REVIEW: SO WHAT?! Festival 2022
The phrase “everything is bigger in Texas” rang true for me in over the last couple of weeks, from exploring sights like Dallas and Fort Worth, trying varieties of food at Whataburger and Buc Ees, to scuba diving in Terrell and paying tribute to Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul & their mother Carolyn at their resting place. These were just some “musts” on this metalhead’s “to do” list in Texas while attending this year’s South By So What festival in The Lone Star state.
SO WHAT?! Music Festival launched in 2008 and called SOUTH BY SO WHAT?! MUSIC FESTIVAL. Its purpose served as an opportunity for Dallas residents to catch 50+ of the bands headed to SXSW (South By South West) for one low ticket price. The event is a combination of many genres including Metal, Rock, Pop, Indie Rock, Hip-Hop, and Electronic.
Three days showed us a massive blend of genres coming together at the Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, TX. South By So What brought many walks of music life together to truly celebrate Rock, Heavy Metal, Pop Punk and Hip Hop all in one. The Ghost Inside, Sum 41, 2Chainz, I Prevail, Trippe Redd and many more all provided an incredible experience at the event during the entire Memorial Day weekend. Sadly, several artists originally slated to play the festival such as Parkway Drive, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Acacia Strain, Upon A Burning Body and Close Your Eyes all dropped for personal reasons, most notably The Black Dahlia Murder, with the devastating passing of their vocalist Trevor Strnad. It is with great hope to see the others return to South By So What next year.
Day 1 was notable for me, as it featured the entire Chaos & Carnage lineup all in one spot. Deathcore heavy hitters Suicide Silence & Lorna Shore all played football field stage, while Angelmaker, Distant, Signs of the Swarm & Carnifex all took their heavy jams to the Monster energy stage. The Chaos & Carnage bands this year were hands down exceptional and well worth the price of admission for me, all paving a new path for heavy music. Other bands included legendary California metalcore band Bleeding Through, Florida heavy hitters Wage War, Nashville hardcore punk band Chamber, the massive tribute to early 2000s metalcore SeeYouSpaceCowboy, groovy Nu-metalcore band Be/Gotten, fashion trendsetters Escape the Fate (only saw ETF for a minute, but they were tearing up the scene) and the band that created the notorious crabcore meme, Attack Attack! I Prevail, a band I feel is flying the flag for the current wave of metalcore and for newer bands to be influenced by, unpacked the heaviest hits to close out the main heavy metal stage. Day 1 set the mood, as the festival made sure fans received a variety of originality from their lineups to keep things interesting and where fans could dive into different genres of music, thus forming friendships while experiencing new music.
The heavy continued on Day 2 at So What, though not without some hiccups, yet the usual concert difficulties did not take away from the experience whatsoever. For unknown reasons, Fire From The Gods vocalist AJ Channer had gone missing, however, the band still wanted to pull through with some guest vocals coming in to fill in for certain songs. Also missing for unknown reasons, Born of Osiris’ second vocalist/keyboard player Joe Buras had not been seen, yet that did not stop the band at all from continuing to push forward with their set. With those minor hitches, it made little difference to fans who continued to brave the bitter Texas heat to enjoy some amazing music. The Ghost Inside, Hatebreed & Knocked Loose represent the best of metalcore/hardcore punk in 2022. The Ghost Inside continues to defy all odds since their terrible bus accident in 2015 which nearly ended the band. Pop Punk legends Simple Plan and Sum 41 continue to stand the rest of time as millenium punk legends who are living proof that rock is not dead and of course receiving the ultimate crowd participation. These guys know how to make a crowd move around, that’s for sure. Emo act ScaryKidsScaringKids brought a unique blend of emo that hadn’t been seen before! Texas in July from Pennsylvania easily played one of the best metalcore sets I’ve ever seen with insane shreds and thundering breakdowns. Nu-metalcore act Jynx proudly represented New York at the Revolver stage. Traitors from the deep south swamps of Florida brought an insane amount of barraging heavy deathcore to the crowd. Volumes maintained “the djent” and groove to the masses. The extremely massive Jesus Piece brought the fiercest hardcore set I’ve ever seen from a live band. Day 2 in my opinion brought out the best and it was definitely my favorite day from the So What festival.
Day 3 held another solid addition of bands with Canadian hardcore punk band Counterparts having delivered the emotional hardcore punk aspect in full force at So What. Old school metalcore veterans Misery Signals and Evergreen Terrance pleased older fans by returning the origins of metalcore to the show. As expected, Kublai Khan’s pit was dangerously rowdy, one the of most aggressive I’ve ever seen from a hardcore/metalcore band, rightfully so at So What, given that they are hometown heroes. Canada’s Comeback Kid brought the groovy side of hardcore punk to So What on the Revolver stage. French metalcore act Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! played their only U.S. show for the entire year at So What and made quite the impression in America. Much like A Day To Remember, the infectious grooves of pop punk and metalcore unravel from a tight package that shouldn’t be missed. He Is Legend’s mix of metalcore and hard rock jams were meant for this Texas festival. Chaotic metalcore band The Callous Daoboys are as close as you’re gonna get to a Dillinger Escape Plan reunion with a modern touch of saxophone and violin! Pain of Truth represented Long Island super hard as they brought Texans the ultimate NYHC experience! The festival suffered some other unfortunate events as far as band members showing up, with Zack Hansen from The Word Alive missing due to health concerns, however the band still thundered through to play a great set. Lou Cotton from We Came as Romans was also missing at So What, but the band still persevered on the main stage for dedicated fans! A Skylit Drive’s bass player had not attended either, but the band powered through with a unique set of songs that they had not played in about 15 years!! Alexisonfire kept the post hardcore train moving quickly with their signature sound that has remained true throughout the years! Underoath closed out the show on day 3 with an intense set featuring hits from their latest record Voyeurist and a catalog of classics from previous records like Define the Great Line. Chants from the crowd singing their lyrics throughout the Choctaw stadium was awe-inspiring.
So What for me this year was a celebration of all things music within the heart of Texas and I’m truly confident that with the success of this 2022 festival, it will return with an even stronger lineup next year!
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