The second annual Carolina Rebellion music festival will come to its new home, the Rockingham Speedway, on May 5.
Last year the show took place in Charlotte, and included well-known mainstream rock bands like Seether, Godsmack, Black Stone Cherry, Skillet, Bullet For My Valentine, Three Days Grace, Avenged Sevenfold, My Darkest Days, Saving Abel, Hinder, Alter Bridge, Stone Sour, Pop Evil and Theory of a Dead Man.
Although final details like ticket prices and band line-up have yet to be determined, the conversation about bands is taking place on the event’s Facebook page. Facebook users interested in the festival are sharing the bands they would like to see, and which bands they didn’t like from last year’s line-up. Many Facebook users that are commenting on the page have expressed that Stone Sour should not be part of this year’s line-up.
Festival goers and rock enthusiasts are expected to gather in Richmond County the night before the festival for a special party that the website — www.carolinarebellion.com — hints at but hasn’t fully announced the details for. Meanwhile, that same weekend the Rockingham Dragway — across the road from the speedway — is hosting the All-Harley Drag Racing Association Screamin’ Eagle Spring Nitro Nationals.
“We are excited to pair up with AEG,” said Rockingham Speedway Owner Andy Hillenburg. “They promote concerts like this one. They are leasing the facility out back to put on the Carolina Rebellion. It’s still in the planning. We think it will be something fun for Richmond County. It’s taken a long time to put the pieces together, and it’s just another avenue we are going down.”
If you join the conversation on Facebook, you will see metal fans that said they came all the way from New York and other far-flung states for last year’s concert, and that they are looking forward to this year’s line-up. Facebook users are asking the concert organizers to bring Foo Fighters, Staind, Five Finger Death Punch, and Offspring.
Having an event at a location like the Rockingham Speedway has several advantages, according to the concert planners.
In a statement to the public the event organizers said, “We took all of your feedback last year to heart, and this new location gives us plenty of space to expand our offerings, add more food and beverage stands, more merchandise stands and restrooms, create more parking, and offer more traffic routes to and from the event. And the best part is that this new home comes with a campground for our Rebels, so now you can stay and party all weekend with us.”
By visiting the website, you can sign up for the Carolina Rebellion newsletter, or “Like” the Facebook page to join the conversation. All the details will be released Monday, and that will include ticket prices, camping packages, and the line-up of bands that have been selected for this year’s event.
— Staff Writer Dawn M. Kurry can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 15, or by email at dkurry@heartlandpublications.com.









