I don’t know if I can consider myself a Rocklahoma veteran, but this will be my 5th year in a row to attend.
Regardless, there’s some stuff to know for ROK virgins, and even some new stuff for people who have been multiple times.
THE CAMPGROUND STAGE… is no more. Axis didn’t renew the contract for the stage, so it’s been moved and renamed.
Please welcome “The Roadhouse” to Rocklahoma. Instead of posting up on the south entrance near the VIP entrance to the concert grounds, it will be up at the main gate on the west end. And, from the looks of it, will actually be INSIDE the front gate, before you actually walk out into the grounds.
An interesting, but maybe beneficial change(?) possibly, as it might alleviate the mass of people piling up at the front gate when they officially open every day. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
The Roadhouse is listed on the festival’s site as “a destination experience for fans that will include great food, beverages, and will feature up-and-coming new bands, as well as legendary acts such as Ace Frehley, Lita Ford, and more.”
The Roadhouse will kick off Rocklahoma with a Thursday night pre-party for campers and will be open each day of the festival starting at 10am with performances by local, regional acts and will feature a national headliner each day. Throughout the day the Roadhouse will be open for food, drinks, and a place hang out between bands and will feature a great place to hang out throughout the Festival.
This also means the oft-missed third stage that was in the southeast corner of the grounds will not be there this year.
THE SECOND STAGE… has apparently moved! Instead of being in the northeast corner, just past Radio Row, it’ll be in the northWEST corner of the concert grounds. In the past, that’s been where the RV and big sponsor vendors set up in the back. Now, those wanting to attend performances at both big stages are gonna have to walk a little further to get to stage 2.
Not sure WHY they moved it, not sure if this will be better or worse. From my standpoint… just means I gotta walk a little further.
ROCK’N BREWS and BARBECUE… is a new thing this year. Not sure where it’ll be located, but my guess would be on the south end since there’s no longer any stages over there. Per the Rocklahoma website, Rock’n Brews & Barbecue will be ” a place to sit down, relax, and enjoy some great local food from the best barbecue joints from around the Southwest. And what better to wash down that great food, than with a cold craft beer.”
Hopefully when they say “Craft Beer,” that means there’s gonna be some regional breweries on site with some local flavors. My guess is, they can do this now that Oklahoma changed their beer and alcohol laws. This should be open all weekend.
THE BUDWEISER CLYDESDALES…. are coming back! They were actually at Rocklahoma six or seven years ago, and will be back. Fitting since Bud Light is actually the sponsor of the festival. They’ll be south of the Roadhouse from noon to 2 on Saturday. (Don’t worry, it shouldn’t conflict with any major band performances.)
TACO BAR…. NOW we’re talking! Another new addition, the Taco Bar will feature Torchy’s Tacos and Exotico Tequila. If you are serious about food, you will want to stop by Taco Bar for the best damn tacos, margaritas, and craft beer. Again, my guess is, this will be on the south end of the concert grounds. This should also be available all weekend.
THE ROCK 66 MARKET… pretty sure this is just a re-branding of the various item vendors that show up at Rocklahoma. Now they aren’t just random people trying to sell you things they have and/or made… they’re in an actual MARKET! In the past, they’ve been spread around the edges of the concert grounds. Again, I think they’ll be re-organized and moved to the south end. Pending any individual vendor time constraints, this should be available all weekend.
VANdalism…. So, Monster Energy Drinks, who also co-sponsors the festival, will have a van… that you can spray paint and “VANdalize” with graffiti art. Not sure if it costs anything to do so (it probably does). Not sure if it’s such a wise idea to have a ton of spray paint cans around a bunch of drunk rockers (it probably isn’t). But this could turn out kinda cool.
That’s gonna be Friday from 4-7… no idea where.
RISK-GRAFFITI ARTIST… is a guy who’s really good at graffiti art. Wherever they have the VANdalism thing at on Friday, he’ll be there on Saturday making some cool stuff.
Truth be told, RISK is actually a really cool get for Rocklahoma. A lot of festivals are including more “art” into their activities, and this guy will fit in great with the crowd. If you wanna see more of what he does, check out www.riskrock.com.
Aside from those things, it seems like everything else will be pretty close to the same. Monster Energy will still have their lounge. The photo “chute” will still be there (allows GA ticket-holders to get right up front and center on the main stage to take some photos and see the artists close up), And there’s still gonna be a lot of kickass bands playing this year.
Not sure exactly how the new Oklahoma liquor and beer laws will affect the drinking situation, but my guess is, it probably works to our benefit.
Tickets go up in price again on Friday, so get’em now at their cheapest possible price HERE, or try and win a pair with Meatball on air this week (4-29 to 5-3).
