Aftershock 2024 astounded Sacramento City College students in the world of rock, bringing an unforgettable weekend of entertainment with a legendary lineup. With over 160,000 attendees and 130 bands performing, Aftershock hit record-breaking attendance numbers.
The full lineup featured relatively new artists and rising talents, such as Deadlands and Jigsaw Youth, established around 2019 and 2020. However, to the excitement of many attendees, classic rock and metal icons also took the stage, including Mötley Crüe, formed in 1981, and the oldest appearing band, Judas Priest, formed in 1969.
Two of the “Big Four” thrash metal bands performed live on separate days. Anthrax performed on Saturday, Oct. 12, and Slayer performed as a headliner on Thursday, Oct. 10.
City College student Devin Daniels, a third-year majoring in accounting, shared her excitement about which band she was most eager to experience.
“I was looking forward to seeing Falling in Reverse a lot! They’re a big nostalgic band for me and the energy at their shows has always seemed so good,” Daniels said.
The atmosphere was overwhelmingly positive as many attendees danced with high energy throughout the venue. During Set It Off, a band formed in 2008, one of the bigger moshing events occurred as the lead singer Cody Carson encouraged fans to form a wall of death. The wall of death began with people in the crowd being split down the middle, then once the beat dropped, everyone ran into the middle and started a large-scale mosh pit.
However, the venue was not without faults, as the crowds reached numbers in the tens of thousands each day, and the already scorching temperatures rose, reaching highs of over 95 degrees. The festival had little shaded coverage, being in the middle of a wide-open field. Large crowds tended to gather underneath the shade of the small amount of trees and retreated to the more secluded VIP sections.
Juliana Murray, a second-year majoring in psychology at City College, stated her opinion on the rising temperatures affecting the setting of Aftershock. “The temperature is really hot. Global warming is real, and fall started way too late,” she said. Additionally, she commented on the abundance of crowds generating more heat as well. “The venue was very crowded and loud, but it was fun. It was a little hot because of all the bodies next to each other.”
Due to the considerably large quantity of attendees, elevated security measures were in place, requiring bag searches and metal detectors for admittance. Throughout the festival, emergency exits had been placed as well, for those who required urgent departure.
Security also focused their attention on catching crowd surfers at the front of the barriers, which separated the crowd from the stage. The crowd would carry them forward, throw them over the barrier, and security would escort them back into the pit safely.
Even with all of these security measures in place, it was recommended to keep careful watch over all items during such a substantially scaled event. Third-year City College student Thomas Hamlin, majoring in English, reported having his phone stolen during the event and was unsuccessful in his attempt to get it back.
“Pickpockets are pervasive at Aftershock. Wear deep pockets and check them regularly,” Hamlin advised.
