Day 1 of Louder Than Life, a four-day hard rock/heavy metal music festival in Louisville, Kentucky started with a bang on Thursday, September 26. It was cloudy and windy with perfect temperatures in the 70’s. The rain heading to Louisville from hurricane Helene held off until the late evening right before Slipknot’s headlining set.
Shortly after noon, Dead Poet Society was up on the Main Stage sing their high energy set. During the third song singer Jack Underkofler announced that he needed to finish a tattoo that he had started on his a$$ of BMO from Adventure Time live on stage with his tatto artist Annie Miao onsite to do the job. Ironically, he was singing his song “HURT” while she finished the design. He invited Josh Katz from Badflower to join him to play guitar while he got tattooed. The crowd started to grow to see the impressive feat and how Underkofler powered through the pain, while still being able to sing perfectly.
The all-girl band from Monterrey Mexico, The Warning, had a packed crowd with little girls on the rail to see their favorite band play their hits. Sisters Daniela, Paulina, and Alejandra absolutely rocked it out on stage to some of their chart topping hits “S!CK,” “More,” and “Hell You Call a Dream.” Daniela and Alejandra strummed on their blue guitars while Paulina smashed out beats on the drums.
In-between performances, we made sure to stop by and support the 1 Million Strong tent. The non-profit offers a substance-free area where sober metal and rock lovers can enjoy mocktails and cold brew coffee with other like-minded festival-goers.
Opening with one of their newer singles “Teacher Has A Gun,” Badflower got the crowd going wild. Lead singer Josh Katz hid bright pink hair under a neon green hat and a pair of dark overalls while delivering his powerful vocals to the crowd. The group ended their set with the song “Stalker” as Katz jumped into the crowd and surfed over top of them.
Columbus, Ohio rock band Starset took over the mainstage in all black tactical outfits. Band members Zuzana Engererova and Siobhán Richards elegantly played string instruments to accompany the sci-fi lyrics and melodies sung by Dustin Bates. Starset has an up and coming fifth album which they have been teasing with singles like “TokSik” and “DEGENERATE,” both of which were performed on the main stage.
Around 6 p.m., Mayor Craig Greenberg joined Danny Wimmer, the music festival’s producer, on-stage for the ceremonial “Christening,” a re-enactment of a guitar smashing that occurred at the first Louder Than Life in 2014. This year’s “Christening” included jets flying over the festival grounds as Wimmer smashed the guitar and Greenberg crushed a bourbon bottle. The pair ended their re-enactment with smiles and cheers as they marked the beginning of the festival’s tenth year.
Previous legendary drummer of the Ramones, Marky Ramone, took to the stage with his Blitzkrieg band. The entire performance was a highlight of our day. The band sounded awesome with Marky on drums, belting out classic punk rock and Ramones hits like “I Wanna Be Sedated” and “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker.” Of course, Marky finished out his set with a cover of “Blitzkrieg Bop.”
The California punk rock band that formed in 1984, The Offspring looked and sounded great on the Main Stage. All of the band members wore black outfits in true punk rock fashion. Lead singer Dexter Holland energetically sang, saving some of the group’s best songs for last including “The Kids Aren’t Alright” and “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid.” They ended with their arguably most popular and recognizable song “Self Esteem.”
South African rock band Seether rocked the main stage around 5’o-clock. Just a few days ago they released their newest album The Surface Seems So Far, from which they performed “Judas Mind.” Throughout the rest of their set, the band jammed out with the audience to songs from nearly all of their nine other albums.
Lzzy Hale and the entire Halestorm band looked and sounded better than ever with her smashing vocals as she opened with “I Miss the Misery.” Hale, throwing up the ‘rock-on’ sign frequently and making dramatic movements kept the crowd on their toes as she belted out her emotion filled music, even adding in an I Prevail cover of “can you see me in the dark?” She looked amazing in a black lace outfit under a black leather jacket and a silver eyelet skirt.
Over on the Decibel Stage we had to catch Sum 41 one last time on their Farewell Tour. The show was filled with smoke and pyrotechnics, making the set high-energy and crazy to watch. While jumping up and down to the beat and singing his heart out for their final tour, lead singer Deryck Whibley rocked out to “The Hell Song” and “Walking Disaster.” They saved their most popular songs for last, like “Fat Lip” and “Still Waiting,” which the crowd sang along to.
Slipknot in a nod to their original costumes performed for the massive Thursday crowd playing songs only from 1999 and before to celebrate 25 years of their debut self-titled album. The crowd was full of fans in Slipknot inspired costumes. In red jumpsuits and their signature creepy masks, the band played through the night’s rain with no trouble as their die-hard Maggot fans screamed along. They were very lucky to get their full set in before hurricane Helene came into town and is now bearing down on the festival.
Check back soon for a recap of Day 2 of Louder Than Life where there are still three days left of music.
Words by Emily Cigan @emily.cigan and Amy Harris @thetraveladdictig