Louder Than Life October
October 4 & 5, 2014
Louisville, KY
All good things have to come to end and what better way to end it but with a big rock festival in Louisville, KY. Yes, that is correct, in Kentucky. The genius behind the biggest rock festivals in America, Danny Wimmer, has created a new festival in his arsenal that includes Fort Rock, Welcome to Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, Rock on the Range, to name a few. With Louder Than Life, the name alone meant something bigger, bolder, and kick ass.
For the first time, rock fans got to experience more than just music, but the finest bourbon Kentucky has to offer, along with gourmet food and craft beers. Featuring 35 bands playing the two days, the festival attracted close to 40,000 fans and was announced they would be back in 2015. Temperatures were in the 50’s the first night, which is unusual for KY.
Day 1 featured a great mix of new and old bands that included Otherwise and Nonpoint who both have released new CD’s, along with Miss May I and Memphis May Fire who destroyed the side stages. Limp Bizkit proved that no matter what anyone thinks, they owned the stage and raise the bar very high; something Stone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington had a hard time following. Korn and Judas Priest closed out the night and left the fans in metal bliss.
Day 2 proved to be the perfect day for a festival (after some issues with amenities, these were fixed overnight and I am sure will just get better next year.) With temps in the 60’s, the first band I decided to check out was Islander, a new band that is going to be making some noise in 2015 for sure. Another band that is making some noise in the rock world is Avatar, who combine the theatrics and killer songs that fit perfect for a festival atmosphere. Nothing More, another new band, showed us a future of rock as they pulled out every sound that can be made by instruments into a tight, 
controlled beast. Pushing the different genres rock has to offer, Motionless in White, Bring Me the Horizon, A Day to Remember, and Chiodos made a huge impression with fans young and old.
If there is one thing I would like to see to improve the experience and a photographer’s wish – would be nice if both main stages had separate spotlights platforms, allowing lighting for all members of the bands. Papa Roach, coming out to play just for Louder Than Life, suffered from this lighting issue but still got the crowd pumped as only Papa Roach knows how. Ending Day 2 was fan favorite, Five Finger Death Punch who laid waste to Main Stage South in their hour-long set before passing the mic to Kid Rock who combined every genre of music on stage.
Louder Than Life is, and hope for many years to come, a great way to end festival season and can’t wait to see what 2015 will bring.
Review by: Peter Lizano
