We are one month away from one of the hottest heavy music festivals of the year—Furnace Fest! Bringing together pop punk, emo, hardcore, metalcore, deathcore, and many more genres—because I can only say "core" so many times—the festival returns to the historic Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama, for two stacked days this October.
The 10th edition of Furnace Fest features a stacked group of headliners, led by Bring Me The Horizon, who will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Count Your Blessings. The lineup also features pop-punk legends A Day To Remember, the recently reunited Circa Survive, and Motionless In White, who are celebrating two decades as a band following the release of their seventh album, Decades. Underoath will also commemorate the 20th anniversary of Define the Great Line by performing the album in its entirety.
Beyond the headliners, Furnace Fest has put together a massive lineup spanning through generations of alternative and heavy music scenes. Saturday brings scene-defining acts such as Chiodos, We Came as Romans, Hatebreed, Poison the Well, Hail the Sun, and Emery, while Sunday keeps the energy high with Slaughter to Prevail, Kublai Khan TX, The Plot in You, Norma Jean, Suicide Silence, Bleeding Through, and Chelsea Grin. Prepare yourselves for an unforgettable weekend with 60+ bands performing across three stages, with plenty of ground and music to discover from the moment the gates open!
With so many artists packed into one weekend, narrowing down our most anticipated sets wasn't an easy task. Fellow Music Scene Media contributor Rorrie and I are spotlighting three bands we can't wait to see—Bring Me The Horizon, A Day To Remember, and Chiodos—and sharing a few songs we hope to hear at Furnace Fest! Also, I'm a huge Origami Angel fan, so I have to do a shameless honorable mention as well.
Bring Me the Horizon will close out the last day of Furnace Fest with a rare celebration of their earliest era. Marking the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Count Your Blessings, the band will perform the record in its entirety along with the B-sides.
I grew up listening to every era of their music and attended several of their earliest shows at The White Rabbit venue in San Antonio, and watching them rise to the stages they perform at now has been incredible. Even with the album approaching its 20th anniversary, I never expected the band to revisit it by releasing a fully re-recorded version, Count Your Blessings | Repented. This special set will take longtime fans back to their early deathcore roots that launched the band's career before they evolved into one of the biggest and most adventurous names in modern rock.
Rorrie's song wishlist: Dehumanized, Kingslayer, Throne, Drown, Shadow Moses
My song wishlist: For Stevie Wonder's Eyes Only (Braille), Follow You, The House of Wolves, Top 10 StaTues tHat CriEd bloOd, Chelsea Smile
A few bands can unite pop-punk fans and hardcore crowds quite like A Day To Remember. For more than two decades, the Florida-based band has built their reputation on massive singalong choruses, crushing breakdowns, and larger-than-life performances where crowd-surfing is practically mandatory. Now armed with their eighth studio album, Big Ole Album Vol. 1, A Day To Remember will headline the opening night of Furnace Fest with a set spanning across their extensive catalog, including fan favorites such as "The Downfall of Us All," "All I Want," and "If It Means a Lot to You."
Whether you came to sing until your voice gives out or to launch yourself into a sea of people, this set will deliver both. Having watched A Day To Remember close out multiple years of Warped, I have no doubt that their Furnace Fest performance will be nothing short of spectacular!
Rorrie's song wishlist: Resentment, Have Faith In Me, 2nd Sucks, If It Means A Lot To You
My song wishlist: Flowers, The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle, Monument, I'm Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?
Emo music is thriving this year, especially with Chiodos returning after their decade-long hiatus. Last year, the band celebrated the 20th anniversary of their debut album, All's Well That Ends Well, with sold-out shows and a full re-recording of the record. Chiodos holds a special place in my concert history: I experienced my first wall of death during their 2009 Warped Tour performance of "The Words 'Best Friend' Become Redefined." Now entering a new chapter with fresh music, the band aims to bring that same electrifying intensity to Furnace Fest. This reunion is easily one of the weekend's most anticipated sets for fans who never had the chance to see Chiodos before the hiatus or who have waited years to see them again.
Rorrie's song wishlist: Behvis Bullock, Love Is A Cat From Hell, All Nereids Beware, If I Cut My Hair Hawaii Will Sink, Expensive Conversations in Cheap Motels
My song wishlist: Baby, You Wouldn't Last A Minute On The Creek, There's No Penguins In Alaska, The Undertaker's Thirst for Revenge Is Unquenchable, Bulls Make Money, Bears Make Money, Pigs Get Slaughtered, Lexington. (Joey Pea-Pot with a Monkey Face.)
(Wow, I forgot they have really long song names.)
My personal bonus pick for the weekend is Origami Angel. Their energy is infectious and unpredictable, and they have a wonderful way of blending emo, pop-punk, and heavier influences that make them impossible to overlook. If you've never heard of them before, they're just two dudes—Ryland Heagy on vocals and guitar and Pat Doherty on the drums—playing their hearts out on stage and having a great time. I recently covered their performance on the Camp Screamo tour stop in San Antonio alongside Silverstein and Story of the Year, and their set was easily one of my favorite parts of the night. "The Title Track," "Self-Destruct," and "Bossa Nova Corps" were my three biggest highlights, and I'm so stoked to hear them again at Furnace Fest!
You can find tickets for Furnace Fest on their official website. The festival offers 3 experience tiers to choose from: GA, Weekend VIP, and Super VIP, along with Single Day passes if you're only making it out to one day.
Parking at the venue? Plan to arrive early to find a spot nearby, or schedule your rideshare in advance to make the most out of your time there. The festival's homepage shows that tickets are 95% sold out and currently recommends joining the waitlist to purchase a parking pass.
Need somewhere to stay? Furnace Fest has your back! They partnered with Jampack to offer discounted ticket and hotel packages for select hotels conveniently close to Sloss Furnaces.
If this lineup hasn't already convinced you to make the trip to Birmingham, imagine more than 60 bands taking over a historic iron furnace while thousands of fans sing, crowd-surf, and collide in some of the toughest mosh pits you'll ever see.
Choosing which stage to run toward may be the hardest part of the weekend, with full album performances, long-awaited reunions, and a stacked all-day lineup. Take it all in at your pace, discover some new music, and make the most of every moment! That's the Furnace Fest experience, and the 10th edition only happens once!
Grab your tickets through the official Furnace Fest website, break in your shoes before the weekend, and pack your earplugs, sunscreen, and a backup power bank. Most importantly, look out for one another in the pit and prepare to have the time of your life!
