Mayhem Festival, 2024

Formerly a touring festival that last took place in 2015, the Mayhem Festival was revived in 2024 as a 1-day festival at the Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino, California. Saturday, October 12, was full of fun, sunshine, and killer metal music. There was a nice turnout for the first set of bands, starting with Holy Wars, on a perfectly clear 84-degree day in the warm sun. The crowd grew throughout the day and the level of excitement was high from the time the gates opened to the final headliner on the main stage: Bad Omens. The festival consisted of 22 bands and 3 stages. I was able to catch the first few songs of 16 of these bands’ sets, and now have some new personal favorites.

The list of performers in order of set times:

-Holy Wars

-Roman Candle

-Brutus

-Escuela Grind

-Peyton Parrish

-It Dies Today

-Born of Osiris

-Seven Hours After Violet

-Unearth

-Hanabie

-Poppy

-Darkest Hour

-Throwdown

-After the Burial

-Jinjer

-Suicide Silence

-We Came as Romans

-Architects

-Kittie

-August Burns Red

-Parkway Drive

-Bad Omens

A few of the many notable moments included seeing local favorite, Suicide Silence, from neighboring Riverside; Peyton Parrish performing for the first time in California; and Shavo Odadjian (System of a Down’s bassist) and his new band (Seven Hours After Violet) playing together for the first time live on stage as a unit.

Food and drink options were plentiful throughout the grounds, as well as vendors selling merch. In the VIP area, attendees could release some pent-up energy in the outdoor rage room, pose for a picture in the photo booth, and listen to a DJ while chilling at the bar or at a table in the shade.

The fun started right away, with a wall of death and circle pit forming early in the day during Escuela Grind. That excitement continued during most of the acts, with some festival-goers amping up their crowd surfing as the day progressed. There is just something quite magical about a festival with music playing all day. Not only does it provide the opportunity to listen to your favorite artists as well as check out new bands, connecting with others doing the same makes the experience even more extraordinary. The music was amazing and powerful. You couldn’t help but feel the kinetic energy throughout the amphitheater!