Even with the absence of Ozzfest and an official Crue Fest tour this summer, there still will be plenty of opportunities for headbangers to get their fill.
Here are four kickass 2011 summer tours:
• Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Featuring Megadeth, Disturbed, Godsmack, Machine Head, In Flames, Trivium, Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, Straight Line Stitch, Unearth, Kingdom of Sorrow and Red Fang. Starts July 9 at San Manuel Amphitheatre in San Bernadino, California. Ends Aug. 14 at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida. The complete schedule for this tour -- and the other three tours -- is below.
• Metal Blade Records Summer Slaughter. Featuring Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, Darkest Hour, Six Feet Under, Dying Fetus, As Blood Runs Black, Oceano and Flesh God Apocalypse. Starts July 22 at the Los Angeles Strip House of Blues. Ends Aug. 21 at the House of Blues in Dallas, Texas.
• All Stars Tour. Featuring For Today, In This Moment, Born of Osiris, the Ghost Inside, After the Burial, Attila, For All Those Sleeping, Chelsea Grin, Emmure, Alesana, iwrestledabearonce and blessthefall. Starts July 21 in Houston, Texas. Ends Aug. 23 in San Francisco.
• Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival. Featuring Avenged Sevenfold, Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet for My Valentine, Escape the Fate, Sevendust, Black Tide, Art of Dying and Orange Blossom Special. Starts Aug. 26 in Camden, New Jersey. Ends Oct. 14 (location TBA).
Gabriel Garcia, Black Tide's founder, guitarist and vocalist, is ready for Black Tide's outing on the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
“We were just confirmed for it a couple of weeks ago,” Garcia said during an interview from his home in Miami, Florida. “We're looking forward to hanging out with Avenged Sevenfold, Escape the Fate and Bullet for My Valentine. We know those guys, and they're awesome people. It's going to be like a summer camp.”
As an added bonus, Black Tide will release Post Mortem, the follow-up to 2008's Light from Above, on Aug. 23.
“I was 13 when we recorded Light from Above, so I really hadn't lived or experienced life,” said Garcia, who got his first guitar from a flea market when he was 8. “When we were writing songs for Post Mortem, we put everything we experienced in those four years of touring in the lyrics, so the CD is very real for us.”
Chris Howorth, guitarist/co-founder of In This Moment, one of the All Star Tour headliners, is expecting an interesting summer.
“We did the Vans Warped Tour in 2009, and it was a different experience for us,” Howorth said. “Our fan base is more of the Korn, Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch types, but when we were on Warped, we were playing for young punk-rock kids.
“All Star Tour is similar to Warped,” he said. “There will be a lot of younger kids and break-down bands. So it will be interesting for In This Moment to play.”
2011 SUMMER TOUR DATES:
Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival
Jul 09 San Manuel Amphitheater, San Bernardino, CA
Jul 10 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
Jul 12 White River Amphitheatre, Auburn, WA
Jul 13 Idaho Center Amphitheatre, Nampa, ID
Jul 15 Ashley Furniture Homestore Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ
Jul 16 Hard Rock Casino Presents: The Pavilion, Albuquerque, NM
Jul 17 Fiddler's Green Ampitheatre, Englewood, CO
Jul 19 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Maryland Heights, MO
Jul 20 Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
Jul 22 Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA
Jul 23 Parc Jean-Drapeau (Heavy MTL), Montreal, QC
Jul 24 Comcast Theatre, Hartford, CT
Jul 26 Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien Center, NY
Jul 27 PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
Jul 29 First Niagara Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA
Jul 30 Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA
Jul 31 Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ
Aug 02 Farm Bureau Live At Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach, VA
Aug 03 Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek, Raleigh, NC
Aug 05 First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre, Tinley Park, IL
Aug 06 DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI
Aug 07 Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN
Aug 09 Zoo Amphitheatre, Oklahoma City, OK
Aug 10 Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas, TX
Aug 12 Aaron's Amphitheater at Lakewood, Atlanta, GA
Aug 13 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, Tampa, FL
Aug 14 Cruzan Ampitheatre, West Palm Beach, FL
See the dates for the other three tours on the next page!
Metal Blade Records Summer Slaughter
Jul 22 House of Blues Sunset Strip, Los Angeles, CA
Jul 23 The Grove, Anaheim, CA
Jul 25 Roseland Theater, Portland, OR
Jul 26 King Cat Theatre, Seattle, WA
Jul 27 The Knitting Factory, Boise, ID
Jul 28 Ace of Spades, Sacramento, CA
Jul 29 The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
Jul 30 House of Blues, San Diego, CA
Jul 31 Venue Of Scottsdale, Scottsdale, AZ
Aug 01 Sunshine Theatre, Albuquerque, NM
Aug 02 Summit Music Hal, Denver, CO
Aug 03 The Cotillion, Wichita, KS
Aug 04 Expo Five, Louisville, KY
Aug 05 Saint Andrews Hall, Detroit, MI
Aug 06 The Rave, Milwaukee, WI
Aug 07 House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
Aug 08 House of Blues, Chicago, IL
Aug 09 Sound Academy, Toronto, Canada
Aug 10 OLYMPIA, Montreal, Canada
Aug 11 Irving Plaza, New York, NY
Aug 12 THE PALLADIUM, Worcester, MA
Aug 13 Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Aug 14 Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
Aug 15 930 Club, Washington, DC
Aug 16 The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
Aug 17 Revolution Live, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Aug 19 House of Blues, Houston, TX
Aug 20 Backstage Live, San Antonio, TX
Aug 21 House of Blues Dallas, Dallas, TX
All Stars Tour
Jul 21 TBAHouston, TX
Jul 22 Las Palmas Racepark Mcallen, TX
Jul 23 Backstage LiveSan Antonio, TX
Jul 24 The Palladium Ballroom Dallas, TX
Jul 26 Expo Five Louisville, KY
Jul 27 Agora Theater, Cleveland, OH
Jul 28 Congress Theatre, Chicago, IL
Jul 29 Royal Oak Theatre, Detroit, MI
Jul 30 Eagles Club/The Rave/Eagles Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI
Jul 31 Station 4 Outdoors, St Paul, MN
Aug 02 Sound Academy Toronto, Canada
Aug 03 OLYMPIA Montreal, Canada
Aug 04 Sovereign Center Reading, PA
Aug 05 Mid Hudson Civic CenterPoughkeepsie, NY
Aug 06 Central Mass Expo Center Fitchburg, MA
Aug 07 Starland Ballroom Sayreville, NJ
Aug 09 Sonar Baltimore, MD
Aug 10 The National Richmond, VA
Aug 11 The Fillmore Charlotte Charlotte, NC
Aug 12 House of Blues Myrtle Beach North Myrtle Beach, SC
Aug 13 Plaza 'LIVE' Orlando, FL
Aug 14 Seville Quarter Party Plaza Pensacola, FL
Aug 17 Rialto Theatre Tucson, AZ
Aug 18 Venue Of Scottsdale Scottsdale, AZ
Aug 19 Soma San Diego, CA
Aug 20 The Grove Anaheim, CA
Aug 21 Rock The Block Las Vegas, NV
Aug 23 Regency Ballroom San Francisco, CA
Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival
Aug 26 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
Aug 27 Scranton, PAToyota PavilionDetail
Aug 28 Boston, MA Comcast Center
Aug 31 Washington DC Jiffy Lube Live
Sept 01 TBA
Sept 03 Tampa, FL 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre
Sept 04 Biloxi, MS Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Sept 05 Houston, TXCynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Sept 09 TBA
Sept 10 Buffalo, NY, Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
Sept 11 Hartford, CTThe Comcast Theatre
Sept 13 TBA
Sept 14 Toronto, ONMolson Amphitheatre
Sept 16 Pittsburgh, PA First Niagara Pavilion
Sept 17 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Sept 18 TBA
Sept 21 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
Sept 23 Omaha, NE WestFair Amphitheater
Sept 24 Kansas City, MO Sandstone Amphitheater
Sept 25 TBA
Sept 28 TBA
Sept 29 TBA
Oct 01 TBA
Oct 02 TBA
Oct 05 TBA
Oct 07 TBA
Oct 08 TBA
Oct 09 San Diego, CACricket Amphitheatre
Oct 13 TBA
Oct 14 TBA
