The best kinds of festivals create not just plenty of opportunities to enjoy the music. Sometimes people want a little escape or a spot to sit for a moment in the heat of the day and in between catching their favorite artists. The Aftershock Festival has turned up the heat for this part of their expansion in the last year. We thought we’d break down a few of them for you before we prepare for the final day of the festival.
We can’t fail to mention Aftershock without also bringing up a convenient way to get here. This year, the festival is featuring a Park & Ride Shuttle from Cal-Expo. Fans mention not only the convenience but the price value: “I can never NOT use this shuttle ever again,” they said, after mentioning the friendly bus drivers, the cool air inside of the vehicle, and the convenience of easy access to parking before they hop on.
And as it’s day three already, we hopped onto the grounds bright and early to catch Emery and ivri. We’ll be sharing more about our favorites of the weekend soon, but by the time the sets were complete, the sun was beating down and shade and hydration was required.
We mentioned the Point Stage and the sports bar in our day one recap, where you can catch Sunday’s NFL game when not watching a set; but for those not wishing to make the trek to the river to cool down don’t have to! Pretty much between each of the stages is a spot to sit back and escape from the heat.
We stopped into a couple of the most prominent features in the park this year: the popup bars; all of which have full interiors and themes. There’s the Tremors Bar, which is a full-on dive bar, and they nailed this aesthetic with dark unassuming exterior wall graffiti, dim-lit interior glittered with lights on the ceiling, seating, and a foosball table. The highlighted special on the menu features a $3 pickle back and a whole selection of drinks. Closer to the Epicenter and the Shockwave Stage is the Jungle Bird bar: a perfect recreation of a Tiki bar. It featured one of the day’s most popular attractions in the triple digit weather: nice, cool air, and drink specials that
After meeting some new friends inside these little getaways, we rushed over to the Aftershock stage to catch Sleeping with Sirens to catch some of our favorite emo hits and hear their newest album live for the first time. The band has now been to the festival a few times; and now, it’s become a tradition for us at this point to see their set. And luckily, the heat of the day gave us a short break with more shade and a cool Delta Breeze that started pouring in.
After the set, we continued to wander the grounds. Aftershock features many charitable stands, including longtime installment: To Write Love On Her Arms, a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide.
Another highlight was the Take Me Home non-profit; who is a volunteer-based foundation that has been saving the lives of homeless animals since 2001. They work in conjunction with shelters and rescues throughout the world to help save animals on death row, on the streets or in unsafe living conditions. The team is driven by love, compassion and doing right by innocent animals who have no voice. As with any non-profit, they rely solely on funds from generous and cherished supporters to keep saving lives. Fans can donate here or stop by the booth on the festival grounds to support this amazing movement.
We couldn’t not catch the Chiodos set, where we learned that There’s No Penguins In Alaska. Craig Owens’ voice is one-of-a-kind, and has always gotten us out of our seats to experience that energy.
Lastly, we couldn’t fail to mention Aftershock’s newest addition (to us, at least): the tattoo booth! WanderInk Tattoo Studio has propped up a mobile tattoo parlor within the grounds; and what’s a better way to commemorate the weekend to memory?
Day three was a hot one, but we filled our day with some great music and a few extra experiences along the way. Stay tuned for more coverage as we gear up for the final day of Aftershock.
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