BareBones Ent ventured out into the extreme heat to take part in our favorite music festival, So What?! Music Festival, again this year. With a stacked lineup of heavy hitters, reunions, and up and coming bands we were pumped for the event. Let’s take a look and see how it turned out.
We were able to quickly get parked, get our bands, and inside the venue in no time at all. Once inside we started walking around and checking some things out. We had to get a picture of the sign to re-live my Warped Tour days, and then we headed inside the main building.
408
We got into the building and browsed as we headed over to the Hot Topic Stage to catch our first band of the day, 408. When we got there, there was only a small number of people there, so we were able to get close to the barricade. 408 came out and dived right into their set. There was a little girl right in front of us that was headbanging hard and loving every second of the show. They sounded great and had a lot of energy, especially being one of the first bands of the day. The crowd was really feeling them too. The crowd was getting loud and a circle pit even opened up. 408 did an awesome job of kicking the day off for us and made me a bigger fan of them.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Lolo
We tried to rush out to catch Lolo’s set but got a little lost trying to find the correct doors to exit to that side for the Jack Daniel’s stage. We finally got out there a couple minutes late for the start of her set and it was HOT. We had been inside for a while so we hadn’t felt how much hotter it had gotten (this will come in to play in a little bit). One of the first things that stood out to me was that you could tell she was having so much fun up there, and that energy fed into the crowd. There were a good amount of people dancing and singing along to her set. I have to give her kudos that she fully stopped performing when she saw that someone was getting overheated in the crowd, quickly followed by 2 more and directed people to get some water over to them. She would not perform again until she was certain they were ok, which is awesome. She was unable to complete her full set because the heat was messing up her equipment, but she tried to improvise and play acoustic to make up for it. I enjoyed the show and the type of performer and person she is.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Scene Queen
Scene Queen was next up after Lolo and she came in peddle to the metal. The crowd was hype for her too with many people screaming along. People came surging in to catch her set pushing everyone forward. She was great at interacting with the crowd and keeping everything high energy. It was great to see the rush of people trying to make their way to the center of the crowd when she started talking about the pit and her famed Twerkle Pit during “Pink G-String”. The set was just an absolute blast and the whole crowd was loving it! We ended up missing the last 2 songs of her set as we were in the first aid tent (we my share that story on socials).
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
Scary Kids Scaring Kids
I was able to listen to their set while I was waiting in line for food. They sounded pretty good from what I could hear but could not see them from where I was waiting in line. Pretty sure I caught most of their set though, because that line was crazy. I’m not going to rate this one as I couldn’t really hear or see it that well.
[No rating]
Upon A Burning Body
Inside was packed and we struggled to find somewhere to sit. We were finally able to settle down with our food against a wall near the Hot Topic stage where Upon A Burning Body was about to come on. Upon A Burning Body always comes with a lot of energy, and as a Texas band the crowd tends to go crazy for them. We couldn’t see great from where we were, but we could see the huge circle pit that formed. I’ve seen them a few times, but I haven’t listened to a ton of their music. I’d say they put on a solid show, and the crowd had a lot of fun.
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
Forever The Sickest Kids
I’m going to lead into this with I am barely familiar with Forever The Sickest Kids at all. I did know that this was a huge reunion show though, and people were stoked. They sounded tight and seemed to be enjoying themselves. I would say it was a pretty solid show but didn’t necessarily stand out to me personally. I could definitely see people more familiar with the band having thoroughly enjoying it though.
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
The Used
A banner came up blocking the stage in preparation for The Used, and the crowd was getting pumped. The second it dropped the crowd absolutely lost their mind! They breathed life instantly into a very overheated crowd. We did unfortunately see a ton of people getting help out of the crowd from security during this set and the last one of the night. The Used played a great mix of hits and newer songs, which had the crowd singing and chanting along. We got some pits opened up, a “Fuck You” chant, and an overall great time seeing The Used. This was my third time seeing them live and I think it was the best one.
5.0 out of 5.0 starsPierce The Veil
Another sheet went up blocking the stage while Pierce The Veil got ready to come on. There was such a rush of people pushing forward to try and get as close as possible. I had people gripping my shirt and arms to try and keep themselves up. Pierce The Veil’s introduction began and the crowd was ready to let loose. As soon as the sheet dropped that crowd was probably the loudest I had heard them all day! They absolutely went off. Pierce The Veil played an awesome set featuring a wide range of their discography. Lead singer Vic Fuentes has a part of the set where he brings a fan up on the stage during “Hold On Till May” and he sings to them. He also gave this fan a guitar of his, which is awesome. That would absolutely have to be a massive moment for that fan. Pierce The Veil closed the set with “King For A Day” which sent the crowd into a frenzy.
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
Overall
Overall we had an absolute blast. There were some setbacks dealing with the heat and everything but the bands all put on some great shows. The bands and crowds all looked like they were having a lot of fun, and that seems like a stellar festival to me. We always love So What?! and can’t wait to see what next year holds!
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
