After a long four-year hiatus, Sonic Temple Art and Musical Festival returned to Columbus with a massive four-day lineup and excitement.
First and foremost, WELCOME BACK RANGERS! Yes, its Sonic temple, but we will always be known as Rangers for life. The festival returned to Historic Crew Stadium after a COVID-19-induced hiatus, last hosting back in 2019. There were lots of changes, some good and some bad, so lets dive right into it shall we?
Starting with the layout. The stadium has gone through some upgrades and changes throughout the years, so needless to say, the festival layout had to change. They utilized more of the parking lot in the front of the stadium, which I actually enjoyed. Getting into the festival was a breeze. All general admission pass holders had one entrance at the far right but it was so wide, we never waited longer than a minute to get in. There was a separate medical entrance and an entrance for VIP/campers, making entry smooth and stress free. Once inside, you were greeted by a wide open area where you can start to roam and make your way around. Unlike previous years, where they utilized the stadiums built in gates for entry, this way made it less congested and easier to navigate once inside.
The right side of the festival grounds hosted most of the food and drink options and like previous years, was also home to the larger of the 2 side stages. This year it was the Octane stage, which I will dive deeper into later.
Moving on to the left side of the layout, you had the Soundwave stage and more concession options. Since my first year attending in 2015, I honestly must stay, this was my favorite layout so far. I was skeptical at first when they released the map. I was picturing it in my head, trying to figure out how it would work, but after being there all four days, I really enjoyed it. It was easy to move around and navigate where I wanted to go.
For those that know me, hell, even ones that don’t, you can tell I love food. There was never a shortage of food options this year. I honestly believe this year was the best for food selections for attendees. Shoot, they even had two local food trucks parked right in the middle. Unfortunately, I was never able to make it to either the pizza truck or hot dog truck because the lines were easily the longest all weekend long, aside from the fan favorite, Island Noodles. They had options for everyone and their diet needs. I’m talking different pizza options, gyros, poke bowls, rice bowls, giant turkey legs, and plenty more options. If you were watching your health, you were covered. If you weren’t, you were covered. Want something small or light so you don’t feel bloated in the blazing sun? They had you covered. This years festival thought about everyone and their hunger needs.
Now lets move onto the booze. You had your usual beer selections consisting of Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra and maybe a couple others but I stuck mostly to the all-American classic of Budweiser. With Tool and Puscifer playing, of course Maynard James Keenan had his wine, Caduceus Cellars, set up. I have yet to try it. Sticking with bands and their alcohol brands, Metallica (not playing) had their Blackened Whiskey set up. I did happen to try it and well, it’s a whiskey, I will leave it at that. There was a Cutwater stand as well as a Beatbox stand which I believe had the greatest stand of any. If you’re unfamiliar with Beatbox, they are alcoholic drinks in cardboard containers with an alcohol content of around 10-12%. They had people flowing to their stand as they had beer pong, giant Jenga, cornhole and a giant chalk board for you to leave your signature. Outside of beer, I saw more people drinking these than anything else throughout the four days.
Since there is “Art” in the festival name, I would love to talk a lot about it but unfortunately, compared to the inaugural Sonic Temple in 2019, this year was a major step down in that area. I did see a few artists stands set up but they were almost hidden and away from everything else. In 2019, they had live artists each day doing their own artwork along with many stands set up for you to browse and purchase from them. As I said, I would love to talk more about it, but it just seemed they were lacking. My wife was excited as she is huge into that stuff but even she was pretty disappointed. I would suggest to DWP for 2024 bring back live artists so fans can experience their talent firsthand and just have them be even more creative in a live setting.
Now, lets dive into the meat and potatoes of the weekend: the music.
This year was the first year the festival was four days, and on Memorial Day weekend. This most definitely benefited myself as well as plenty of others, as I don’t work holidays.
Beartooth plays the Temple Stage at Sonic Temple on May 25, 2023. (Steve Thrasher/DWP)
DAY 1
Sonic Temple 2023 started off with the news that Fever 333 had to drop off last minute. I’m still not entirely sure why, but it was a major letdown for many. I know I wanted to see where Jason Butler was taking the project after previous members parted ways. Other bands on the bill for the day included headliners Tool, along with Godsmack, Bullet for my Valentine closing out the Octane Stage, Suicidal Tendencies closing out the Soundwave stage, Anti-Flag, Pennywise, Beartooth and plenty more. Of those mentioned, Beartooth was easily my favorite (I’m also biased) This was a hometown show for them and they were able to bring their full pyro set up. I watched a video of lead singer, Caleb Shomo, saying how shocked he’s been at seeing the reaction from fans with their new song “Sunshine.” Yes Caleb, that song is amazing and that crowd sang every lyric at the top of their lungs right along with you. One of the more interesting bands and honestly, the coolest performance, was Bloodywood. Those dudes are coming from New Delhi, India and man can they perform. If you haven’t checked them out, do yourself a solid and do it.
Sleeping With Sirens closes out the Soundwave Stage on May 26 at Sonic Temple. (Nathan Zucker/DWP)
Day 2
The second day consisted of Avenged Sevenfold, Queens of the Stone Age, Chevelle, Knocked Loose, Band-Maid and much more. This day was my early day. We ended up leaving after Sleeping With Sirens closed out the Soundwave stage. Why you ask? I was wrecked from day 1 plus I will be seeing Avenged Sevenfold this summer on their own headlining tour where I can provide a full review from that. This day was interesting. Band-Maid, much like Bloodywood, come from afar to be with us and those ladies did not disappoint. I’m also sure you’ve heard of Knocked Loose by now. Those dudes are growing like the unwanted weeds in my yard. While I’m not a big fan of them, I can see why people flock like seagulls to catch their show. They have tremendous energy on stage and their fans are diehard. The one negative to this day, after watching both Chevelle and QOTSA, I whole heartedly believe Chevelle should have played the later slot. There was such a big difference in crowd size for both bands that it was clear who fans preferred to see. That’s not to take away from Josh Homme and his band, they sound great, but there was about half the number of fans there.
KISS closes out Day 3 of Sonic Temple on May 27. (Steve Thrasher/DWP)
Day 3
Saturday I spent a good time hanging out in the parking lot with friends drinking beers, people watching and interacting with other fans walking around. I finally went in to make sure I was there for Atilla. I’ve seen Fronz and those dudes numerous times and they are always a fun set to watch. Immediately after Atilla, were the dudes of Trivium. I have been a fan of them since the very beginning. I even lied to my parents to go check them out at Harpos in Detroit. At the time, my parents wouldn’t let me go to the historical venue, but I just had to see Trivium. There were maybe 50 people there and to see how far they’ve come is a wonderful site to see. I will always support these guys. Next band up for me, and the one I was most excited for, was Senses Fail. They bring a lot of really good memories to me, so I made sure to get to their set early and catch the whole thing. The biggest disappointment of the weekend? It was also Senses Fail. I don’t usually like to bash on bands or bring any negativity to them, but man, Buddy was just not good. I don’t know if he was intoxicated (which I get) or just really caught up in the moment, but I’m pretty sure my singing in the shower sounds better than his cleans did. There were also times were the band as a whole just sounded out of sync and it ruined the whole vibe for me. I’m sorry guys, I will always support you but man, that was just not enjoyable. Of course I had to catch the great Rob Zombie. I’ve seen him live plenty of times and the dude still sounds so good and provides so much energy. Moving over to the closer of the Octane stage was Puscifer. Now, let me get this out of the way, I have never heard a single song from them. Why? Well I honestly don’t have an answer for that but I do know a lot of people enjoy them and I wish I knew why. I stayed for three songs and I just don’t get it. I enjoy Tool. I enjoy A Perfect Circle. But MJK and his third band? Not for me. Closing out the night was the one and only, KISS. I had to stay. I couldn’t leave. I grew up a massive KISS fan and I had to show my wife and the owner of this site how deep it goes. It was fantastic. I enjoyed every minute of their set. From “Love Gun” to “Cold Gin” and watching Gene Simmons to his traditional blood pour out of his mouth before going into “God of Thunder,” it just brought back so many good memories.
Deftones’ popularity was on full display during their set on the Temple Stage on the final day of Sonic Temple. (Steve Thrasher/DWP)
Day 4
The fourth and final day of Sonic Temple was easily the busiest. Of course, a majority of fans were there for the Foo Fighters, but there were other fantastic bands on this day. The day started off for me watching Nothing More on the main stage. Those dudes deserve to play every year and deserve to play later. They sound so amazing live and their energy is as high as the sky. I quickly moved over to the Octane stage to check Ayron Jones. If you want some good ole fashioned rock n roll, this is your man. I watched him break his guitar string, fix it, tune it, all while still singing and not skipping a beat. This was a busy day as we jumped right back to main stage to check out The Pretty Reckless. Another amazing performance. I took a break to hydrate and eat some food before attempting to go over to see Filter on the Soundwave stage. I lost track of time and got there a little late and that was a mistake. Filter easily had the largest crowd on the stage for the entire weekend. Its good to see them still rocking hard and pulling fans from everywhere. Other bands on my list were Awolnation and Deftones before waiting patiently for The Foo. What can I say about Dave Grohl and his band that hasn’t been said? Nothing. They’re easily one of the greatest rock bands to exist. I did tear up twice during their set. Once when they introduced John Freese and then again during “My Hero.” I saw them back in 2019 at Sonic Temple and this year, as Dave said himself, was different for different reasons. You can never go wrong with seeing those guys live.
I will end by saying this, although the art was lacking and the lineup was not the greatest in the years this festival has been in Columbus, Sonic Temple 2023 did not disappoint. I did have a lot of fun with my wife and closest friends. What I would like to see for next year, is a lot more up and coming bands added. Bands like Jinjer, Sleep Token, Turnstile, Hardy, Knuckle Puck, Neck Deep, the list can go on and on. This is now an Art and Music festival so bringing in other genres of music would be wonderful thing to see. More pop punk, more hip hop, more classic rock and alternative. I have zero doubts DWP will make sure 2024 is even bigger and better than this year after all the positive feedback I have seen.
Until then, see you next year Rangers!
