Rockville…Well… It Rocked!
By Croix Provence
The ground shook in Jacksonville as Welcome To Rockville cranked it all the way up to eleven and ripped the atmosphere in half with all walks of rock music.
Having the pleasure of attending the festival this past Saturday, I got the juiciest bits of the lineup, and saw the pure excitement in fan’s faces that comes with the first day of festivals. Nobody seemed exhausted yet, and nobody was too drunk to operate (myself included). Let’s see how things stacked up.
The Lineup:
As a refresher here is the roster for 2017:
To which I say: holy shit, good sir, that is a lineup. A great mix of old and new, metal and hardcore, and all that falls between.
The Traffic:
Where was it? Should there have been some? I don’t know what the hell happened, but can it happen for every festival ever? There was literally no traffic, in or out of the show! Perhaps it was due to the fact that parking was spread all around the city rather than in one concentric area, but points are given where points are due.
The Security:
Again, I ask: where was it? I walked up and noticed on a sign that it said “No purses”, unless they were completely see-through. Noticing my bright orange leather purse, I decided to try and walk through anyways. The security staff member holding the magic beep-beep wand didn’t even beep-beep me; they just let me through after taking a look at me. Maybe I don’t look cool enough to do drugs, or bring in fireworks. Some people view this lax level of security as a positive, some see it as a negative; that being the case, we will chalk it up to neutral feelings.
The Atmosphere:
Gotta say, the atmosphere was entirely created by the energy of the enthusiastic fans running around with crazy hair, banana suits, and piercings out the ying-yang. When you are using a public park in an urban area, there isn’t all too much you can do to mask the fact than an overpass has screaming traffic roaring by, and that homeless people are staring sadly through the chain link fences. Regardless, there was a general contentedness with everything going on! Some very cool art booths and unique vendors; I just wish there would have been more. Rockville is growing, and it continues to get better each year, so surely there will be more for eye-catching and splurging next year!
The Food:
Barbecue. Barbecue everywhere. Macaroni on beef. Beef on macaroni. Beef on beef on beef. Thank you lord, baby tiny BBQ Jesus for the beef sundae.
Seriously, some good options here, ranging from meat piles to vegan snacks to pizza to smoothies. Also, plenty of beer and liquor booths. Seriously, this place got turnt really quickly. Thanks, Jack Daniels!
The Potties:
CLEAN AS A WHISTLE, thank you lord baby tiny bathroom Jesus!
The People:
Again, I can’t state it enough – these people rocked. They were friendly, open to helping me when I couldn’t for the life of me find a map or an info booth, and ready to have fun. I haven’t met people at a festival that I liked this much since Bonnaroo, and that’s saying something.
The Shows:
Great clear sound and visual quality, good lighting, and on time?! Who ever heard of such a thing! As much as I loved The Offspring (and getting kicked in the face by a crowd surfer during “Want You So Bad”, and despite the awesomeness of Claudio Sanchez wailing on guitar with his tongue for Coheed And Cambira, and regardless of how amazing Mastadon is in general… Gotta say, I was the most surprised by, and amped up for, Highly Suspect. They were the underdogs of this festival, and I highly recommend everyone give them a listen. Every single show was well-attended on Saturday, and everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives.
Rockville 2018:
Don’t miss Welcome To Rockville 2018, guaranteed to be even bigger and better than this year’s show! Check out welcometorockvillefestival.com for updates and information.
Croix Provence, abridged: Entertainer. Dork. Snack enthusiast. Freelance writer. Music lover. Comic Con freak. Adrenaline junkie. Short sentence sorcerer. Follow @CroixProvence on Instagram, and like Croix Provence on Facebook.
