Upheaval Festival 2024 Thrashes & Throttles Grand Rapids
Upheaval Festival ripped through our eardrums once again at Belknap Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan on July 19 and 20, boasting headliners Bad Omens and Godsmack – two of 2024’s most sought-after bands to see this year.
With a robust 2-day lineup, fans descended on the grounds to catch other acts including Beartooth, Killswitch Engage, Badflower, Sevendust, Of Mice & Men, I See Stars, and many more. Check out the individual lineups, and our verdicts below, and click on any photo to open the gallery for optimal viewing.
DAY 1
SALIVA
We kicked off our day with Saliva after trekking out from Detroit, and they were the perfect act to get us started. The current lineup consists of frontman Bobby Amaru, who holds down the sound perfectly. Dare we say he covers Josey Scott’s parts very well (despite Josey touring with his own version of Saliva). The band’s switches in players are semi-hard to track, but the current lineup includes Brad Stewart (formerly of Shinedown, Fuel), and Sammi Jo Bishop, who took up former drummer Paul Crosby’s spot.
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
They killed their set, and included tracks like “Ladies and Gentleman,” “Come Back Stronger,” “High On Me,” and of course, they played “Always” and “Click Click Boom.” Check out the full setlist here.
AUSTIN MEADE
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
Austin Meade was a new artist for us, and we’re digging the sound. Unfortunately, the setlist did not make it online, so we encourage you to look into Austin Meade’s discography here to get a feel for his sound!
OF MICE & MEN
Of Mice & Men have a ferocious presence, and it was on display for their set on Friday. Kicking through some of their most popular tracks like “Second & Sebring,” “The Depths,” and “Warpaint,” the crowd was thrashing and throwing down, chucking crowd surfers over the barricade in the hot sun. Lead Vocalist Aaron Pauley and crew enthralled all the attendees from the Main Stage, and you can check out the entire setlist playlist here on Spotify.
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
AYRON JONES
Ayron Jones is one of our favorites, and we were happy to see him and his band on the lineup as bands were being announced. The swagger that this band brings and their charismatic way of performing keep everyone entertained and make them even more exciting to photograph because you know you’re going to get killer views!
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
Check out Ayron Jones’ full discography, with our favorite standout tracks “Boys From The Puget Sound,” “Supercharged,” and “Filthy” here.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
Killswitch Engage puts on a hell of a show. Apparently, the crowd was SO READY to throw down that the set had to be stopped twice within the first 3 songs (during “This Fire” and “Strength of the Mind”) because the pit got too rowdy and injuries ensued. The important part to note is that frontman Jesse Leach told the crowd to throw up an X with their arms if they needed to stop to get help, and they abided by this rule, along with making sure to remind everyone that if someone falls down, you help them back up.
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
The band kicked through 14 tracks, including “The End of Heartache,” “The Last Serenade,” and their famed Dio cover, “Holy Diver.” Relive the setlist by visiting this Spotify playlist here.
SEVENDUST
Sunset brought out Sevendust, and it was the perfect time to capture this legacy band at the Lookout Stage. We’ve never seen Sevendust live, and they were a main favorite of many of the people we chatted with as fans arrived via golfcart at the top of the hill. Formed in 1994 bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly, and rounded out by lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and guitarist Clint Lowery, the intensity radiated across the crowd.
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
While we aren’t well versed in their discography, we were particularly thrilled with the sights and sounds that we were introduced to, and the sunlight shining through Lajon’s dreads as he headbanged made for killer snapshots to send home. Check out their 11-song setlist here.
GODSMACK
Godsmack is one of those legacy bands that you need to catch at least once in your life. They’ve been kings in the Active Rock Radio scene for as long as I can remember, and it’s easy to see why, as they put on a strong, epic, technical performance.
They kicked off their set with “When Legends Rise,” which might be familiar to WWE fans as it was the theme for Super Showdown 202o. It was an epic start to their set as drummer Shannon Larkin held down the sound for a good 15-30 seconds before the rest of the band joined in, and built the anticipation for what was to come.
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
The rest of their set included fan favorites like “Voodoo,” “Cryin’ Like A Bitch!!,” and of course, they ended their set with their biggest hit, “I Stand Alone.” Check out the setlist playlist on Spotify.
UPDATE: WEDNESDAY, JULY 31
After reporting on the portion of Godsmack’s set that we were present for, it has come to our attention that Godsmack said things that do not align with our values at ACRONYM ZINE, so we wanted to provide an update.
According to first-hand accounts reported on our post in the Upheaval Facebook Group, as well as on a cluster of photos of the band on Upheaval’s page, Frontman Sully Era decided to take this celebration of music to bash the LGBTQIA+ community. One Facebook User shared the remarks she heard, including “Michigan where men are men and women are women,” and that “He also made a ‘joke’ about not being able to say the word ‘p$$y’ because he didn’t know if it was a pronoun.”
This type of hate is not something we want to praise at ACRONYM ZINE, and because we did not witness it, it was not reported on. Other attendees corroborated that these remarks were said, and mentioned that they came to hear him sing, not hear his opinions, and that it was a vibe-kill to the entire performance. Someone also accused Erna of being drunk and slurring his words.
Because of this, we felt the need to update our audience and take our stand, as many of our contributors and readers are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and I, a Pansexual Woman, as the Editor-In-Chief do not condone or praise Godsmack. Our words previously were based on the songs we heard, and we do not feel the same, now that we heard how the performance was tainted. Our apologies for not having this information sooner, and thank you to those who reached out to us to provide this information.
DAY 2
DROWNING POOL
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
We kicked off Day 2 with Drowning Pool, because OF COURSE, we couldn’t miss our chance to hear “Bodies.” Fans — both casual and rabid were ready to rock out with the band, and I even heard people post-set on the golf cart saying that they knew way more Drowning Pool tracks than they gave themself credit for. The band kicked off their set with “Sinner,” “Step Up,” and “Feel Like I Do,” as well as covering Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell.” See most of their setlist (aside from one track fans didn’t identify) on Spotify.
I SEE STARS
This was our second time seeing I See Stars this month, which is kind of hilarious when you consider that ACRONYM ZINE hasn’t covered I See Stars before 2024 despite them being from Metro Detroit. Our first encounter with them was on the ’20 Years of Tears’ Tour with Hawthorne Heights, and we’ve been doing our research to find which tracks we loved best from this extremely intense band.
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
Their 10-song setlist (which you can listen to here on Spotify) included “D4MAGE DONE,” “Murder Mitten,” and “Anomaly.” We also caught the band after the set chatting and taking selfies with fans, signing autographs, and hanging out which is always nice to witness — the care the band puts in with taking time to meet their listeners.
BADFLOWER
We’ve covered Badflower quite a few times over the years, but as time has gone on, we’ve honestly fallen a bit out of love with the recent work. That being said though, the band always puts on a stellar performance if we’re being impartial. Josh even took a moment to jump on top of one of the security guards’ shoulders (shoutout to our boy Dale), to get up close and personal with the rail.
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
It’s not that their music isn’t sonically good for an audience. We just happen to like their early stuff, including “Animal” (which hasn’t been played the last few times we’ve seen them), as well as the ‘OK, I’M SICK’ album from 2019. From that point on, we’ve been lukewarm on recent releases, or maybe we have Badflower fatigue.
We will say that their most recent single, titled “Detroit” makes us believe that maybe they’re feeling the same way due to the lyrical content, but we have to admit that “Teacher Has A Gun” which was performed live for the first time at this year’s Upheaval made us cringe given the state of America and gun violence overall. Hey, transgressiveness can be something that entertains people, it just didn’t do it for us. We don’t mean for this part of the review to be unfair, but we do want to be honest with what we’re hearing and what we were feeling since we’re more familiar with their catalog. See the setlist for yourself on Spotify here.
STABBING WESTWARD
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
This is a band that we’re unfortunately very unaware of, but from the word go, they had the fans kicking! Before the set even started, frontman Christopher Hall was out signing autographs at the railing, and many people were stoked for them to be on this lineup. What won us over to where we want to check out more of their catalog? They covered The Cure’s “Burn” from ‘The Crow’ Soundtrack, and it got us to hang around and jam a bit more to their original tracks as a result. Check out their full catalog here.
BEARTOOTH
When we arrived to Upheaval Festival, we weren’t consciously aware we knew Beartooth all that well. But after urging from another photographer, we decided to make the executive decision to stay for their entire set, and boy, was that the best decision of the weekend, as we absolutely fell in love. Prior to their set, the only track I’d knowingly had any relation to Beartooth was a song frontman Caleb Shomo did with Silverstein called “Burn It Down,” and he brings the same intensity to his performances fronting Beartooth.
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
For those who are unaware, Beartooth’s music can be considered “inspirational” in a lot of ways. Especially with songs off the album ‘The Surface’ like “I Was Alive” and “Might Love Myself,” the lyrics tend to hit you in a special place. Not so much angry, but also, not exactly Emo either. “Doubt Me” has become one of my personal favorites after witnessing this set, and I even was brought to tears listening to the lyrics of “Look The Other Way,” which Caleb played acoustically after dedicating it to his wife, and melding it with a cover of The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside.”
They closed out their set with a monumental moment, bringing out Cullen Moore of Sleep Theory to sing “In Between,” which I’d personally love a studio remix of IMMEDIATELY. Prior to Moore reaching the stage, Caleb mentioned that he felt Sleep Theory was the future of Rock, and encouraged their fans to check them out, which made us regret missing their set at 2PM that day. Check out the full setlist on Spotify here.
BAD OMENS
Our apologies to From Ashes To New, but we didn’t make it back up the hill for their set, which we heard was phenomenal. This was due to us trying to get a prime viewing spot for Bad Omens, who doesn’t allow photographers to photograph them from the photo pit. Sometimes strategy outweighs the schedule, friends! We camped out and muscled our way through the crowd to get a prime viewing spot, and then waited for it to get dark.
When “ARTIFICIAL SUICIDE” kicked off, a pit opened immediately behind us, and sent a shock through our system in order to stay upright. Luckily, that’s a personal favorite of AZ, so we were thrilled to hear it live, while fighting to STAY ALIVE in one of the biggest moshpits we’ve ever participated in. The band is so well put together with their aesthetic, and their rabid fan base is something that is so intense that it rivals boy bands.
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
Their set included playing audio of Poppy for their song “V.A.N.” (we would have simply passed away if she’d shown up for a special performance), “THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND,” and they ended their 14-song set with “Dethrone.” Relive the full setlist here without being tacked into a circle pit here.
THE FESTIVAL OVERALL
Upheaval is one of our favorite festivals to attend. There’s something about this particular Metal and Metal-adjacent community that has a family feel, while still bringing in killer headliners to front the bill and stellar supporting acts to hold it up.
ALL IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMI NICOLE ACRONYM. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO OPEN THE GALLERY.
Something we have to point out is that the Security Team is top-tier. They were on top of everything including keeping an eye on the crowd surfers coming through, any injuries in the pits, and are a joy to be around. We’ve frequented other festivals all over, and personally, I’ve never met a better security team than the one that Upheaval employs.
The crowd takes care of the kids who want to crowd surf. This is apparent with how many children I see doing it. If you watch closely, the fans take extra-special care of anyone under the age of 16, slowly handling them, making sure they are respectfully touching them, and not “yeeting” them over the barricade. As someone who’s never crowd surfed, it made me think that 2025 might be my year because of how kindly they handled the kiddos, and I didn’t see many people get dropped out of the line of sight as I was photographing them coming over the sea of people.
The food options were varied, including Island Noodles, Pizza, and more. Shoutout to the Dumpling place that had a short line and a healthy-ish meal, which I inhaled in between sets, and an extra special thank you to the Monster tent for providing a full-size can for us to test out and keep us fueled during our Day 2 fatigue. We were also super thankful for the water onsite, both in cans and a refill station to keep everyone hydrated.
The Golf Cart people are the MVPs. They are kind, quick, and friendly, and make sure that everyone’s safely on board before departing. I personally didn’t have any issue getting to and from the sets, and rarely had a long wait time to head up or down the hill, which made my aggression to Lansing’s Q106 Scary Terry and his “Fuck That Hill” chant a little less fierce. Had I walked it, maybe I would have been more loud about it.
And lastly, as someone who has encountered many aggressive photographers in my time, I want to send a special shoutout to all the other photographers who captured this festival. I found myself more excited this year to cover Upheaval Festival knowing that I would be in the presence of some of the most fun and friendliest shooters in the state of Michigan, and felt like I was going to hang out with my friends rather than heading in to work. The talent in that crew between the press photographers and the KURSZA media team is top-tier, and I highly recommend doing a search to find other views from the rest of the photographers who captured some of the most killer creative that Michigan has to offer.
We cannot wait for 2025, and we hope you can’t either. As far as the Upheaval Festival Facebook Group is concerned, fans are already filling in their desired lineup wishlist, led by another rabid fanbase, Sleep Token, and the most recent Olympic sensation, Gojira. Will we get them? Only one way to find out. See you in 2025, Grand Rapids!