Big Outdoor Metal Festival This Weekend

Last week, I had a chance to sit down and share a meal with a longtime friend and fellow metal head Jason Smith. Jason is the lead singer of local metal band Thrashmore, and co-owner of the popular food catering business Beast Row Mobile Eatz.

Our relationship goes back many years, and we share many common tastes. One of them, and the topic at hand, is heavy metal music. As we broke bread that day, Jason gave me the inside scoop on the big metal festival he's been working on for the last three months.

In case you haven't heard, there will be 19 local and regional bands on two different stages this Sunday at Tailgators in Cedar Rapids. It's called "Festfull of Metal, and has combined multiple types of metal music all on two stages to make for one of the heaviest shows of the summer!

Smith told me, "I just wanted to put together an event to show people how much Iowa still has to offer in the heavier side of music. Corey Taylor is not the be all, end all, of Iowa metal."

On Sunday, you'll hear the heavy power of bands like Section Hate from Ottumwa to the glam rockers of Lyin' Heart out of Waterloo. You'll see an extreme light show from Astral Space, as well as great tunes from hometown heroes and Black Sabbath tribute act Superknot. Skin Kandy will be there, Jason's band Thrasmore, and a whole lot more.

This will be a day of music you will remember for a very long time! This festival has it all. And, of course, Jason and his wife Lizz will have plenty of food on hand from their Beast Row BBQ menu. If you haven't tried it before, get ready for some killer food. Come hungry and be ready to rock this Sunday at Tailgators!

And I almost forgot, a big shout-out to Tony and Lynn from Atomic Imprint. They did a great job designing the tickets and the flyers. Both Tony and Lynn love and support live music, and I know Tailgators and Jason appreciate their help.

Iowa music is alive and well, my friends. And you can't forget about the metal....Jason and Tailgators won't let you.