capsule/gemlog/the-end-of-an-era-furnace-fest-2024.gmi

My wife and I recently celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary by attending Furnace Fest[1], a 3-day hardcore/metal music festival at Sloss Furnaces[2] in the Metal Iron City, Birmingham, Alabama.

=> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furnace_Fest 1: Furnace Fest
=> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloss_Furnaces 2: Sloss Furnaces

A large industrial complex features towering rust-colored structures, including a water tower labeled "SLOSS" in bold letters. Multiple smokestacks rise against a sunset sky, with a large crane arm visible in the foreground.[1]

=> https://bear-images.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/jbowdre/mp-edit-1-1.webp 1: A large industrial complex features towering rust-colored structures, including a water tower labeled "SLOSS" in bold letters. Multiple smokestacks rise against a sunset sky, with a large crane arm visible in the foreground.

Attending this festival was pretty special for my wife and I. Not only did it take place on the weekend of our wedding anniversary, but it was also a redemption of a sort after the disaster that was last year's Blue Ridge Rock Fest[1]. We had such a negative experience there that we weren't sure we'd *ever* be ready for another festival. But we decided to give Furnace Fest a try when we saw that Emery[2] would be performing.

=> https://loudwire.com/blue-ridge-rock-festival-2023-disaster-photos-videos/ 1: Blue Ridge Rock Fest
=> https://emerymusic.com/ 2: Emery

You see, several years before we got married, she and I drove to see Emery play in Nashville. We didn't realize it at the time, but that was just the first of many shows we'd see together - and, in fact, that show kind of marked the start of our relationship even though we didn't really start "going steady" until some time later. So the chance to see Emery again on our anniversary? Yeah, we jumped at that.

This year's Furnace Fest was special for a lot of other folks, too, as the festival has some history of its own. The first Furnace Fest was in 2000 and it ran annually for four years, hosting a number of established and emerging punk, metal, and hardcore performers and attracting scene kids from all around. Some shakeups happened and the festival died off after 2003, but the original organizers brought it back to life in 2021 and resumed the annual schedule. Many of the emerging artists who had gotten their start playing at small festivals like Furnace Fest in those earlier years were now properly established bands who returned to play the new iteration of the festival, and the now-grown scene kids adults came back to head bang with their friends from high school.

For many, Furnace Fest was as much about the community of music enthusiasts as it was the music itself (as this very shouty Reddit user can attest[1], and that's a pretty unique thing within the world of music festivals these days.

=> https://www.reddit.com/r/FurnaceFest/comments/1fzuxl7/my_furnace_fest_experience/) 1: very shouty Reddit user can attest

All good things must come to an end, though, and the organizers revealed that their plan had been to revive the festival for four years to match its four-year run from twenty years ago. Furnace Fest 2024 would be "The End of an Era". Many of the bands who performed at that first Furnace Fest 24 years ago returned to close things out, and several of those bands were celebrating anniversaries of their own. We knew it was going to be a special time.

We weren't really sure what to expect when we showed up on Friday afternoon. On the first day at Blue Ridge, we sat in traffic for 1.5 hours to get into the parking lot, then waited in the sun for another 1.5 hours to get on a bus which carried us to the festival grounds and deposited us in *another* hour-long line to get in the gate. At Furnace Fest, though, it took us maybe ten minutes to travel from the highway to the onsite parking lot and another ten to get through the gate. Five minutes later we had filled our water bottles and were able to start checking out the performances at the three stages set up on the site. Furnace Fest was a much smaller festival than Blue Ridge to be sure, but also seemed to be so much better organized and managed.

It was so cool getting to meander between the stages and hear music from bands we've loved and discover new stuff from groups we hadn't met yet. There were a bunch of great punk acts at the smaller stage next to the spray pond, tons of epic metal breakdowns happening in the concrete and metal "The Shed", and some bigger acts playing in a field on the other side of the property. If we weren't into what we were hearing in one place, we just had to walk five minutes to another spot to get something completely different.

A crowd gathers near a concert stage sponsored by Monster Energy in an industrial park setting. Water fountains spray from a pool in the foreground, and tents and equipment are visible in the background.[1]

=> https://bear-images.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/jbowdre/mp-1.webp 1: A crowd gathers near a concert stage sponsored by Monster Energy in an industrial park setting. Water fountains spray from a pool in the foreground, and tents and equipment are visible in the background.

Speaking of different, we noticed something kind of wild even early on that first day: unlike every other show and festival we'd been to in the past 15+ years, there weren't any barricades in front of these stages, nor were there rows of security goons up front trying to keep things from getting rowdy. Throughout the weekend we watched hundreds of fans surf/push their way to the front of the crowd, climb up on stage, bump fists with a performer, and dive back onto the crowd. Over and over. It was insane - and insanely cool seeing how well everyone involved took care of each other. Sure, there were a handful of injuries (concussions, broken ankles, lots of bruises and bloody noses from moshing mishaps), but honestly we saw more medical emergencies in the one half-day we were at Blue Ridge (without any stage diving) than in the full weekend run at Furnace Fest.

Our highlight from that first day was definitely being near the front of the crowd in The Shed as Emery celebrated the 20-year anniversary of their debut album The Weak's End[1] by playing that entire album as well as some of their older, heavier stuff.

=> https://musicthread.app/link/2nGBIX3fXKNzyrbCtarxn0TEXVA 1: The Weak's End

A crowded outdoor music concert under a large metal industrial-style pavilion. A rock band performs on stage, with musicians playing guitars and drums. The audience is packed tightly in front of the stage, many wearing casual clothing and hats. Someone in the crowd is holding up a phone to record the performance. The open-air venue shows trees and sunlight visible beyond the structure.[1]

=> https://bear-images.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/jbowdre/pxl_20241004_221043806-1.webp 1: A crowded outdoor music concert under a large metal industrial-style pavilion. A rock band performs on stage, with musicians playing guitars and drums. The audience is packed tightly in front of the stage, many wearing casual clothing and hats. Someone in the crowd is holding up a phone to record the performance. The open-air venue shows trees and sunlight visible beyond the structure.

Emery is kind of an emo/screamo band, and shouting out their weighty lyrics with hundreds of other fans in the industrial venue was pretty emotional for us. (Allegedly they had told the festival organizers that they would only perform at Furnace Fest if they could play in The Shed while the sun was setting - and boy did Furnace Fest deliver!) Their performance[1] was so powerful despite the band members being (as one of their merch shirts proclaimed) Emo Men Entering Retirement Years. It was so special getting to see them play this album which we had both independently fallen in love with years before we even met.

=> https://youtu.be/V0DkfGUBZE0?si=UsXqDz_I8VT9VZK9 1: performance

On Saturday, I really enjoyed getting to jam out with Catch 22 by the pond.

An outdoor concert at dusk. A large stage with 'Monster Energy' branding overhead features a band performing. The ensemble includes guitarists, a drummer, vocalists, and notably, horn players (2 trombones, a trumpet, and a saxophone). The stage is equipped with professional lighting rigs. A dense crowd fills the foreground, many holding up phones to record. The audience is diverse, wearing casual clothing and hats. In the background, trees and a partly cloudy sky are visible[1]

=> https://bear-images.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/jbowdre/mp-1-1.webp 1: An outdoor concert at dusk. A large stage with 'Monster Energy' branding overhead features a band performing. The ensemble includes guitarists, a drummer, vocalists, and notably, horn players (2 trombones, a trumpet, and a saxophone). The stage is equipped with professional lighting rigs. A dense crowd fills the foreground, many holding up phones to record. The audience is diverse, wearing casual clothing and hats. In the background, trees and a partly cloudy sky are visible

I hadn't seen an in-person ska show since high school and this one was really fun. It was kind of wild hearing all these loud horns at a metal festival, but at the same time the band waas bringing the same kind of energy that was happening elsewhere at the festival so it wasn't *that* strange. I also got to enjoy more ska later in the evening when Five Iron Frenzy played the same stage. I hadn't listened to those guys since high school so that was a real blast from the past for me.

Underoath took the main stage to close out the festival on Sunday night, and we kind-of-accidentally found ourselves in the thick of the crowd just a few layers back from the large (and ever growing) circle pit. We don't usually like to be that close (and surrounded by that many people) but we knew this performance was going to be special and didn't want to be on the periphery. Underoath's album They're Only Chasing Safety[1] turned 20 this year so they played through that album[2] and a bunch of other favorites. As their set drew to the close, vocalist Spencer Chamberlain casually mentioned that the next few minutes would be the last-ever opportunity for fans to take the stage at Furnace Fest...

=> https://musicthread.app/link/2nGBIU4xa4zIUufTKCftFqPy8EE 1: They're Only Chasing Safety
=> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvJaA7Y9GAM 2: played through that album

A dramatic concert scene at night. The stage is bathed in intense blue lighting with spotlights, strobes, and laser effects. The most striking feature is a large group of audience members who have climbed onto the stage. They're holding the vocalist aloft above their heads as he continues to perform. This creates a chaotic, energetic scene on stage. The rest of the crowd is densely packed, with many hands raised and phones out to capture the moment. The foreground shows the backs of heads and raised arms of audience members. Stage equipment and partial 'FURNACE FEST' signage are visible at the top. The image captures an extraordinary moment of audience participation and the raw energy of the performance.[1]

=> https://bear-images.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/jbowdre/mp2-1.webp 1: A dramatic concert scene at night. The stage is bathed in intense blue lighting with spotlights, strobes, and laser effects. The most striking feature is a large group of audience members who have climbed onto the stage. They're holding the vocalist aloft above their heads as he continues to perform. This creates a chaotic, energetic scene on stage. The rest of the crowd is densely packed, with many hands raised and phones out to capture the moment. The foreground shows the backs of heads and raised arms of audience members. Stage equipment and partial 'FURNACE FEST' signage are visible at the top. The image captures an extraordinary moment of audience participation and the raw energy of the performance.

I think the audience picked up on the subtle hint.

It was an epic conclusion to an epic weekend, and now I just *really* wish that I had attended a Furnace Fest before this one. It was a truly special experience.

=> https://srsbsns.lol/the-end-of-an-era-furnace-fest-2024/ 📡 Originally posted on srsbsns.lol