On Thursday, April 28, 2022, I had the great opportunity to go and see WDHA’s annual Rock the Rock Fest located at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The concert started at 5:30 pm and ended at 11:05 pm. 

The lineup included Lilith Czar, Wage War, Black Veil Brides, Three Days Grace and Godsmack. Unfortunately, I did not arrive in time to see Lilith Czar but I heard that they were great! 

I had never seen Wage War before and they were brutal but awesome. They had the perfect mixture of hard vocals, soft vocals and even rapping. They also had a very special guest come out to sing one song with them (Caleb Shomo from Beartooth). I can honestly say that he was very energetic and was very rowdy, which is always awesome. After Caleb Shomo left the stage, he was walking to the pit and I had the amazing opportunity to get a picture with him. 

I had also never seen Black Veil Brides before, and they were very intense. They had some hard vocals mixed with melodic vocals. They were just a little bit more even with harsh and clean vocals than Wage War. By this time, there still were no mosh pits or crowd surfing, which is very unusual for a metal show.

After Black Veil Brides had finished I had another opportunity to get a picture with Terrie Carr, a famous Program Director, Brand Manager and On Air Personality with experience in Classic, Alternative and Active Rock radio formats. She is also experienced in artist interviews for both radio and television.

Now it was time for some Three Days Grace! This was my 5th time seeing them. In my opinion, they had the best show of the night. The lights and the pyro created lots of very cool effects throughout their part of the concert. Some of the hits that they played were “Animal I Have Become,” “Home,” “Pain,” “The Good Life,” “Never Too Late” and “Riot”. By that time a little pit had started, but it wasn’t anything crazy. Overall, the crowd was extremely loud and you couldn’t even hear Matt Walst, the singer of Three Days Grace, during some parts because the crowd was singing so loudly.

Godsmack was the last band to play the concert. Their set was filled with hit songs, pyro and an amazing light show. The show was mixed with hard rock parts and acoustic parts. The crowd was also very loud during their set too. This was my first time seeing them and would definitely go again.

Overall, I would give this concert a 10/10 and will definitely be going back next year to Rock the Rock Fest again.