December 2021

On day one of Welcome to Rockville, a new environment saw hours of new and old school thrills to start the weekend party off. This is the first time the festival has been at the infield of Daytona Inter- national Speedway, and fans were worried about how the new site would hold up. However, the grounds, while being de- cently sized, were not overwhelming and contained a ton of fun things to see and do. The main focus of the day though was on what everyone came for, the bands. Photo by Tyler Church, Danny Wimmer Presents Kicking off the show was Spiritbox. An up-and-coming metal group with a mas- sive debut feature-length album, Eternal Blue, this band has been making waves across rock radio for the past two years. With singer Courtney LaPlante, the group took the stage at 2:40 for a 30-min- ute set that got the crowd pumping. Small mosh pits started to form during Circle With Me and Holy Roller, the two songs they closed their set with, and the band provided a ton of energy for their slot. Photo by Keith Koenig, Danny Wimmer Presents After Spiritbox was Grandson, a sing- er-songwriter who is known for his unique blend of rock and EDM. Sport- ing a short, curly haircut, he provided a major dose of energy that got the crowd jumping along with him. Grandson’s set ended in spectacular fashion as well, as he ripped off his shirt, gave a short po- litical speech about what he believes but how “it doesn’t matter in the crowd be- cause everyone can come together”, and launched into his biggest hit, Blood//Wa- ter. Photo by Steve Thrasher, Danny Wimmer Presents Rockville 2021, Daytona Beach FL Written by Sully Smith 16