Louder Than Life Day 2 was canceled due to remnants of hurricane Helene hitting Louisville with rain and strong winds all day. The festival planned to open between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. but the winds came back, forcing DWP to cancel and fans to miss Slayer, who based on the online chat groups, was a huge disappointment but we always appreciate the safety precautions.
Day 3 resumed on Saturday, September 28 with the gates opening right on time. The day was a bit soggy, cold, and muddy at the festival grounds but the fans showed up in full force to see the music and mosh after Friday’s cancellation. If fans only bought Friday one day entry tickets, DWP did allow them to use their tickets on Saturday or Sunday to attend the festival.
Pennsylvania native rock band CKY put on a high energy set on the Main Stage. The group is celebrating their 25-year anniversary and a new sixth album, New Reason To Dream, coming soon. Band members Chad Ginsburg, Jess Mergera, and Ronnie Elvis James rocked out together, singing a handful of their hits like “96 Quite Bitter Beings” and “Flesh Into Gear” as fans threw up the rock-on hand signs. The band also brought out Crobot for a special rendition of “ All My Friends Are Dead” during their set.
In a beautiful sheer white dress, Lilith Czar did a rousing “Edge of Seventeen” Stevie Nicks cover in addition to her own original music from her debut album Created From Filth And Dust. Lilith noted that this was her first time performing in over a year. We caught up with her backstage and she said she spent the last year writing music and that we will see her out on tour in 2025. So, stay tuned for that.
Filter, formed in Cleveland, Ohio by the former Nine Inch Nails touring guitarist Richard Patrick delivered an amazing vocal performance on the Main Stage. Patrick looked slick in an all-black outfit as he sang some of their classics including the 1999 “Take a Picture” and closed the set with 1995’s “Hey Man Nice Shot.” While the band has eight albums released as recently as Algorithm in 2023, they stuck to the basics and performed some of their earlier music.
NOTHING MORE is always one of our favorite festival sets. Johnny Hawkins powerfully sang songs from their most recent album CARNAL as well as songs “Ocean” and “This Is The Time (Ballast)” from their self-titled debut album. They had a “new to us” stage setup with drums and took to the barricade wall at the end of the set with their instruments to get closer to the crowd.
During a sudden burst of rain, Sleeping With Sirens valiantly sang through their entire performance. Lead singer Kellin Quinn opened the set with the fan-favorite “If You Can’t Hang.” Band members Nick Martin, Justin Hills, and Matty Best powered through the rain and wet instruments and delivered incredible sounds, especially during the guitar and drum heavy “If I’m James Dean, You’re Audrey Hepburn.”
Dropkick Murphys brought the Boston energy to the Main Stage in the afternoon. The rain came down on the Irishmen but Ken Casey sang the songs with boisterous energy and ran around the stage even in his ankle boot while he is recovering from a torn achilles injury. Unique instrument players Jeff DaRosa expertly picked away on the banjo and Tim Brennan played the accordion along to their folk punk tunes.
Hip-hop duo Joey Valence and Brae took to the Decibel Stage in the early evening as the rain began to pour down. Both rappers jumped around the stage, spitting out some rhythmic beats. Earlier this year, the duo put out their second album No Hands that followed their debut album Punk Tactics. Their music has an up-beat punk vibe to it, with throwback Beastie Boys vibes.
Ronnie Radke’s Falling In Reverse canceled their set because they had travel trouble so they were replaced with Day 2’s Till Lindemann (singer of Rammstein) doing his solo band set. Lindemann wore an entirely bright red outfit with his skin painted red and black. His drummer, Sebastian Tägtgren looked terrifying with facial bondage devices and crazy clown hair. Constance Antoinette, the keyboardist spent half of her performance time spinning on a stripper pole.
Til was insane with a NSFW set with graphic sexual avant-garde graphics on the screen behind him. People who know Til’s music were over the top excited to see one of the rare performances and some fans were caught off guard as the German singer did what he does best, belting out his hits in his native language with a visual showcase in all red on stage.
Disturbed played their hits and lead singer David Draiman sounded better than ever. Draiman and his crew performed a cover of Genesis’ “Land of Confusion” before a run through of their popular Simon & Garfunkel cover “The Sound of Silence.” For the emotional break-up song “Don’t Tell Me,” local contest winner Kaitlin Webb got to join the acclaimed band on stage and sing the women’s verse of the song. Disturbed of course had to finish with their classic “Down With the Sickness” and “Inside The Fire.”
Mötley Crüe took the stage on time for their 9:20 pm set and Vince Neil belted out the classics, beginning with “Primal Scream.” This month marked the 35th anniversary of the release of their 1989 six-time Platinum winning Dr. Feelgood album, of which they performed the title song. They ended with their 1989 chart-topping single “Kickstart My Heart.” On October 4, the band is set to release a new EP called Canceled that will feature three new songs.
Check back soon to see our final recap of Louder Than Life 2024.