Get ready for San Antonio's annual three-day Siesta Fest to produce hard-rocking concerts during the annual 11-day shindig known as Fiesta. But unlike past years, fans will also have to prepare for a new location that is certain to meet plenty of resistance.
San Antonio favorites Papa Roach and Bush are the headline acts on Thursday and Friday, April 25 and 26, respectively. Papa Roach made their forthcoming appearance official last night, while Bush announced theirs Sunday. Tickets are available for $11-$15 (details and ticket link at bottom). Powerman 5000 and The Hunger are supporting Papa Roach. Oleander and an act to be determined will open for Bush.
The three-day fest, commencing on Wednesday, April 24 with R&B acts Salt-N-Pepa and Stevie B., will take place at what is being called the GJ Sutton State Parking Lot. In layman's terms, it is the space at 321 Center St. located behind Tucker's, the diminutive nightclub across the street from Backstage Live, which is located on the east side of downtown at 1305 E. Houston St.
Siesta Fest had commonly taken place at the spacious Hemisfair Park across the street from Fiesta's annual four-day A Night In Old San Antonio (NIOSA) festivities at La Villita in the heart of downtown. The past couple years, however, gave rise to less-than-ideal situations. As such, NIOSA participants will have a tremendously much longer walk to Siesta Fest should they choose that method of transportation.
In 2011, a Siesta Fest show at Hemisfair headlined by Dokken was advertised as being free. But when capacity of approximately 5,000 was close to being filled, late-arriving fans were asked to pay $5 or remain outside and try and grab a vantage spot for free through a fence.
Last year, Korn headlined one of the evenings. The crush of fans up front before the band even hit the stage proved to be a challenge for security and caused some concertgoers to ask for assistance in getting out of the throng before things became too out-of-hand, even catastrophic.
As a result, Hemisfair reportedly did not want to stage this year's Siesta Fest.
Papa Roach has played large and small venues in San Antonio. They've helped pack in crowds at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater and also played at Scout Bar -- both of which are no longer being used for concerts. Bush, meanwhile, had approximately 5,000 fans turn out for their Sunken Garden Theater performances on Oct. 28, 2011 and June 3, 2012. As those dates suggest, this will be their third visit in 2 1/2 years.
Given Papa Roach's and Bush's popularity in San Antonio, the 19,000-seat AT&T Center or, at the very least the Illusions Theater inside the Alamodome, would have been ideal locations if Hemisfair wasn't willing to take on Siesta Fest. Even the AT&T Center parking lot, which is hosting the inaugural River City Rockfest on May 26 and puts on the annual Vans Warped tour, would have been apropos during what is San Antonio's finest time of the year weather-wise. By the time the stage, merch booths, Port-A-Potties and anything else needed on the grounds of the GJ Sutton lots are situated, you can count on space for fans, and of course parking, to be very limited.
Stay tuned for the San Antonio Metal Music Examiner's coverage of Siesta Fest. Click here for the SAMME's 2009 interview with Papa Roach guitarist Jerry Horton. For his previous Papa Roach, Bush and Siesta Fest coverage, click on the "suggested" links in blue below.
- WHAT: 7th annual Siesta Fest
- WHEN: 6-11 p.m., April 24-26
- WHERE: GJ Sutton State Parking Lot, 321 Center St. (Lot behind Tucker's, across from Backstage Live, 1305 E. Houston St.).
- WHO: Salt-N-Pepa, Stevie B and Ruido Anejo (April 24); Papa Roach, Powerman 5000 and The Hunger (April 25); Bush, Oleander and TBD (April 26).
- NOTE: Shows are all ages. $11 advance for 21 and up ($15 at gate); $20 advance for Under 21 ($25 at gate). Papa Roach tickets here; Bush tickets here. Also available at www.etix.com, all H-E-B stores and Flip Side Records. Tickets bought online will only be mailed. There is no Will Call.
- MORE INFO: www.siestafest.com (when site gets updated)
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