Northern Invasion 2018, nestled in the rolling hills of Somerset, WI near the Apple River, held some amazing moments. Among those moments was seeing Counterfeit, a fresh English import, plugged in. After seeing them perform acoustic at the Zippo Sessions last week at Carolina Rebellion, seeing them at full power was and is a must. They brought it hardcore proving they were the craziest rockers in America, from across the pond.
A family that Rocks together stays together. Epic parenting. Hardcore Ded fans both Mom and son with Ded hats and eyes were up front and center, supporting their favorite band at Northern Invasion. The 3 stages were brimming with music for all.
One of the craziest moments was seeing Senses Fail lead singer “Buddy” Nielsen literally take a flying leap off the 5′ high stage onto the ground, almost taking out several unsuspecting security guards, and then body surfing.
Grandson, a new artist to me, was a fresh and delightful surprise.
It’s been over two years since we saw New Zealand’s very own Like A Storm and they proved why they’ve been missed.
Maynard had a full weekend in Wisconsin, performing with A Perfect Circle on Saturday night and with Tool on Sunday.
The Canadian brothers Dube was another wonderful surprise. Look for our very fun interview with all 3 brothers coming soon to Tattoo.com.
The weekend’s line up also featured the Black Veil Brides, STP, Breaking Benjamin, Parkway Drive, Asking Alexandria, We Came As Romans, Joyous Wolf, Whitney Peyton (look for her interview coming soon), I Prevail, Miss May I (look for our interview with Levi & Ryan coming soon), Butcher Babies, Stick to Your Guns, From Ashes to New, Black Stone Cherry (watch for our interview with Chris & John Fred Young coming soon), and Red Sun Rising among others.
What makes a festival a must? That can be a question answered by how you want to tailor the experience. Music, of course, is the main reason. Live bands, multiple stages… something for everyone from rock, to rap to metal and well, to put it in a nutshell, variety is the spice of life and Northern Invasion was a festival filled with variety.
There were plenty of big kid drinks to go around. With Fireball being dispensed by a shot girl on giant stilts, among others varieties of alcohol, you could get your drink on as you rocked out. And Beer, we cannot forget the beer. Because, and I can say this honestly being a Wisconsin native, we are raised on beer, cheese, football, and outdoor music festivals. So… ’nuff said on this.
There is a huge list of options to “choose your own adventure”, festival style, so we will move on to what else went down at Northern Invasion.
Foodies, there was cheese everywhere…cheese curds, mac and cheese, cheese sandwiches – well, a Wisconsin food lovers dream. Other grub must include turkey drumsticks, and for those that wanted to be a bit healthy, there was a Vegan wagon. Yup, grubbing to live music – it does not get much better.
Northern Invasion also featured the Zippo sessions where fans could hear bands stripped down to acoustic, meet and greets, the FYE tent, The Music Experience, Fuck Cancer and other vendors in vendor village.
Huge props to DWP, AEG Presents, and Monster Energy for hosting this and so many other great festivals. See you at the next Northern Invasion.
