohiofallenheroes.org), in honor of Armed Forces Day Weekend. Additional charity partners, including Fxxk Cancer, Take Me Home and others, were onsite all weekend long, helping fans to give back in true rock and roll style.
Rock on the Range is produced by AEG Presents and Danny Wimmer Presents. The festival is part of the World’s Loudest Month concert series, which features the biggest names in rock music performing in six U.S. events in distinct atmospheres during five consecutive weekends in April, May and early June 2018.
For more information, visit:
Website: www.RockOnTheRange.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rockontherange
Twitter: www.twitter.com/rockontherange
Instagram: www.instagram.com/rockontherange
Hashtag: #RockOnTheRange
Photos by Steve Thrasher
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