DAY TWO OF UPHEAVAL FESTIVAL 2025 SETS GRAND RAPIDS ABLAZE WITH ROCK & MAYHEM

Show RecapMusic FestivalShow ReviewShow Reviews

Jul 30

A KILLER’S CONFESSION

Welcome to day 2! Day 1 recap was hot and heavy, today we have some wicked weather in the forecast later this afternoon, but everyone here has put that in the back of their mind and are ready to rock out today. First up on the UPHEVAL stage was A Killers Confession and wow did they have a crowd of loyal fans waiting for them. The lead singer Waylon Reavis really brings out the best in people, we saw crowd surfers from very young, to an elderly gentleman and everyone in between. During their fourth song “Hollow” their most recent release off their upcoming album there was even a ‘row pit’ started. AKC played a high energy 7 song set including “Greed”, “Filth”, and “Kill or be Killed”.

NEVERTEL

Nevertel was up next, and these guys are a high energy mix of rock, rap, and EDM music. The crowd was nonstop for their whole set from beginning to end, no one able to stay still. It was a crazy mess of bodies the whole 8 song set including popular songs like “Sacrifice”, “SYM”, and “No Reverse”.

BODYSNATCHER

Bodysnatcher came in with a no holds barred, beat down attitude, and they were itching to get the crowd involved for their set. The only way to describe BodySnatcher, is chaos, from start to finish these guys bring wave after wave of crowd surfers. I would have to say that if you needed to get some aggression out, the Bodysnatcher set was where you had to be.

ROYALE LYNN

Nashville rocker Royale Lynn was the first for us and definitely impressed the hell out of us. Lynn commands the stage and the crowd with her power vocals and stage presence. Fans at the Lookout stage were definitely there to rock out and sing along for this impressive set. Royale Lynn dropped a new album this past June and a lot of these songs were on the set. Her vocal range on “BLACK MAGIC” is pure bliss. If you haven’t checked her out, this is a must listen band

YELAWOLF

Yelawolf was getting the crowd hyped during his opening song “Outer Space” at the Upheaval stage. During song two, “Catfish Billy” Yelawolf’s set was cut short due to lightning strikes in the area and fast-moving storms. He got the crowd singing for “Friends in Low Places” before he left the stage. As the heavy rain was going on and all of us packed into the outer parking lot, soaked to the bone, Yelawolf made it a mission to come out and hang out with the fans in the parking lot. Even though his set was cut short, he made it a memorable moment for the fans.

VENDED

As the clouds started to break and we were let back into the park, fans rushed to the Lookout stage to catch Vended. With a lot of aggression from being stuck in a downpour for an hour, fans let it all out during this set, one of the biggest mosh pits of the weekend for this stage erupted during this set, with barricade security being overwhelmed at times during this set. We’ve had the opportunity to cover this band a couple months ago, and its complete chaos, with an old school Slipknot vibe.

WAGE WAR

Fans kept the energy flowing for Wage War’s set. Wage blended some songs off their new album and mixed it in with some old school heavy songs to get this crowd jumping. As soon as the opening song “THE SHOWS ABOUT TO START”, this crowd immediately went feral. Multiple mosh pits erupted, and crowd surfing was at its highest we’ve seen this weekend. Our stay in the photo pit was short lived, as during “Low”, barricade security was getting washed away by the waterfall of bodies from crowd surfers. Wage War played a heavy hitting 14 song set, and the crowd gave them everything during it.

FALLING IN REVERSE

As the crowd scurried down the hill for the closing performance of the weekend and the sun set behind the hill at Upheaval, Falling In Reverse hit the stage at dark. The band came out on fire, and what we mean by fire, pyrotechnics, so much pyro. Ronnie Radke was greeted by the packed main stage, with a thunderous round of cheers during the opening song “Prequel”. This crowd was amped all weekend, but at this moment, they were light years from where they were, the energy during this set was through the roof. There wasn’t a quite voice in the park, every fan sang along with every song in this set. Multitudes of crowd surfers were no stop, even during the short down times between songs fans were still surfing. FIR put on one of the most impressive stages shows we have seen in a long time fille with pyro, and ultimate fan engagement. You could definitely tell that the band was there for the fans and not just there to do a show and move along to the next. Falling in Reverse plowed through, and action packed 15 song set list that left these fans tired and felling good by the end of the night.

That’s a wrap for us here at Upheaval. If you’re looking for a great 2-day festival at an affordable price, this is the place to be. There is always a little something for everyone here. 3 stages anywhere between 25 and 30 bands with no overlapping set times and 2 days of great music. Well peeps we survived another great festival run, and like everyone else, we are tired and weary. If you want to catch our full picture drops check us out on Facebook and Instagram at No Barricades Photography. (All Stage up-close pics of FIR were contributed by Pullthetriggerbrittphotography)