Features
Foo Fighters, System of a Down, Disturbed to Headline Sonic Temple; Event Replaces Rock on the Range
– Sonic Temple
Danny Wimmer Presents shared the lineup Monday for the inaugural Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival. Foo Fighters, System of a Down, and Disturbed will headline the three-day event, slated for May 17-19 at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Sonic Temple replaces the long-running Rock on the Range Festival, which took place in May at the same Columbus venue from 2007 to 2018.
“I am so proud of what we accomplished with Rock on the Range,” Danny Wimmer Presents founder Danny Wimmer said in a press release, “and with the debut of Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival, we’re excited to bring our devoted rock fans and the city of Columbus a one-of-a-kind, world-class event that expands the festival experience.”
Danny Wimmer Presents announced Sonic Temple in September, citing creative differences with Rock on the Range co-promoter AEG Presents. “When we started Rock on the Range, there was no festival in American quite like it, but recently it became clear that we had different visions of where to take the festival next,” he said at the time.
When Wimmer unveiled Sonic Temple, he teased more changes ahead for DWP and the company’s events. “This is an exciting time at DWP and in the music festival business,” Wimmer said. “Over the next two years, we will be making a series of major steps that are designed to push the U.S. rock festival market forward.”
The Sonic Temple news accompanied an announcement that DWP planned to replace Carolina Rebellion, which it had co-promoted with AEG Presents, with a new North Carolina festival from May 10-12.
In September, DWP CEO Danny Hayes explained DWP’s vision going forward to Pollstar. “We’re never gonna compete with Coachella,” he said, noting that expecting DWP’s programming to compete with marquee festivals like Lollapalooza was unrealistic. “They do a different type of music. But we want to look at what those festivals offer, and where we can offer our spin on similar offerings, we want to be able to do that. That takes investment, that takes risk, and you can’t have partners who are afraid to take risk.”
DWP’s “spin,” as exemplified by Rock on the Range, is rock-centric programming. “I believe that the festival market is at a major inflection point,” Wimmer said in September. “We are about to embark on the next generation of rock festivals this spring.”
Beyond its headliners, Sonic Temple’s bill includes Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Lamb of God, Chevelle, Tom Morello, Action Bronson, and more. Henry Rollins, Andrew Dice Clay, and others will appear at the event’s SiriusXM-sponsored comedy and spoken word tent. Tickets for the event go onsale Friday at noon ET; a weekend stadium general admission pass sells for $99.50 plus fees, along with more expensive options for field and VIP access.
The twelfth and final installment of Rock and the Range was a commercial success, with a sellout crowd of 140,000 turning out to see Alice in Chains, Avenged Sevenfold, Tool, and more over three days.