December 2021

The co-headliner of the night came next in rap superstars Cypress Hill. Backed by DJ Lord, who is also from Public Enemy and one of the greatest DJs of all time, the group packed out a full hour par- ty that kept the crowd rolling from one track to the next. Included in their set were covers of Jump Around by House of Pain and their hit How I Could Just Kill A Man which was later covered by Rage Against the Machine, which got the at- tendees dancing and partying with the band. Overall, they put on a high energy set that made the time pass almost instan- taneously. Photo by Steve Thrasher, Danny Wimmer Presents Closing out the night was the almighty Slipknot. Known for their incredibly high-energy music and even crazier con- certs, the band played their last show of the year and the energy in the crowd was truly electric. This was quite a unique performance for the band as The Nine were down to eight, due to percussionist “Clown” Crahan tearing his bicep hitting a keg and missing the show. However, this did not make a difference as the band threw down like never before in his ab- sence. Additionally, given the events the previous weekend at the rap festival As- troworld, singer Corey Taylor encouraged the crowd to remember our fallen broth- ers and that “the first rule of the pit is that if someone falls, you pick them back up”. Despite the extraneous circumstances, the band still brought an epic rager for 75 minutes, culminating in their classic banger “Spit It Out”, where Corey had everyone get down low for the bridge be- fore having the place jump up and erupt into chaos. Photo by Steve Thrasher, Danny Wimmer Presents All in all, day one of Welcome to Rockville was an epic party from start to finish. De- spite the lineup being mostly made up of newer bands, there was truly something for everyone to get the festival going. Rockville will continue through Sunday with epic performances from rock and metal titans yet to come, and at the new location at Daytona International Speed- way, the fun is just beginning. Photo by Tyler Church, Danny Wimmer Presents 18