Rockfest 80’s Continues to Deliver to Hardcore Rock Fans
When it comes to music festivals, those who love to attend them find themselves in a quandary of which ones to attend, with the ever-increasing amount of festivals and concerts in every part of the country. This momentum appears to have no end in sight. After all, there are just so many free weekends and dollars that one has.
In its third year in south Florida, Rockfest 80’s delivered exactly what those who attended came for: a weekend of guitar-squealing and drum-pounding music that kept the mostly over-40s crowd standing and jamming to some of the former MTV bands they grew up listening to.
What stood out was that Rockfest 80’s was a well produced and organized festival. This monster rock festival is led by Roy Anthony, a former southern California rocker who has made it his mission to keep rock alive by bringing some of the biggest names in rock to Rockfest 80’s concerts, including Paul Rodgers, Brett Michaels, Joan Jett, and Cheap Trick among others. The main thing that Rockfest 80’s delivers is consistency. Rock music lovers know that Anthony and his group have been able to put together amazing lineups of some of the biggest rock gods at reasonable ticket prices, and that continues to bring back the fans year after year.
Rockfest 80’s kicked off Saturday with a day of surprises and disappointments. Those who decided to miss the early bands due to the above-average summer-like temperatures missed some great music by Stellar Revival, Brothers Matthew and Gunnar Nelson of Nelson, Lynch Mob, Zebra and Mr. Big’s Eric Martin.
Glam rockers Kix were by far the biggest surprise on Saturday. Lead singer Steve Whiteman, who is 62, rocked the stage by playing an entire album’s worth of their very best hits. Whiteman was non-stop during the entire set, dancing, jumping and singing like a man half his age. Impressive. He and Kix got the crowd on their feet during the entire set with a sound that emanated from the powerful voice of Whitman. If you came for a rock show, Kix delivered.
There was a buzz in the air on Saturday night, a sort of tension of anticipation, but in a good way, of course. For many who came early, the beer buzz was starting to wear down. Some rocked all day, while many seats that had been purchased sat empty during daylight until those late arrivals showed up just in time to see headliner Vince Neil. With high expectations from the crowd, Neil didn’t deliver his best performance. It was clear that there were some things missing, including some of the lyrics to his most popular songs. Vince Neil’s performance fell short. The disappointed crowd clearly made the best of it. Overall, Saturday can only be described as a balloon that was filled throughout the day only to pop at the end.
For those who attended on Sunday, they were greeted with slightly cooler temps and lower humidity. It was day two of Rockfest 80’s, and although there was plenty of chatter about the Vince Neil performance, many had already put that behind them and were ready to rock.
Big Rock Band kicked things off, followed by Kickin Valentina. Steelheart, who have performed at previous Rockfest 80’s shows, delivered another superb performance. Steelheart’s Miljenko Matjevic, the lone remaining original member of Steelheart, got fans of the ’80s band singing and even rewarded them by going into the crowd to sing with them on the final song of their set.
As the afternoon of rock continued, ’80s favorites Firehouse and Winger both performed exceptional sets. The late arrivals settled in for the remaining three bands, as headliners Ace Frehley, Sebastian Bach and Night Ranger waited to take the stage.
Fresh off the KISS Kruise in Miami, Ace Frehley’s performance was what everyone was waiting for. The former lead guitarist of legendary theatrical rock band KISS played a tight set with his band and shows no signs of slowing down. His band consists of many experienced lead singers from other bands who backed Frehley’s voice. However, many of the KISS t-shirt-wearing fans didn’t come to hear his voice but his magical guitar skills. Like the Pied Piper, he led the crowd into a state of rock that only very few can do. The crowd was rewarded by seeing a memorable rock show by one of the true masters of guitar.
Closing out the night were performances by Sebastian Bach, who has played on all three years of Rockfest 80’s, and Night Ranger. Both bands played many of their hits and left the crowd satisfied with a second helping of rock after the fine performance by Ace Frehley.
As this year’s Rockfest 80’s came to a close, it’s quite possible that Roy Anthony is already working hard putting together next year’s lineup. The venue, vendors, and crowd size worked well for the third year. As we near the end of 2018 and move into next year, we will start to getting a rumbling in our bellies before it turns into hunger for next year’s festival.
