Kid Rock Closes Out The Final Day at Northern Invasion

Photos by David Rubene

 

Well folks, festival season has begun. I hope you stocked up on sunscreen, energy drinks, and money for overpriced everything! Buckle up and brace yourself for a bumpy, exhilarating, and exhausting ride!

Sunday started off early with my photographer picking me up as I was still nursing my hangover from the Rock the Boat show. We drove the hour out to Somerset, WI and parked in the super exclusive media parking lot with our fancy parking pass. Okay, parking wasn’t glamorous but what happened next was like a dream. We walked past the group of people who had gathered near the gate and walked right into the empty festival grounds. It was eerily creepy but made me feel like a true rockstar. Dave (photo extraordinaire) showed me around the grounds. He showed me all of the vital spots like the Fireball Whiskey tent and the VIP bar that I had access to. As we made our way around the grounds, he led me up towards the main stage and through a tiny hole in the fence into a modest sized tent full of tables.

I had found myself in the middle of the media tent and it truly felt like I was living the rockstar life. I grabbed the first of many free Monster Energy Drinks from the cooler and just watched all of the podcast and radio guys around me setting up their computers and planning out their days. I didn’t want to get in anyone’s way so I made my way back out to the grounds just in time to see people flooding in. I headed towards one of the smaller stages to see some of the first bands of the day but before I knew it, it was 11:45 and it was time for me to do my first “real” interview of the day and of all time. More on that interview to come!

As I recovered from the nerves of doing my first interview and let the adrenaline settle, I made my way back out to the crowd and spent the rest of the day bouncing between stages and the media tent and just taking it all in. I got to see bands I had seen countless times and bands that I never thought I’d see or even wanted to see. There were highlights, low-lights and everything in-between.

St Croix Stage

Gojira, Fozzy, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Bleeker, Sylar, Badflower, Cold Kingdom

Stillwater Stage

Amon Amarth, Opeth, Attila, Radkey, Goodbye June, The Charm The Fury

Monster Energy Main Stage

Kid Rock, The Offspring, Papa Roach, Alter Bridge, Nothing More, Motionless In White, Starset

I was able to catch Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes just as Frank was making jokes about gingers needing to be careful out in the sun since “we are a dying breed”. I got to see the epicness that is Amon Amarth, a viking metal band from Sweden and couldn’t help but giggle a little bit as I listened to Papa Roach playing through songs that took me back to the age of 13. I watched as The Offspring played through songs that my brother and I associate with different video games from growing up and finished off the night being truly impressed by Kid Rock.

The crowd seemed to share my sentiment of being completely lost in a sea of wonderment throughout the day. Even though it was a festival, there was still a very “small town feel” to it. Some people were laid out on the grass taking cat naps throughout the day and roasting to a crisp while others had staked their spot towards the front of the main stage and weren’t going to leave come hell or high water. The crowd seemed much older than I had anticipated but don’t let that fool you into think they were lame. The mosh pits were extreme and the clouds of dust rising from in front of the stages were huge.

Yesterday was one of those days where I felt like a complete rockstar and I loved absolutely every second of it. I got to do my first legit interview with a band. I got to hang out in the coveted “media tent” and got to see far too many bands to list. It was perfection.

It’s festival season. I’m currently taking donations of sunscreen, energy drinks, coffee, and money so I can keep up!