This past weekend (September 21st-24th), our 2022 Festival of the Year, Louder Than Life, returned to Louisville, Kentucky, for another celebration of all things heavy. With a slew of big-name headliners — Foo Fighters, Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, Green Day, Pantera, Weezer, Limp Bizkit, Turnstile, and Queens of the Stone Age, just to name a select few — and a wildly impressive undercard, Louder Than Life 2023 managed to be just as loud and life-affirming as any of its previous editions.
From Thursday to Sunday, the Kentucky Exposition Center’s Highland Festival Grounds were absolutely, utterly, completely packed. Even early in the day, hours before the biggest names were set to kick off their respective sets, each stage boasted rows and rows of rock fans donning black garments, fishnets, leather (despite the Kentucky heat), and surprisingly complex corpse paint. The attendees clearly came to rock, and rock they did.
Fortunately for all parties involved, the performances matched the energy. From pyro-heavy spectacles to simple but magical mosh pits, the bands gave fest-goers every reason to keep their excitement high and their fists in the air.
For those not in attendance, here’s what went down:
The Punks Show Up To Play
Though Louder Than Life is sometimes branded as a metal festival, its 2023 edition showcased just how well it incorporates other styles of heavy rock. In particular, some of this year’s most memorable sets came from metal’s more rebellious, troublesome cousin: punk rock.
Up-and-coming hardcore acts like Jesus Piece or SeeYouSpaceCowboy tore up the side stage while bands like Mannequin Pussy and Pinkshift (a former Consequence CoSign) warmed up the main stages with energetic, ferocious performances. Veterans Rancid and Green Day then brought the punk spirit to some of the biggest crowds of the entire weekend. Viagra Boys — a band whose name will undoubtedly grow in font size with each passing year — and their completely unserious, irreverent, fun-as-hell set deserve special recognition as well. Kudos, you post-punk madmen.
