The Inaugural HeartSupport Fest is A Smashing Success

HeartSupportFest-Orlando-Feb2023-August Burns Red

This past weekend thousands of music fans descended on the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando, Florida for the inaugural HeartSupport Festival. Social media was abuzz with people sharing their drives and flights from all parts of the US as well as several countries including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. They all came to see a stellar metal and hardcore lineup headlined by Parkway Drive and Rise Against.

Over the two days, festival-goers were treated to over 17 hours of music by 23 bands performing non-overlapping sets on two stages. The weather conditions were perfect with no rain and temperatures ranging between 60 and 80 degrees. Some fans took advantage of the weather by taking breaks lying on the grass and staring at the clear blue sky.

Day one of the festival was certainly the heavier of the two with metalcore and hardcore performances by Bloodlines, Currents, Bleed From Within, He Is Legend, The Word Alive, Comeback Kid, The Devil Wears Prada, Memphis May Fire, Underoath, August Burns Red, Dance Gavin Dance, and Parkway Drive. The music was nonstop for the first nine bands with each getting 20-30 minutes of stage time. When one band finished on the secondary Hot Topic Stage, the next band was ready to start on the main BetterHealth Stage. It was a constant dash back and forth between stages. The final three bands, August Burns Red, Dance Gavin Dance, and Parkway Drive all played longer sets on the main stage which slowed the pace down allowing one to catch their breath.

Bloodlines opened the day on the Hot Topic stage. Once the Christian metalcore/hardcore band from Brownsville, TX hit the stage, it took less than 10 seconds for the first mosh pit to open up. What caught my attention right away was vocalist Alexis Rodriguez’s shirt which stated, “Support Christian Hardcore”. Several of the metalcore bands performing at the festival including The Devil Wears Prada, Memphis Mayfire, Underoath, and August Burns Red are bands in which Christian faith played a role in their music at some point in their career, but most have tried to distance themselves from being labeled a Christian band. Bloodlines, however, does not shy away from the label putting their faith right out there into the face of the audience. All the songs in their set had an overt Christian message. As Rodriguez left the stage, he told the crowd “that man that gave his son Jesus Christ loves you with all his heart”.

HeartSupportFest-Orlando-Feb2023-Bloodlines — Bloodlines

Two bands I had never seen live which impressed me were Bleed From Within and Underoath. When I attend a concert, it is usually more about the atmosphere and the energy of the bands rather than the music. These two put on the most energetic performances of the bands I saw on the first day. Bleed From Within singer Scott Kennedy did his best to blow out his vocal cords during the set. It’s amazing that their current tour is their first ever in the US. Not knowing the band’s origins, it was shocking to hear Kennedy’s thick Scottish accent between songs. Underoath keyboardist Christopher Dudley and lead guitarist Timothy McTague were both crazy providing the best photo ops of the day. Dudley face melted behind his keyboard stand while McTague was all over the stage, at one point picking up a pair of sticks to beat on a drum.

HeartSupportFest-Orlando-Feb2023-Underoath — Underoath

HeartSupportFest-Orlando-Feb2023-BleedFromWithin — Bleed From Within

Throughout the day it felt like Southern California with all the surfing taking place except instead of boards, fans used the hands and shoulders of others to surf their way to the front of the stage. Each band’s performance was filled with a constant flow of crowd surfers and endless mosh pits. The hero of the day was an elderly man, probably in his sixties, dressed as Santa Claus who crowd surfed the whole day. During the last performance by Parkway Drive, photographers were kicked out of the pit early due to the mass of surfers. Festival security did a fantastic job of keeping everyone safe.

When taking a break from the shows, there were plenty of food options including Japanese, Seafood, BBQ, Pizza, Burgers, and Vegan options, plus plenty of non-kid beverage options. There were also VIP teaching lessons throughout the weekend by Telle Smith (The Word Alive), Matt Greiner (August Burns Red), Jake Luhrs (August Burns Red), and scream coach Melissa Cross. Several of the bands including Underoath, Parkway Drive, Dance Gavin Dance, Hawthorne Heights, Senses Fail, The Ghost Inside, and Rise Against were available for Meet & Greets with fans.

HeartSupportFest-Orlando-Feb2023-TheWordAlive — The Word Alive

Once the sun went down, the final three acts, August Burns Red, Dance Gavin Dance, and Parkway Drive took turns on the main BetterHealth stage. The ambience changed from earlier shows with haze and lighting effects engulfing the stage. The crowd was jumping with hands in the air throughout the sets and the crowding surfing increased in frequency. It was an awesome sight. The bands all put on epic performances that left fans wanting for more.

Prior to the festival Jake Luhrs, lead singer of August Burns Red and founder of HeartSupport, said “I’m beyond excited to announce we will be hosting a music festival to benefit HeartSupport and the community! Having the opportunity to host a mission-based music festival with some of my favorite fellow musicians is an absolute dream come true. Our goal with HeartSupport fest is to create a high-energy festival experience and bring the mental health conversation to the forefront of the festival community”.

Jake Luhrs certainly achieved his goal because HeartSupport Fest was a smashing success that drew a huge crowd for its first go around. Besides the great music, attendees were taking advantage of the mental health booths that were setup. This may be the biggest accomplishment of the event if even a few individuals got directed toward better mental health support. Hopefully, HeartSupport Fest continues on and becomes an annual event.

There were plenty of great bands that performed on the first day of the festival. Unfortunately, I did miss a few of the bands and couldn’t make it to day two. Below are more photos from the festival.