The Florida sun brought-in the scorching heat once again on Saturday, but that didn’t stop thousands of festivalgoers from flooding the Daytona International Speedway for a day filled with electric performances from both rock and metal heavyweights.
Metalcore brought the energy early with Sleep Theory, Emmure, and Escape The Fate, followed by Of Mice & Men and Sleeping With Sirens. Other notable acts included pop-punk’s Real Friends, “The Reason” stars of Hoobastank, and the Christian metal band P.O.D.
The emo icons of Taking Back Sunday took the stage, and unlike their appearance at Las Vegas’ When We Were Young fest, they made sure to bring the nostalgia, kicking things off with the 2004 classic “A Decade Under The Influence.”
“It’s an absolute pleasure and privilege to be with you today because there are some things I needed to work out,” frontman Adam Lazzara told the crowd. “I’ve been home for too long.”
The group performed during peak hours of the sun, and staff began spraying-down the crowd with hoses to cool-off. Despite the splash of water, Lazzara continued to bring the heat, dancing around the stage while simultaneously whipping the mic cord around his neck. They rounded-out the set with 2002’s classic “Cute Without The ‘E’ (Cut From The Team)” and Louder Now‘s “makedamnsure” — the crowd belting out every word.
Rap-metal’s Hollywood Undead kept the energy, telling the crowd, “when I say ‘rock,’ you say ‘ville,” before erupting into Swan Songs‘ “Everywhere I Go.”
Crowds built around the main Apex Stage just before the sun set, and festivalgoers began to chant “Beartooth.” The Caleb Shomo-fronted group walked onstage and cheekily told the audience: “you all know who the f**k we are, and why we are here — to provide you with the craziest night of your fu**ing lives.”
Immediately, the metalcore outfit delved into the fan-favorite “The Lines” off their 2014 debut Disgusting, followed by the hard-hitting 2021 track “Past Is Dead.” Shomo showed-off his vocals with the bubbly-yet-heavy “Sunshine,” followed by their latest single, “ATTN.” He sang multiple songs off 2023’s The Surface, including an emotional rendition of “I Was Alive” and an energetic performance of “Riptide.”
Shomo took it down a notch for just a moment, telling the crowd “this song is for me” before diving into “Might Love Myself” — a positive, self-reflective song.
“Holy shit, this is absolutely batshit crazy, you all know that right?” Shomo told festivalgoers. “Out here playing at the Daytona in a million degrees. This is some dream come true kinda shit.”
He went on to note that “I’m at a loss for words.” Their rockville appearance marked Beartooth’s last show of their North American tour, which he said they’ve had “the most unbelievable experiences out here on the road.”
“Every single time I get on this stage, I feel like the luckiest guy on the planet,” Shomo continued. “And I know that. So truly, all I can say from the bottom of my heart, thank you for sticking by this band, whether it’s been 10 years or 10 minutes.”
He smiled and said, “you know what fu**ing time it is” before erupting into “In Between.” He chanted at the crowd: “Whoa oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh,” asking them to sing it back at different octaves. After a few minutes of antics, he cracked himself up laughing and gave a final “whoa-oh-oh-oh” with no backing instrumentals.
Metalcore’s I Prevail could be heard across the festival grounds, playing an older hit “Hurricane,” their cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space,” and the newer track “Fear of Letting Go” off 2022’s TRUE POWER. Pop-punk’s Bilmuri followed, getting the crowd rowdy with hits off his debut like “ALL GAS” and “Better Hell.”
Dayseeker arrived as the moon shimmered in the sky, sending an emotional riff through the audience while performing the dreamy hit “Crying While You’re Dancing.” Vocalist Rory Rodriguez had everyone in their feels and took a moment to acknowledge their headlining spot.
“Just a [few] years ago, we were traveling the country playing smaller venues and we didn’t think we’d be doing this that much longer,” Rodriguez admitted, noting that “headlining this festival means so much.”
They rounded out their set with “Sleeptalk” and “Neon Grave” — which Rodriguez dedicated to his late father.
Pierce The Veil frontman Vic Fuentes proved emo’s not dead with a passionate performance of Collide With The Sky‘s “May These Noises Startle You In Your Sleep,” followed immediately by “Hell Above.” The group played hits off 2023’s The Jaws of Life, including “Emergency Contact” and “Pass The Nirvana,” but still made sure to head back to their roots, bringing Sleeping With Sirens’ Kellin Quinn onstage for “King For A Day.”
The grounds of the speedway filled with more and more fans, spreading from the front of the main Apex Stage all the way to the front gates as festivalgoers awaited arguably the most anticipated act of the weekend: the reunited Linkin Park.
Shortly after 10 p.m., giant display screens emitted a static sound and lights danced across the stage, presenting the nu-metal icons, now fronted by Dead Sara’s Emily Armstrong. Her voice echoed through the packed crowd, singing the band’s 2003 hit “Somewhere I Belong.” Armstrong showcased her vocal capability while rapper Mike Shinoda released spitfire raps, the two co-singing back and forth.
“I thought maybe you guys would have used up all your energy,” Shinoda told the crowd, referring to the blistering heat, asking: “do you have enough energy for us?”
They dove into “Two Faced” and Armstrong crushed the vocals, belting out, “You should have recognized / It’s too late for choosing sides / Two faced / Caught in the middle” before unleashing screams. While her addition to the band has caused controversy, considering she replaced the late Chester Bennington, who was widely considered as one of the greatest vocalist of the 2000s, she definitely proved herself — and Linkin Park’s decision to add her to their roster.
Shinoda thanked the crowd for their support on their new music and album before catapulting into hit-after-hit, playing a career-spanning set featuring fan-favorites like “Burn It Down,” “One Step Closer,” “What I’ve Done,” “Papercut,” and “Numb,” as well as newer tracks like From Zero‘s “Up From The Bottom,” “The Emptiness Machine,” and “Heavy Is The Crown.”
“On this tour, we’ve had a lot of firsts, a lot of first times, a lot of debuts,” Shinoda said, noting that “we thought tonight could be one,” before performing “Let You Fade” for the first time on-stage.
A twinge of nostalgia danced through the air one final time as Linkin Park’s “Bleed It Out” rang through the speedway, uniting fans under the same words: “I bleed it out / Digging deeper just to throw it away.” After all these years, Linkin Park proved that they’re back. I’m proud to say that I have finally seen them live in-concert — something, along thousands of others, I never thought I’d have the chance to do.
Welcome to Rockville continues Sunday night with a headlining performance from Korn.
