With all but one tour stop in Florida cancelled due to Hurricane Irma, Make American Rock Again brought some musical relief to the Orlando area.
Lucky fans in and around the Orlando area were the only ones in the state of Florida to experience the Make America Rock Again tour this time around. Even though they are still reeling from devastating hurricane Irma which tore through the area only one week earlier, they came out to get much-needed respite in the way of music therapy. One thing music fans can agree upon is that music can, if only for a short time, help you forget your troubles and brings everyone together. Some of these fans are still without power in their areas but came out to the venue strong and ready to rock.
With the sun still high in the sky, the first band on stage was Adelitas Way. They brought the stage and crowd to life right out of the gate setting the tone for the concert to come. The crowds were still rolling in as the band performed old favorites such as “Bad Reputation”, “Ready for War”, as well as new 2016 release, “Notorious”. At some point during the set a pizza was delivered to the stage front which vocalist, Rick Dejesus, passed onto to a delighted fan at the front of the stage. The band ended their set with the high-energy song “Invincible”.
Next up was the only band to tour on Make America Rock Again last year, Trapt. They had some questions and requests for the fans to go along with their songs as they performed songs such as “Bring It”. Asking Orlando fans to ‘bring it’ for the song as well as asking who the fans would be going home with, which was met with loud cheering prior to their song, “Who’s Going Home with You Tonight?”. Finishing out their set were two of their biggest songs, “Headstrong” and “Stand Up”.
Drowning Pool come up next and immediately had the crowd moving to their high energy, hard driving sounds. Singer, Jasen Moreno, with his signature Mohawk, mentioned the ‘stage was so big’ and he used every bit of it. He had none stop energy from the stage during such songs as “Step Up” and “Tear Away” causing the breakout of a mosh pit in the center of the crowd. Jasen jumped from the stage during the last song, “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor”, climbing into the crowd to sing face to face with excited fans. The audience, with raised cell phones in order to capture the moments, followed him through the floor of the amphitheater.
Next up was the powerhouse trio of Sick Puppies on stage. The sun was low in the sky and a colorful sunset was adding to the colors of the lights from the stage. The band said they ‘absolutely loved coming to Orlando’ as it is one of their ‘favorite cities’. Of course, after this hurricane came through, the fans definitely appreciated that. Their set list included the hard rocking tunes “Stick To Your Guns” and “Black and Blue” and called for the rowdiest fan to start a mosh pit in the middle of the crowd to get things really going.
The headliner for the evening was Orlando native, Scott Stapp, formerly of Creed. The stage was dark and quiet as was the crowd, in anticipation. They erupted into cheers when he came to the stage. Stapp went to each side thanking everyone for the warm welcome. His set was a big success with the crowd as it mostly consisted of songs from his time in Creed such as “My Sacrifice” and “What If” with the crowd singing right along with him. Scott has recently announced that he is replacing the late Scott Weiland in the band the Art of Anarchy. They have released their second album, (first with Scott’s vocals) entitled The Madness, which came out to rave reviews.
The venue for this event, the Orlando Amphitheater, survived unscathed with little to no noticeable damage from hurricane Irma, it seemed. The sound system and light show that this venue provides is second to none. The sound is powerful and all-encompassing with a mesmerizing light show always. Vendor booths for food and drinks were available as well as concert memorabilia from each band. Band meet and greets also took place mostly pre-show in a building on the property with some food and drinks provided.
Photographer Karen Romano Adams was on hand to capture the moments that rocked on the stage from the pit.
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Make America Rock
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Scott Stapp
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Sick Puppies
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Trapt
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Drowning Pool
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Adelitas Way
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Orlando Amphitheater
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Event Date: 17-SEP-2017