UFest May 3rd, Phoenix
Living in Phoenix doesn’t get much better, concerts almost every day. Throw in one of the bestrock radio stations in the US KUPD, and its going to be a wild night. This year’s lineup fromopener to headliner!
Bury the Darkness kicked things off with thehometown crowd. Their mix of hardcore and metal blend together in sweet, sweet metalcore. It’s always good to see the hometown boys get a shot at the big festival stage. They are worth a listen and on most streaming platforms. Tell them I sent ya.
Point North was next up, hailing from LA it’s a quick trip to Phoenix. I hate to pigeon hole bands but most would say they are a pop punk band. They bring all the fun and grit that comes along with pop punk. Check out their new single “World vs Peace”, a very good band who I’ll beseeing again on their next trip to the Valley.
The Funeral Portrait, what a fireball of a band, they exploded on the stage with the crowd going nuts. The boys came to play and the crowd was into it. The band is currently on tour and have a new album dropping in June. “Greetings from Suffocate City”, I highly recommend seeing them on tour.
Dorothy was next to take the stage with her cocktail blend of County and Rock. She’s on pretty heavy rotation on KUPD, and the crowd was excited to see her and the band take the stage. I will never grow tired of her strong voice with those grinding guitar tones. Sorry no photos for Dorothy, but be sure to look her up and give her blend of southern rock a listen.
We Came as Romans ,another metalcore band on the bill. The band’s positivity in their lyrics seems to ring true with the crowd. I would even say a bit of a pit was starting to form in the day light hours. The band is currently on tour in Canada, the US and later on in the year Europe.
Mammoth, yes Wolf gang Van Halen the son of the greatest guitar player the world has ever seen. I stand by that statement! Don’t cut his band short, Wolf has gathered himself a great band and they should most definitely not be missed. They are currently on their own headlining tour across the US. Making a return trip in December, I’ll do my best to see if Sunray can get aninterview with Wolf. Check out the new single “The End”, but really watch the video for it on YouTube. You can thank me later.
Seether, yes the band that has kept rocking for almost 25yrs, I didn’t even realize how many Seether songs i knew by heart. The band is currently on tour supporting their new album “The Surface Seems so Far. The crowd could be heard singing almost as loud as the band. That’s always good.
A Day To Remember put a big bow on the gift the KUPD gave to the Phoenix crowd. ADTR is also coming close to the 25 yr mark. With a flash of light and smoke they took the stage and the fans went absolutely nuts. The band was working the stage so fast it was hard to get the pictures taken. They played some new songs from their latest album “Big Ole Album #1” as well as the hits. Seeing ADTR and Seether on the same night was a real treat. They couldn’t have closed the night out any better. The band is currently on a world tour, so glad they stopped tosee the Phoenix crowd. Until next year…
Photos and Review by Mike Bengoechea