The 10th edition of Louder Than Life was both chaotic and thrilling, bringing more than 50,000 people each day to the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville in the clouds, rain, and mud. Despite the remnants of Hurricane Helene resulting in the cancellation of Day 2 due to safety concerns, Days 1, 3 and 4 still brought the magic and packed powerful lineups and memorable performances.
Day 1 (Thursday, September 26th): Slipknot, A$$ Tattoos, and Incredible Female Performers
Shortly after noon on Thursday, September 26, while millions of Americans sat at their desks, Jack Underkofler from Dead Poet Society had his “A$$” tattoo finished for him onstage while singing. He passed his guitar to Josh Katz from Badflower, while his laughing (but focused!) tattoo artist Annie Miao worked on her masterpiece. Underkofler kept singing, beautifully even, through his song “HURT,” as the crowd multiplied to watch the multidisciplinary performance on the Main Stage.
Another highlight was seeing the packed crowd of young women for the all-female band The Warning, crushed up against the rail, holding up posters and singing along.
Josh Katz made a second appearance onstage with his own band, Badflower, and hyped up the crowd throughout the set, alternating between tearjerkers and high energy bangers.
Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale brought down the house with her powerful vocals, while punk veterans The Offspring and Sum 41 played their biggest hits as the crowds sang along.
In celebrating 10 years of Louder Than Life, Louisville mayor Craig Greenburg smashed a guitar onstage during the festival’s annual “Christening” ceremony
As the storm rolled into Louisville over the festival, Slipknot celebrated the 25th anniversary of their self-titled album a the crowd of diehard Maggots singing along to their older songs, with the rain increasing steadily as the night wore on. Amazingly, singer Corey Taylor and his masked bandmates were able to finish their set before the rain and wind got too bad.
Day 2 (Friday, September 27th): Hello Helene, So Long Slayer
After delaying the opening of the gates due to the remnants of Hurricane Helene, Louder Than Life organizers ultimately made the difficult decision to cancel Day 2 entirely as the rain and dangerous winds created a safety concern for both the artists and the festivalgoers. Unfortunately, it meant fans missed out on a highly anticipated reunion performance from Slayer, as well as sets from Anthrax, Evanescence, Tom Morello, and many more acts. Promoter Danny Wimmer Presents has since offered Friday ticketholders and 4-day pass holders an opportunity to see Slayer at this month’s Aftershock festival in Sacramento.
Day 3 (Saturday, September 28th): Wet, Chilly, and Ready to Rock
The gates opened right on time, and Day 3 was filled with energetic performances despite recurring rain and muddy grounds. Beautiful vocals from Lilith Czar (who said she’ll be touring in the next year) echoed throughout the festival. Meanwhile, Filter stirred things up with anthems like “Hey Man Nice Shot,” and Nothing More’s ever-shirtless frontman Jonny Hawkins made his way down to the barricade to fire up the crowd.
Clad in a protective ankle boot, singer Ken Casey jumped and danced around stage like an uninjured man smiling ear to ear as Dropkick Murphys brought a little bit of Boston to Louisville.
Unfortunately, due to weather related travel issues, Falling in Reverse canceled their set, but Rammstein’s Till Lindemann (initially scheduled to play Day 2) saved the day with a wonderfully bizarre NSFW set resplendent with vermillion bondage gear costumes, a stripper pole, dirty graphics, and German jams.
David Draiman and Disturbed sounded as strong as ever during a set that included a couple of excellent covers, as well as a contest winner singing a verse of the breakup song “Don’t Tell Me.”
The muddy day concluded with a rousing 15-song set from Mötley Crüe, as Vince Neil belted out classics from “Wild Side” to “Kickstart My Heart.”
Day 4: Sunday: Mostly Dry with a Chance of Rock
While still muddy, the poor weather stayed away for most of Sunday until Spiritbox’s set, where perhaps Courtney LaPlante’s incredible screaming brought the rain down, as the Canadian metal band gave one of the standout performances of the festival.
Other highlights of Day 4 included French metal titans Gojira’s explosive set; Eagles of Death Metal rocking out as singer Jesse Hughes made his way into the crowd; and Breaking Benjamin bringing their radio hits to life with the help of lasers and other striking visuals.
Judas Priest once again delivered the goods, with 73-year-old Rob Halford looking phenomenal in his aviators, septum ring, and black leather ensemble as he gave a stellar vocal performance, hitting every high note along the way.
The night and the festival closed out with headliners Korn playing a high-energy 17-song set to an unhinged and excitable crowd. At one point, singer Jonathan Davis and company had to take a safety break for an injured fan, asking other festivalgoers to take ten steps back. The moshing continued until the end of their performance, apparently with no further incidents.
Louder Than Life 2024 was definitely one for the books. While Hurricane Helene knocked out one quarter of the four-day lineup, the stellar performances made wading through the mud totally worth it. And a special shoutout goes out to 1 Million Strong, a non-profit that offered a substance-free tented area where sober metal and rock lovers enjoyed mocktails and cold brew coffee.
See photos from the 2024 edition of Louder Than Life in the gallery below.
Photo Gallery – Louder Than Life 2024 (click to expand and scroll through):