Now this is a festival that I can really sink my Hard Rock and Metal teeth into because it has so many bands that I have loved for many a year. Presenting oh legions of The Metal Republic, “The M3 Festival for 2014!!!!” The poster lines out the roster and its a solid one for sure.
The two day festival will hit the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland and take over the town on April 29th and 30th. There are two non-overlapping stages which means you don’t need to rush off before one band ends to see the start of another. There is also a Festival Village which will likely be the home for the merchandise and signing booths. Let’s get a better look at the roster for this years event.
Full Performer Roster: Kix, Extreme, Lita Ford, Winger, Tesla, Night Ranger, Sebastian Bach, Queensryche, Stryper, Slaughter, L.A. Guns, Jack Russell’s Great White, Autograph, Jake E. :ee’s Red Dragon Cartel, Femme Fatale, John Corabi and Heaven’s Edge.
Tickets are available now so get yours before it sells out. My hope is to actually attend this year which is something that I have not been able to do thus far based on scheduling. I’ve attended and reported on no less than a dozen of these bands on the website and think it will be a blast to watch them all rock out on the same massive event.
Keep up with the happenings for the festival via their official website and know that you can also find their social networks there as well. So what are your thoughts on this one?
Official Website: http://m3rock.webs.com/
Outside of Jake e lee and maybe Queensryche…Most of these groups are washed up Hair Metal bands. This is why we could never compete with the festivals in Europe. We do things second best. So many bands out there and they constantly go to the same bands with one or no original members. M3, Monsters of Rock Cruise and the rest of our larger festivals all have the same bands.
I went 2 years ago and had a great time with a reunited Ratt and Queensryche headlining and a loaded bill that included Skid Row, Warrant, and Quiet Riot underneath. Yeah, not the original singers but still a good line-up for a hair metal festival. But the line-up last year was just awful, and this year’s is a bit better but still not nearly as good as 2 years ago. You can see most of these bands play small venues for $20, so it’s a bit hard to justify the price of tickets, gas, and hotel to do it again, but one day I might return. Tesla headlining just doesn’t do it for me, and I’ve seen almost all the other bands many times before. Sebastian Bach will likely steal the show as he can still really perform better than most from that era, but anyone from NY who wants to see him can do so the day before M3 at B.B. King’s (I’d love to go myself but it conflicts with an Alter Bridge show that I already have tickets to). Still, it’s an event that every metal fan should want to attend at least once.