Rock on the Range 2018: Lineup Analysis

We are ONE WEEK away from the festival of all festivals. For many of my hard rock and heavy metal bretheren, May represents the beginning of festival season. There are many great festivals all over the country that give fans a great chance to experience a weekend packed full of great shows. The biggest, and arguably the best of any of these is the almighty Rock on the Range, which takes place May 18-20th in Columbus, OH.

We snagged our tickets prior to the lineup announcement, which occurred late in 2017. This will be the tenth consecutive year that we make the trip from Indianapolis to Columbus to take in the weekend, and I have to tell you – I cannot wait.

I know that all of you are like me – you’re having trouble focusing on anything else as you look forward to one of the best weekends of the year. In order to support that obsession, we are releaseing a last minute line-up analysis for Rock on the Range 2018. The analysis below is for people who may not know all the bands in this years lineup and are looking for an opportunity to catch a new band that may become a favorite. However, it’s also for those who know every song of every band, and are just looking for an excuse to think about Rock on the Range for an hour. 🙂

The Rock on the Range 2018 Lineup Analysis below provides a detailed look at the landscape for this year’s ROTR. We provide commentary on what you might expect based on previous experiences, other shows and tours we’ve seen, and the current status of the bands. The bands are grouped by the slot they were given: the headliners, the top-tier bands, and the mid-tier bands. In addition, we include some bands that have something to prove, and suggest some can’t miss shows that may not be on you radar.

Festival Review: Rock on the Range 2016 Day 1

Simply put, this is one of my favorite weekends of the year. For eight straight years, a contingent from The Music Pill has been traveling from all over the Midwest to meet in Columbus, OH the weekend before memorial day for North America’s biggest rock and metal festival. The weekend features nearly 60 bands on three stages over three days, and boasts a complete sell out audience of 120,000 for the weekend. It’s become the pinnacle of the concert season for me, and provided the setting for some of the most unique, memorable, and amazing shows of my long concert history.

Rock on the Range 2016 was no different – the festival celebrated it’s 10th anniversary this year, and did so in style by putting together their most unique and star-studded lineup yet. Staying true to it’s identity, the ROTR festival featured bands from countless sub-genres, resulting in a weekend that everyone could love. The three day festival boasted headliners of Disturbed, Rob Zombie, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Music Pill was there to capture it all.

As I’ve done the past couple years, I’ll do three separate posts – one for each day of Rock on the Range 2016. My hope is that by reading this, you either get to relive the madness that you experienced a few weeks ago, or you weren’t there, and you get so bummed that it finally convinces you to give ROTR 2017 a shot. If I’ve done that, I consider this coverage a major success.

So lets get rolling! Below is a detailed analysis of which shows were rock solid, which were slightly disappointing, and which ones blew my mind.

Happy Reading!