Seven years ago, I was 23 years old, just out of college, and had all the free time in the world. I was single, with no kids, and lived in an apartment. It was also the first year that a friend of mine happened to stumble onto some info about an up and coming festival called Rock on the Range. I’ve been in love ever since. This past weekend, for the seventh consecutive year, a group of my crazy, music-obsessed friends from all over the midwest (nine of us this year) piled into a rental van and headed to Columbus to catch the 2015 version of the mighty Rock on the Range. We were equipped with every tailgating accessory you can possibly imagine (planned to the minute detail), and a perfect concert weather forecast: clouds and a little tiny bit of rain.

As the festival has grown each year, so has my blogging effort. This year, like last, I will do three separate blogs on the three separate days of this festival. First up – a Friday lineup packed with great bands, and headlined by my favorite band, Slipknot. I was juiced when we got to Columbus, and even though some of us had driven all night to get there by 10am, I couldn’t get into the venue fast enough.

My only hope: that this year would simply live up to previous year’s incredible experiences. That’s no easy feat my friends. ROTR 2015 – I’ve been looking forward to you for exactly 362 days. Let’s do this.