It’s festival season!! Over the past several years, festivals have gotten more and more popular in the US. This year, that landscape got a significant boost by the announcement of the first Chicago Open Air Festival. This three-day event, held just north of downtown Chicago, will take place July 15-17th, and has an absolute monster lineup.
Announced in February, the festival has strong headliners anchor the weekend, as well as a contingent of great bands that are headliner quality but slotted as support. It also offers fans some rare opportunities to see bands that they don’t often have a chance to see. The lineup is so good, it merits a deep analysis, and that’s what we’ve provided below. While we can’t discuss them all, the post below breaks down bands at every tier (Headliners, Top-Tier Bands, Middle Tier bands, and Bands that Have Something to Prove). In addition, we finish the post with some lesser known bands that are absolute can’t-miss shows. Hope you enjoy!
(Note that as bands are introduced below, they are highlighted green in order to make them easy to find. Links to other reviews, videos, or external content appear in red. Also, note that the bands are divided into tiers based on their position on the press release, and not my opinion of a particular band, which should become evident about halfway through the page. Ha!)
Chicago Open Air Headliners
There’s no question where the lineup analysis of this festival has to start. Rammstein has exactly one performance in the US in 2016, and it’s the headlining show of the opening day at Chicago Open Air. I fully expect it to be the best show I see at Chicago Open Air, and potentially the best show I see all year. Those lofty expectations are based on incredible videos online, a legendary set of songs, years of touring history, and the mystery and theatrics that only Rammstein can bring to the table. I’ve never seen them live, but my gut tells me that Du Hast alone is worth the price of admission.
Disturbed is the second main headliner, and they will bring a well-polished show to Chicago Open Air after headlining several other US festivals this summer. Disturbed is another band that has a long history of big shows in front of even bigger crowds, and they have written some made-for-festival songs, like “Ten Thousand Fists”. However, their latest album (2015’s Immortalized) isn’t one of their strongest – will that impact the quality of the show? My guess is that it won’t, and they will leverage their decades of high-charting singles and their showmanship (read: pyrotechnics and set design) to produce a formidable headlining set.
The third main headliner is the mighty Slipknot, who will close out the show as the final act on Sunday evening. For those who have never seen Slipknot play in front of a major festival, they are one of the most consistently strong headliners in existence today. I have vivid memories of headlining shows at Rock on the Range (ROTR) in ’09 and ’15 (review of the ’15 show here), and I have no doubt that they will repeat here with a show that fans will remember for years. With nine people on stage, Slipknot’s shows expand to fit the size of the crowd – the bigger the challenge, the bigger the performance. I can’t think of a bigger challenge, and I really think this will compete with Rammstein as one of the best shows of the weekend.
The bands that immediately precede the headliners are also really strong for this festival. Korn (pictured above) is paired with Disturbed on Saturday night, which is a perfect grouping of two bands that grew up together in the 90’s and 00’s. Despite Korn’s 20+ years of touring, they remain one of the strongest and best shows around, and also boast the single most intense show that I’ve ever seen. (here’s a review of that 2011 show, taken on my 2011 concert awards page). Five Finger Death Punch also makes good sense in their slot – they have a strong fan-base that overlaps well with Slipknot’s crowd, and those two shows back to back will be something to remember. I’ve criticized Death Punch for the repetitiveness of their shows in the past, but since 2014 that’s gotten much better, and as much as I may have complained, I enjoyed every one of those shows. You just can’t go wrong with a Death Punch show – always high energy, always a ton of fun, always stacked full of quality songs. Finally, Chevelle plays before Rammstein on Friday. This was a bit of a surprise for me until I uncovered that Chevelle is from Chicago and this is a home town show for them.Kudos to the festival organizers for giving Chevelle what ends up being a great opportunity for them. I think this show will be solid, and hope that they focus a lot of the set list on their 2014 album (La Gargola), which is chocked full of some really strong material.
These six bands do an exceptional job of making this festival attractive, but they have plenty of help…
Top Tier
Sitting just behind the headliners, the top tier bands are likely to play afternoon or early evening sets on the main stage. This presents a unique challenge, as most of them are used to headlining, yet at Open Air they will be playing in the middle of broad daylight. No matter – these bands are up to the task. We’ll start with Breaking Benjamin, who came off of a long hiatus last year and has a strong festival season planned. I was able to see them at Rock on the Range 2015 (review here) and on their most recent headlining tour (review here), and both were fantastic. No doubt that trend will continue. Also playing a top tier spot, Marilyn Manson brings his insane theatrics and memorable creepiness to Chicago. He’s capable of really blowing the lid off of the place, but his last few shows have been inconsistent for me. Is he losing steam at the end of his career? Which Manson will show up?
Inching over on the spectrum towards metal, UK’s Bullet for My Valentine and their American counterpart Of Mice & Men are both really solid metalcore bands that have strong festival experience and could produce really great shows. Both have had success bridging the gap between rock and metal, so people who don’t like particularly harsh vocals may really enjoy these two bands. (They are both capable of picking up the pace though – buckle up when BFMV hits “Scream Aim Fire” or OM&M plays “Public Service Announcement”…) Moving squarely into the metal spectrum, those of us who love the harder stuff are really excited about Swedish death-metal act Meshuggah, who puts on a brutally fantastic show. I think Meshuggah will separate themselves from the pack, and expect this show to be great.
However, skimming past all of those bands (if that’s even possible), there are two sleeper bands that I really want to highlight in this tier. Industrial metal titans Ministry, featuring the infamous Al Jourgensen, will play on Friday – I really think this is one to make sure you catch. I’m not a huge Ministry follower, and I’ve never seen them live, but you can’t doubt their success, and I’d guess that this will be a memorable show that will really surprise some people.
Speaking of sleepers, here’s my strongest sleeper pick. I am so excited to see BABYMETAL perform again. Hailing from Japan, they have just recently picked up in the US, and I had the privilege of seeing them at Rock on the Range last year – they completely blew me a way. (I raved about them after Rock on the Range last year. Review here). Their combination of metal music with J-Pop vocals and electronics results in a sound unlike anything you’ve ever heard. They just released a new CD on April 1st, and its one part ridiculous and two parts absolutely amazing. However, listening to their music on an album doesn’t really do their show justice. You can google a BABYMETAL video to get an example of what I’m talking about, but if you’re new to the band, I’d suggest walking into this show blind and preparing to be completely floored – I’m telling you, it’s crazy. My expectations are through the roof, and I can’t wait to see if they live up to them. Either way – this is a chance that won’t come around all that often.
Middle Tier
While the main stage bands sell the tickets, the mid-tier bands are what make festivals so much fun. Don’t underestimate bands on smaller stages – some of my favorite shows of all time have come at festivals, where masses of people are crammed around a tiny side stage. At Open Air, this section of the lineup is completely stacked. For starters, Adam D and the rest of Killswitch Engage are another guarantee show. Whether they decide to focus on their brand new album (Incarnate), or play their classics, the show will be great. Look for this to be the show where current (and original) frontman Jesse Leach proves once and for all that he is capable of singing the vocals made famous by previous vocalist Howard Jones. Trivium comes to this festival after 2015 saw their revolving door at drummer continue. They’ll play at a frenetic pace, and because their songs are so long, they’ll only get 5 or 6 songs into the set. Hopefully it’s enough to showcase how brilliant they are. Trivium features creativity in song writing and lyrics that is extremely rare, and I’ve seen them take a sitting, partially engaged audience that didn’t know who Trivium was and completely turn it around into moshing insanity. Bottom line – the fact that Killswitch and Trivium are this far down the bill is a travesty that speaks partly to the strength of the festival, and partly to the fact that they are both cruelly underrated. Both these shows will be fantastic.
Another intriguing band in this section is In This Moment, who is right on the cusp of becoming a real powerhouse. Their show will be strong, but I’m closely waching two elements: First, has Maria Brink perfected the art of screaming live? Lot of components here (everything from Brink’s voice to the sound system), but with her high pitch screams, if it’s not tuned in, it can go south quick. Second, can the band can keep the focus on the music and off of the costume changes? (Brink spent half of her show at ROTR 2015 changing outfits). If both of these things fall into place, this could be the show that finally sees them break through. I’m also really curious to see how Saint Asonia delivers. They bring all the star power, including Adam Gontier (ex-Three Days Grace singer) and Mike Mushok (lead guitarist from Staind), but I saw them at Rock on the Range in 2015, and the highlight of the show was a couple cover songs from their old bands. Are they all smoke and mirrors, or have they built the substance to really stand on their own. Can’t wait to find out.
Final notes in this section:
- Pop Evil continues to have a low profile, despite some really solid albums. A crowd this size this gives a band like Pop Evil the ability to shine, and they certainly have the energy and the song catalog to do it. Little by little they are proving that they belong in a discussion of today’s top rock bands, and this could be yet another big step for them.
- Don’t sleep on The Devil Wears Prada and Miss May I, both of which set themselves apart from their Warped Tour counterparts and became legitimate metalcore contenders in today’s landscape. If you want screams, oh man can these bands bring the screams, particularly Miss May I (check out their song “Hey Mister“). I always love their shows.
- Speaking of screams, Hatebreed is another fantastic metal band that I can never figure out why more people don’t listen to. This might challenge Meshuggah for the most brutal show, so be careful. Hatebreed has a tendency to make you want to destroy everything (and love every minute of it).
- Hollywood Undead is one of the more polarizing bands around, but if you can take them at surface value, their rap-rock approach and lyrics that talk of non-stop partying and debauchery make for a heck of a time at their show. Check them out, you might be surprised.
Something to Prove
These bands are great, but I believe they have an opportunity to prove something on this glorious weekend in July.
- We Came as Romans has a solid metalcore sound, and excels at headlining small venues. Can their show be big enough to handle festival crowds, or will they fall into the metalcore white noise?
- Staying in the same genre, Beartooth has two or three incredible songs, and a boatload of talent. I have long been saying that they will have a fairly steep ascent (review here) – I’m looking for evidence that the ascent continues.
- Periphery is a fantastic prog metal/djent band that I absolutely love. No better way to lose your mind than to put a Periphery album on while you drive. However, their show isn’t geared towards festivals – it works great in small venues with a killer light show, but the combination of their complicated song structure and the festival audience that was unfamiliar with their work ended up with a show at ROTR 2015 that didn’t work. Will this be a repeat, or have they found a way to amp up the energy and improve the crowd connection?
- Butcher Babies was the best I’d ever seen them when they opened for Amaranthe recently (review here). However, I’m not sure this success is scalable to festival size. They have a very passionate fan base, but I’m hesitant to make a bet on this one. Excited to find out how they deliver.
- I really really want to like Gemini Syndrome, but their body of work just isn’t big enough. One album (Lux in 2013) in six years hasn’t convinced me that they are more than a flash in a pan. With a new album coming out shortly, my guess is that this show will be a make-or-break for me.
- I also love Gojira, but am torn: Their 2012 album L’Enfant Sauvage is one of my favorites, but they suffer from the same issue Periphery does. Last time I saw them at a festival, I was disappointed.
Don’t Miss
This is my absolute favorite category – I’m drawing on hundreds of shows, years of experience at festivals like this one, and thousands of hours of analyzing music and content to give you a few shows you absolutely cannot miss at Chicago Open Air. I’ve focused on bands that you may have never heard of, the ones that you may gloss over and decide to hit the restroom or grab some food because you don’t know anything about them. This would be a dire mistake. If I had poker chips, I’d put them all in on any one of these bands.
- I was at Warped Tour a few years ago, and I was standing near a stage waiting for Letlive to play. As I looked around, I realized that the audience was full of people with band credentials hanging from their belts. The industry buzz was so high about Letlive that all the other musicians wanted to see them play. We found out together that the buzz was legit – Letlive shows are absolutely insane. I’ve never seen a band perform with more energy than Letlive. Add that to the fact that they are writing the best post-hardcore material around right now, and the result is a show you won’t soon forget. So glad they got slotted at this show – don’t miss them.
- People say that rock is dead, but those people have never heard of Nothing More. From San Antonio, Nothing More came storming into the spotlight with their brilliant self-titled album in 2013. I listened to it religiously for a year before I was able to see a show, they were really really solid. Their show features one of the most unique show elements that I’ve ever seen, but no spoilers here. With a new album in their arsenal (available for pre-order now), I can’t believe this show would be anything but amazing.
- You probably know nothing about Jim Breuer & The Regulators, other than possibly recognizing Jim Breuer’s name from comedy specials. Well news flash: He is the front man of a ridiculously enjoyable cover band that features him doing spot-on impressions of Ozzy, Dio, Hetfeild, Brian Johnson, and every other 80’s frontman. Except he uses those impressions on songs about being a father and headbanging in the garage. By the end of the show, he’ll have he crowd screaming along to a metal version of B-I-N-G-O and it will be awesome. As good as his comedy is, his band is ten times better – he had us absolutely rolling at ROTR 2014. (review here).
That’s a wrap! As I look around the festival landscape this summer, Chicago Open Air stands toe to toe with any other festivals, and I can’t wait to see what it has to offer. I’d love to hear your comments about my thoughts or bands that I didn’t mention, or any questions you may have about my many experiences with most of these bands.
Until then, cheers to a fantastic festival season!! 42 days until Rock on the Range 2016, and 98 days until Chicago Open Air!! Stay tuned to The Music Pill for lots of great festival coverage! I’ve already provided similar analysis of the 2016 Rock on the Range lineup (head over to that post). I’ll have tons of great coverage of ROTR as we get closer to that event, as well as release additional notes on Chicago Open Air after ROTR to get specific about what bands are doing this year.
Thanks for reading! Cheers!