Over the course of four days, 210,000 fans from all 50 states and more than 30 countries descended on Welcome to Rockville for its 15th year at Daytona International Speedway. Florida weather did everything it could to shut the weekend down. Friday brought a two-and-a-half-hour thunderstorm delay. Saturday sent fans scrambling for cover. Sunday triggered yet another evacuation warning. Nobody left. They waited it out in the grandstands, in parking lots, and inside their cars, then walked straight back through the gates the second they reopened.
By the end of the weekend, the storms felt less like interruptions and more like part of the story. Fans and artists pushed through every delay to deliver one of the strongest Rockville editions to date, with sets from Guns N' Roses, Foo Fighters, Bring Me the Horizon, and My Chemical Romance. Sunday closed with Gerard Way leading tens of thousands through “Welcome to the Black Parade” with the kind of command that only comes from understanding exactly what a song means to the people screaming every word back at you.
“This lineup is more than a booking decision,” said Danny Wimmer. “It’s what keeps this genre alive and moving forward.”
Check out the photos below from the weekend.
Photo courtesy of Guns N Roses
Foo Fighters by Steve Thrasher
Godsmack by Nathan Zucker
Black Label Society by Steve Thrasher
Amon Amarth by Justin James
Castle Rat By Dan Virchow
The Offspring by Nathan Zucker
Bloodywood by Nathan Zucker
Bring Me The Horizon by Steve Thrasher
My Chemical Romance by Steve Thrasher
Photo by Sam Shapiro
