GALLERY + REVIEW: So What?! Festival 2022
Photographed & reviewed by Deirdre Kelly (@beatsbydeirdre)
Third String Entertainment provided Arlington, Texas with an exhilarating festival this Memorial Day Weekend. So What?! Music Fest was one for the books; each day as its own sweaty rollercoaster ride. We were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to cover the sonically diverse 3-day event & share the unique experience with our readers.
Once you force yourself to adapt to the Southern heat, you can properly indulge in the festival’s full glory. The event took place in Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, where they had two hardcore stages, Stay Lit & Revolver, displayed side-by-side on the baseball field. Surrounding the perimeter of the venue were the other stages: Monster Energy (hardcore/pop punk), Flow’s Backyard (rap/hip-hop), Idobi (alternative), & the Hot Topic stage (alternative/pop punk). We made a valiant effort to visit every stage each day. The first day was a perfect trial run on navigating the festival grounds & planning sets accordingly. Check out below who we saw on Friday.
Friday, May 27th
BLACKSTARKIDS
Hot Milk
poutyface
GIDEON
Rebecca Black
Wage War
I Prevail
Bilmuri
Trippie Redd
Saturday, May 28th
Saturday cranked up the heat a little more, both literally & figuratively. We at least arrived this time with a better sense of a game plan moving forward; accounting for travel distances between stages & last-minute set changes. We immediately subjected ourselves to the blistering afternoon sun by attending the sets by the stages in the middle of the field to eventually move outwards toward shade… and repeat until the sun goes down. Fully reliant & grateful for the expansive amount of shade the stadium provides as well as its vendors considering the circumstances. Trying our best not to get burnt-out too quickly, we still managed to catch a great amount of talent on Day 2.
I Met A Yeti
Point North
Mothica
Stand Atlantic
With Confidence
Volumes
Knocked Loose
Simple Plan
Sum 41
Sunday, May 29th
Sunday was not a day for the faint of heart, even for the Southern-bred folks. Despite the 100-degree heat, festival-goers persevered & made the best of the remaining weekend event. Knowing just how jam-packed the talent for the day was, it was integral to stay energized & hydrated for the whole day (thanks, Monster Energy & Liquid Death!) Aside from the confusing time changes on some stages & Chase Atlantic not being able to perform because of technical difficulties, the final day felt like a true success. Even with the artists themselves melting under the Texas sun, they all still gave performances of a lifetime for their just-as-resilient fans. Almost every crowd I witnessed orchestrated some kind of moshing, circle pit or dance-off, which only emphasized the fact we were all having a real good time.
