With the Rockin Thunder Music Festival right around the corner we wanted to sit down

with one of the organizers Gerry to give a bit of a sneak peak into this year's events. This year's

lineup includes bands Three Days Grace, Mammoth, Creed, Grandson, Bif Naked, the Glorious

Sons, Buck Cherry, Paul Langlois and local legends Calling All Captains! There will also be

many other acts performing this year on the second stage in between sets featuring local talent.

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Last year was Rocking Thunders inaugural run of shows, what were the biggest

moments and highlights from last year's lineup from your?

Gerry: “Well, you always know that the headliners are gonna do their job. Certainly Weezer

and Def Leppard did their job. I think the thing that stands out for me is the fans. Everybody

always asks, like, what makes the show? Just to have a first year reception like the one that we

got in Edmonton, let us know that our instincts were correct. A lot of people think Edmonton is

one of the great rock and roll cities in Canada. I think that was proven. Then there were just

some great sort of surprises with some of the, some of the undercard, I think, you know, people

came early and were glad that they did. Queensrÿche hit the stage and kind of clobbered

everyone right at 2:30, and then Brett Michaels coming out and doing all those Poison classics,

and Joan Jett is rock and roll, and to have her go on ahead of Def Leppard was pretty cool. And

then, you know, continued the next day with Weezer, Stone Temple pilots. Perfect weather,

which certainly doesn't hurt an outdoor festival, and just a great environment, great vibe, and an

incredible success for the first year. So, you know, we want to continue this tradition. I think

we've got the lineup to do it this year and then sort of build on the future. I'm very excited about

the lineup this year.”

Can you tell me a little bit about how Rocking Thunder came to be last year?

Gerry: “Yeah, I mean, we were gonna be routing with one of our sister festivals. We're going to

be routing Def Leppard to another show and in order to get them in this part of the world to put

together another show made a lot of sense and we had been looking at doing a rock show to

kind of complement some of our country's festivals and some of the festivals where we're, you

know, blending a rock act here and there. So that's how the availability of Def Leppard kind of

led to that. And then sort of the rest of the lineup came together in behind and sort of created

the situation. So it was a bit of serendipity, a bit of planning and something that we were really

happy with.”

Kind of branching off of that, if you can tell me, how does the team put together bills and

decide on who they would like to play?

Gerry: “It kind of comes down to availability and routing. You know internally our ownership

group and talent buyers, sort of have a singular focus on the biggest and best headliners. Sort

of the supporting cast that includes really hot up and comers as well as classic acts that have

stood the test of time. I think that's sort of what you want to establish when you're doing a rock

or classic rock show and I think those goals were met last year for sure and absolutely this year.

You know Creed's last tour was sold out during pre-sale, so we knew the demand in the market

was going to be there for them. Three Days Grace enjoyed a huge resurgence, kind of that

Canadian legend status and classic status. I mean, they're headlining arenas in the US again

and then to sort of round that out with Mammoth, saw them open for Bush, last month in Florida,

and I mean, the kid’s got great bloodlines, obviously, Eddie Van Halen being dad but they've

established themselves, it was a pretty great live act. Buck Cherry, great live act. Paul Langlois

doing what he does, you know reliving some of those great moments with his band the

Tragically Hip, and everyone's really curious about that. And then Bif Naked just sort of again, a

Canadian icon to have her back on stage and doing what she does is going to be pretty

special.”

I think music festivals are quite exciting and I grew up going to shows and having those

experiences. If someone were to attend a rocking thunder festival as their first music

festival, what advice would you give them to have an outstanding time?

Gerry: “Yeah, I mean I think last year, Sam Roberts said it best, there's a lot of EDM festivals.

There's a lot of country festivals, there's all kinds of options. But in terms of a straight up rock

fest, and make no mistake in a live stage, rock and roll is making a comeback, right? I mean,

pop and dance and EDM and country all have their place but to sort of have an event like this,

built for rock fans is number one. Number two, when you get to the site, be ready to meet some

of your new temporary best friends. We all know that music and sports are the things that bring

people together and that's what makes it special, a full day experience. As I said earlier, I mean,

showing up early, staying late. I'd say be ready to discover your new favourite band. So if you're

coming to see Creed and you see the Glorious Sons, or see what Paul's doing, I mean the

opportunity to be exposed to all of it is pretty special. The vibe was great. The crowd was great.

Show up ready to have a great time. It's that simple. As I said, the fans make the show. So,

everything's in place.”

What sets Rocking Thunder apart from other Edmonton music festivals?

Gerry: “I think the intimacy to see bands of this magnitude, it's a large space, but the way that

the site is built, it kind of gives fans that up close and personal experience. It's a pretty cool site

that fans in Edmonton are familiar with at the Edmonton Lands racetrack. It's a pretty, well

established site. Everybody knows where it is and Klondike days and everything like that. So the

racetrack is a great environment to sort of build a site with a stage where fans can, you know,

every seat's a good seat and that's part of the fun of a festival.”

I love how you guys have two different stages for multiple different lineups, for our

audience can you tell me a little bit about that and will performances between the two

stages be staggered?

Gerry: “Yeah, the performances are staggered and the 2nd stage was a big success last year.

We work with the Edmonton Rock and Roll Society and they've got their kids program, which

was super fun. Then to kind of round it out with Alberta Entertainment and show off some of our

Edmonton artists is pretty special. One of those acts from last year Calling All Captains is going

to be playing on the main stage this year. Again, that whole thing about discovering your new

favourite band and being exposed to something that you weren't familiar with that's right from

your own backyard is special and, and that's the opportunity for those artists.”

What are you most excited about going into this year's round of shows?

Gerry: “I think I just want that feeling, you know, that I had last year. Working on festivals, but

being a fan makes it a dream, a dream job for me. For the same reasons as bands get excited.

It's not that often that I'm not stopping at least once every performance and looking up at the

stage going, “holy shit, I'd like to be down in the front row for this.” I definitely got blips and blaps

of that last year. Weezer hadn't been in the market for god, I don't know how long. So I think

myself and a lot of our staff had paused to go and stop and watch, which I suppose if the bosses

saw us, they'd be thinking, “hello, anybody working?” But it was, uh, you know, it's, it's the same

thing that the fans get excited about, but I just think I want that. It was such a great vibe and it

was again all the fans. I mean, you can go to festivals and outdoor events and sometimes if it's

crowded and hot and you know it can be a bit of a challenge. The vibe and the fun and the

smiles is what I'm looking forward to again this year.”

Does rocking thunder fest have a merch tent, and do you guys have festival specific or

limited edition merchandise fans can look out for?

Gerry: “Yeah, we do. Definitely, last year the merch was very popular and sold out. So there will

be a merch tent for Rockin Thunder merch, and then right beside that artist merch. So these are

the things where often you go to a show and you're thinking, well, I'll grab one maybe later and

then your size sells out, which happened to me with Def Leppard last year, but nonetheless

there's gonna be some really cool designs and we’re looking forward to unveiling those for

everyone.”

Do you have any volunteer positions or ways people can get involved with the festival?

Gerry: “Volunteer positions I mean because we do 7 shows, we're pretty locked in, but I think

there might be a link on the website for people looking for front gate positions and some of

those support roles and so on and so forth.”

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We are looking forward to attending Rockin Thunder this year, and discovering the

unique, one of a kind experience Rockin Thunder provides fans! Shows take place on July

11-12 at the Exhibition Lands Racetrack in Edmonton, Ab.

Saturday July 11- Three Days Grace, The Glorious Sons, Grandson, Bif Naked and

Calling All Captains.

Sunday July 12- Creed, Mammoth, Buck Cherry, Paul Langlois.

Rock the Slot: This opportunity is brought to this year's festival by a collaboration

between 100.3 the Bear and Rockin Thunder Fest. This is an incredible opportunity to open on

the main stage on July 12 for bands such as Creed, Mammoth, Paul Langlois and Buck Cherry.

Until June 21st bands have the ability to apply for this slot by submitting a video through the

Bear Rocks website linked below.

Apply Here: https://www.thebearrocks.com/contests/rock-the-slot/

You can select between packages and secure your tickets through this link:

https://www.rockinthunderfest.com/tickets

Further information regarding the events can be found here:

https://www.rockinthunderfest.com/info

2024