Carolina Rebellion - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - May 7th, 2011 - Charlotte, NC

These one or two day festivals are a great way to see the top of what is hot in the music scene and each year a new one seems to pop up. This year was no different as we saw the inaugural Carolina Rebellion. Held on the Expo grounds just outside Charlotte, the festival sold out weeks in advance with bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Godsmack, Three Days Grace and Seether holding court on the main stages.

The lineup for this festival was basically a who's who of todays rock music. With two main stages that alternated and a second stage at the opposite end of the festival grounds, music fans were able to catch sets by those that are on the top of their game as well as up and coming artists such as Art of Dying and Pop Evil. Unfortunately for us we weren't able to catch the second stage as we had press duties with some of the bands and scheduling didn't permit enough time but from what we heard from others, the second stage rocked!

The main stage kicked off with My Darkest Days who are currently out on tour with Three Days Grace. Here is another band within the vein of Three Days Grace, Hinder, Nickelback but please don't write them off because of that. (Each of these bands has their own merits and should be judged separately) Their single "Porn Star Dancing" has received a lot of radio play and they are currently working their next single "Move Your Body". Great to see and hear the crowd sing along to more than just the singles! If you missed their set due to being in line to get into the festival grounds, please check them out on tour, you won't be disappointed.

Throughout the day the two main stages alternated but it wasn't really until Skillet hit the stage that you noticed a difference in the bands. Not that things weren't great before this but Skillet definitely played to the crowd. Bassist Korey Cooper even ventured over towards the other stage so those camped out over there were given their dues. It was a nice added touch to a solid set.

Another standout moment came when Seether was joined onstage for their final song "Broken" by Halestorm's frontwoman, Lzzy Hale. She totally nails this song and it would be great to actually have them record a version with her.

Have to add that frontman Adam Gautier of Three Days Grace did the same when it was their turn to play and in fact was over on the opposite stage for a bit. He even climbed the scaffolding of the stage up to the top towards the end of their set. These are moments that the sold out crowd won't easily forget.

The day capped off with closing sets from Godsmack and Avenged Sevenfold. Godsmack's frontman Sully Erna made a comment about "getting" Osama Bin Laden and you could see Sully sporting a "Fuck War" patch on the back of his jeans. Godsmack as always put out a solid set. They have never been one to disappoint. Avenged Sevenfold closed out the other main stage with a set they have been performing for the past year minus the "body" dropping from the rafters. If you haven't seen either of these bands or any of the others, please do go and see them. These are the top of what is currently popular in rock music.

The only downfalls to the entire day came from the long lines. There were long lines to park, long lines to get into the festival and long lines for food and drinks. I would recommend for people going next year to park in the satellite lots and use the shuttle as those shuttles were able to bypass the lines of cars trying to park closer but then those people still would have to wait in the long lines to get into the festival itself.