UPHEAVAL 2025 OPENS STRONG IN GRAND RAPIDS WITH A FIERY FIRST DAY
PHOTOS BY JIM HELMECY
We’re back.. did you miss us? Our 3rd year of covering UPHEVAL Festival at Belknap Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and what a weekend it was. Friday morning, we were at the park bright and early, watching the line and the excitement build. Big props to Security for keeping everyone safe as they entered the fest grounds, so no one got trampled in their hurry to see the first bands.
THE CONVALESCENCE
Our first stop of the day was at the top of the hill (if you know you know) on the Lookout Stage with The Convalescence, a deathcore band from Toledo, Ohio. These guys bring the death and gore to metal music with their elaborate props and corpse-painted makeup. The crowd was hyped up and ready to go for this brutal set. Playing songs like “A Legacy in Blood”, No Survivors”, “Undead Swarm”, and “Scum”, from across their 14-year career.
THE FUNERAL POTRAIT
The Funeral Portrait opened up the UPHEAVL Stage to a massive crowd of fans chomping at the bit to see them live. Playing songs like “You’re So Ugly When You Cry”, “Dark Thoughts”, and “Suffocate City”, among others, they brought the energy to the early crowd, getting them hyped up for the rest of the day. After their set, the lead singer, Lee Jennings, a personable individual, joined the crowd and took pictures with every fan who wanted to meet him.
SILENT THEORY
Next up at the Lookout Stage was ‘Silent Theory’, and the band did not disappoint. We were happy to reconnect with this band again, our second time since last October in Chicago. With a Nu-metal feel mixed with some modern metalcore, this band can get a crowd jumping from the start of their set. Today was no exception at the Lookout stage. Fans were having a blast singing along and crowd surfing through their entire set. Fan engagement from this band is a full 100% for every song.
TAPROOT
Taproot took over the UPHEAVAL Stage in their signature festival white clothing to the ‘Backstreet Boys’ song “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”. Right off the bat during their first song “Smile” crowd surfers started making their way over the crowd to the waiting barricade security. During their 8-song set they played fan favorites like “Mine”, “Fractured”, and “Poem”.
THE PLOT IN YOU
Following the UPHEAVAL Stage, we had the metalcore band The Plot in You. These guys know how to get a crowd pumped. There were bodies everywhere going nonstop throughout their whole 11-song set, crowd surfers, mosh pit, you name it, they had it going on. Some notable songs from their set include “The One You Loved”, “Left Behind”, and a closing number, “Feel Nothing”.
SCENE QUEEN
After another trek up the hill, we arrive at one of the bands this writer was really looking forward to, Scene Queen. New to the scene, she brings a little bit of everything: pop, rock, and even a hint of disco. With a mix of clean vocals and screams, she gave new meaning to “MILF” and “Finger,” which is a real banger.
ARCHITECTS
Fans rushed to the Main Stage and packed tightly to get in on the action for Architects. They came out on fire and got the crowd moving with “When We Were Young”. After we were warmed up, “Whiplash” was up next, and bodies were coming over the barricade by the dozens. Architects keep the beatdown going through this 12-song set. The fans were either crowd-surfing or moshing nonstop throughout the entire set. We even got into the action during a couple of songs on this set.
CROSSFADE
Crossfade closed out the Lookout Stage for night one on a high note, returning after a long hiatus in 2024. These guys looked and sounded like they had never taken a break. The crowd was definitely into this set, singing loudly along to every song, including “So Far Away”, “Prove You Wrong”, and ending their set with “Cold”. Crossfade had the crowd pumped and ready to go for Friday night’s headliner.
ROB ZOMBIE
So now for the main event of the day, the man, the myth, the legend, Rob Zombie. As night started to roll in the crowd packed themselves in at the main stage ready with anticipation. You could see people stretching and getting ready for the mayhem about to be unloaded on us all. Starting off his set with a couple of White Zombie songs, Rob pulled us all in for a timeless night spanning multiple generations of music. With an elaborate stage show, there was never a dull moment, proving that age is just a number and the music has aged like a fine wine. His set included 17 songs with notable hits like, “Superbeast”, “More Human than Human”, “House of 1000 Corpses”, “Living Dead Girl” and closing the night with an encore of “Dragula”. This was definitely a set to remember, and the crowd left smiling and pumped for day 2.
