The 12th edition of Rock On The Range in 2018 will end up being the last.
Danny Wimmer Presents announced Friday that a new festival will rise in place of the long-running rock music festival. Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival will be held at MAPFRE Stadium May 17-19 next spring.
The death of Rock On The Range seems to stem from a disagreement with business partners AEG.
“I am so proud of what we accomplished with Rock On The Range, and we couldn’t have done it without our partnership with AEG,” said Danny Wimmer via press release. “When we started Rock On The Range, there was no other festival in America quite like it but recently it became clear that we had different visions of where to take the festival next.
“The city of Columbus and our devoted rock fans deserve a one-of-a-kind, world-class festival, and that is exactly what Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival will bring to MAPFRE Stadium.”
Rock On The Range is one of the better known rock and metal festivals in the United States, playing host to bands such as Metallica, Soundgarden, Slipknot, Tool, Stone Sour, A Day To Remember, Shinedown, Halestorm and many others over its 12-year existence.
The festival spawned numerous clones as well over the years, including Carolina Rebellion, Welcome to Rockville and others.
Sonic Temple isn’t the only new addition coming to the DWP lineup. Chicago Open Air returns to Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Il. under a new name – A Day In The Park – held the same weekend as Sonic Temple.Welcome to Rockville will take place at Metropolitan Park in Jacksonville May 3-5.
A brand new festival in North Carolina will also be announced soon, scheduled to take play May 10-12 in Rockingham. This festival will follow a European style in which the show can go on all night.
Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless performs at Rock On The Range in 2015. Damien Dennis/The Pit
“This is an exciting time at DWP and in the music festival business,” Wimmer said. “Over the next two years, we will be making a series of major steps that are designed to push the U.S. rock festival market forward. This is the first of those announcements.”
“I believe that the festival market is at a major inflection point,” he added. “The proliferation of music festivals has been good for competition and caused promoters to aggressively pursue expanded entertainment and enhanced experiences. At festivals like Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life, for example, we have been able, and will continue, to rise to the challenge and push the boundaries in food programs, wine and spirits offerings, art installations and all of the other things that fans have come to expect. This growth is essential for rock festivals to hold their own against our cousins in other genres. We are about to embark on the next generation of rock festivals this spring.”
While the music community will surely miss Rock On The Range, it seems as though it has only died in name alone as DWP plans to continue putting on quality festivals and improving upon the experience for years to come.
The Pit Media really made it’s name in music coverage in large part due to Rock On The Range. Those bands, promoters, crew and fans have felt like family to us for the past six years of coverage and we can’t wait to make Sonic Temple our new home away from home!
