X-Fest schedule
Janus 12:05-12:30 p.m. (Frickers stage)
Desalitt 12:15-12:35 p.m. (Local X stage)
American Bang 12:35-1 p.m. (Subway stage)
Paper Tongues 1:05-1:35 p.m. (Frickers stage)
Admitted Dilemma 1:20-1:40 p.m. (Local X stage)
Red Line Chemistry 1:40-2:10 p.m. (Subway stage)
SuperKreep 2:10-2:30 p.m. (Local X stage)
Dirty Heads 2:15-2:50 p.m. (Frickers stage)
Drowning Pool 2:55-3:35 p.m. (Subway stage)
Make Joy Cry 3:35-3:55 p.m. (Local X stage)
Sick Puppies 3:40-4:20 p.m. (Frickers stage)
Papa Roach 4:25-5:20 p.m. (Subway stage)
Seether 5:25-6:25 p.m. (Frickers stage)
Shinedown 6:30-7:40 p.m. (Subway stage)
Familiar faces, rising acts and radio favorites are the order of the day for X-Fest 15, which returns to the Montgomery County Fairgrounds on Sunday, Sept. 12. There are returning groups such as Seether and Sick Puppies, newer names like Paper Tongues and Janus and top sellers such as Papa Roach and headliner Shinedown.
Here’s a rundown of a few bands worth checking out on one of the two main stages at the all-day outdoor party hosted by WXEG-FM (103.9).
Shinedown, which formed in Jacksonville, Fla., in 2001, is still supporting its 2008 release, “The Sound of Madness.” The album’s fifth single, “The Crow and the Butterfly,” was released in April and is still getting spins in many markets. Shinedown’s newest song, “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom),” is a previously unreleased cut featured in “The Expendables,” the summer blockbuster starring Sylvester Stallone.
Unlike some of the bands on the X-Fest bill, Papa Roach currently is touring in support of two recent albums. The California-based group’s latest release, “Time for Annihilation: On the Record and On the Road,” was released Aug. 31, just 18 months after the full-length, “Metamorphosis.” The new album features five new studio songs and nine live tracks and is the group’s seventh official full-length.
Few bands have survived the loss of two singers and remained viable, but somehow Drowning Pool has managed to do just that. The Texas hard rock group’s fourth album, titled “Drowning Pool,” was released in April and reached as high as number 35 on Billboard’s top 200 albums chart. “Turn So Cold,” the quartet’s latest single, is a fist-pumping arena rocker that should please longtime fans.
The Dirty Heads, named by “Rolling Stone” magazine as one of the “Best New Bands of 2010,” are quite a departure from the normal X-Fest act. Songs such as “Stand Tall” and “Lay Me Down” are groovy, reggae-tinged acoustic-pop numbers that are more Sublime meets Jack Johnson than Shinedown. This should make for a nice break from the testosterone-heavy rock of most of the other acts.
Seven-piece, groove-based rock outfit Paper Tongues formed in Charlotte, N.C., in 2007 with a desire to shake things up. The result, as found on the band’s self-titled full-length debut from March, is high energy hip-hop-rock embellished with elements of R&B, electronica and funk. Not so much Limp Bizkit as NERD-meets-(Hed) PE.
Contact contributing arts and music writer Don Thrasher at donaldthrasher8@aol.com.
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