Aftershock 2022 concludes with Muse, The Pretty Reckless, and bands you need to know

On Sunday, the 9th, the final day of the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, the capital of the state of California, in the United States. With its first edition held in 2012, the event has been growing rapidly year after year in duration, attractions, and audience.

Coming from a third day that, for me, was the weakest in terms of attractions, the fourth day was quite interesting and a great ending to the whole event. It seemed to me that the lineup for this last day was more diverse overall. Whether in the styles and subgenres of rock on each stage, in the large number of women leading or completely forming the bands, or even in the artists' country of origin, the closing day stood out for its diversity.

Not that the previous days hadn't offered glimpses of these possibilities, but wandering back and forth between the four stages of Aftershock 2022 , the feeling of hearing and seeing truly different things was even stronger at the end of the festival.

We started the day with the punk/garage sound of the quartet The Bobby Lees , which features a woman leading the vocals and another on bass, just to highlight what I said about diversity. The band formed in 2018, but people of the caliber of Iggy Pop and Henry Rollins praising them. Their sound is dirty and heavy. Vocalist Sam Quartin infuses each word with feeling, be it anger, despair, or whatever might be most appropriate to what she's singing at the moment.

Bloodywood , who had already caught our attention at the Louder Than Life a few weeks earlier, surprised us even more, undoubtedly being the act that drew the biggest crowd to the smaller stage, the DW Presents Stage , at the grueling time of 1:20 PM. The band started out playing metal covers of Indian and international pop songs, later evolving into original material, with references like Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down , and a very current discourse on (you guessed it) diversity. A lot of heaviness with the feel of Indian music's sound and rhythm. We chatted with some band members after the show, and they were over the moon about the North American tour and all the attention they're receiving, as well as the opportunity to see and interact with many artists who may never even come to India to perform. It was great talking to them.

Our last and quite diverse day also brought big names like The Pretty Reckless, Black Label Society, Shinedown , and Muse , all with their guaranteed following (see gallery at the end of the post), but I'll prefer to highlight some other artists less known to the international public who certainly deserve attention. Let's take a look at them:

The Warning : a trio of Mexican sisters who have toured with Halestorm and have a bit of the same "old-school" rockstar vibe that I described to Lzzy Hale the other day . They have a lot of confidence and personality on stage, despite their young age, ranging from 22 to 17 years old.

The Alive : another trio, this time of boys, with raw talent to spare and also a young age. Even younger than the girls from The Warning. Here, the members of the trio are between 14 and 17 years old. Their sound and look seem straight out of early 90s MTV, in the best grunge tradition of the time. They are still somewhat shy on stage and some technical problems with the frontman Bastian Evans didn't help much, but nothing that ruined the show.

Amigo The Devil : Danny Kiranos , with a show that blends elements of folk and country music with heavy metal, among other things. Plenty of dark humor and a lot of emotion. We spoke with Danny in the press area and he was nothing short of pleasant and interesting. I recommend checking out his work.

Jared James Nichols : more in the vein of 1970s hard rock and blues, the singer and guitarist performs in a power trio format. With a strong stage presence, Jared is a sight to behold. A big, strong guy with a vast head of wavy blond hair, the Gibson Les Paul looks like a ukulele in his hands, but the sound that comes out of it has nothing to do with the sound of one.

Band-Maid : A Japanese all-girl band that performs dressed as maids, like those in Japanese maid cafes, contrasting the heavy, fast guitar sound with the delicate and subservient image that cosplay costumes can evoke.

The Interrupters : a lighter break, so to speak, in the day's lineup, thanks to the ska/punk of this Los Angeles band. Good humor and a cheerful atmosphere, without losing energy. Oh, and another band with a woman at the helm.

And that was the last day of our first Aftershock . It was hot, sweaty, and noisy, but seasoned with plenty of Jack Daniels, Coca-Cola, and lots of cool people, both on and off stage. We'll try to come back!

Don't forget to check out the coverage of the first day, with Slipknot , and the second day, closed by Kiss , and the third day, which featured Papa Roach and My Chemical Romance .

See the gallery from our contributor Rafael Beck with the best moments from the fourth and final day of Aftershock 2022 below (swipe to the side to see the photos or click here if you are not seeing the photo gallery ).

Alive at the Aftershock 2022 festival. Credit: Rafael Beck

Categories: Photo Gallery, News, Reviews

Gui Beck