Furnace Fest 2025 Tour • Page 16

wait Stephen was there?

 

Yeah, NTFP play through, minus symphony of blasé and runaways

 

wild. I don’t think they advertised that at all. I probably would’ve come for that haha

 

I somehow knew that was happening, not sure if it was them or the original FF announcement

 

Listening to my 2021 playlist and wishing I was there, thinking about what an insane lineup that was top to bottom.

Especially thinking about Turnstile and Knocked Loose considering how much those bands have blown up since then.

 

Anberlin playing NTFP w/ Stephen was announced on Instagram at some point. It’s still there if you scroll.

From First To Last was my favorite set so far. It might be one of my favorite FF sets i’ve experienced- and I don’t even know most of the songs they played because I was never a fan of the Sonny albums!

Orthodox seriously needs to blow up soon. So good. Big Ass Truck was highly anticipated for me but I felt oddly bored watching them. Loved the shirt tho.

Jimmy pulling out some deeper cuts from Clarity and Static Prevails and also My Best Theory was awesome. They knew the assignment. I wish they would retire Something Loud / All The Way and instead bring back Get Right because that song absolutely rips, and keep Criminal Energy in the set if they’re gonna pull from the newest record!

I have so much more I could say, but my final comment for the moment is holy shit I knew Say Anything would be pretty bad, and I should have went far away from it but my love for Is a Real Boy kept me there… that was, by far, my least favorite experience I have had at Furnace Fest ever. It was beyond terrible, and the sound guy at the main stage is determined to destroy everyone’s hearing lol.

oh yeah, I love love love Driveways and I feel like they scratch an itch that I can’t find in another modern pop punk sounding artist. Just so fun.

 

I was leaving when Say Anything was playing and Max just sounded like an old man screaming obscenities at a bunch of Gen Zs. Glad I didn’t even think about staying for that one. Agreed on Orthodox though, they’re sick.

 

I’m pretty curious about Citizen. I wonder if they’re pulling out deep cuts or if it’ll be a normal set? I’m not a big fan of their two latest albums, but if they focus more on Youth, EIGTH, and As You Please it could potentially be a festival highlight for me.

 

Orthodox was the one that did that split set with No Cure last year where they threw a bunch of hamburgers in the crowd, right?

 

Yes, a set that felt tailor made for the Shed that got dropped on unassuming main stage people, haha. Orthodox singer also has that incredible feature on The Callous Daoboys’ Tears on Lambo Leather

 

Today def feels like the biggest crowd of the three days, it’s crowded everywhere you go

 

Really? This is my only day here this year and it seems less busy than past years. Not a bad crowd, just easy to get food, merch, etc.

Highlight of the day so far: Stray From the Path and the dude playing triangle for Horse the Band

 

Confirmed for 2026

 

Coming back in 2026 apparently

 

they put it up officially on their pages as well

 

You just beat me to it!

 

Uhhhh did anyone else know Greg wasn’t performing with TDEP?

 

Nope. They started what, like 40 minutes late? Crowd honestly seems dead...

 

I immediately left to go watch Citizen. It was a good decision.

 

LOL it's like a going out of business sale

 

Dang Knocked Loose were fun

 

Same.

And I agree that Knocked Loose won the day (not surprised), but Sweet Pill was also amazing.

 

I wasn't able to go yesterday (Sunday) but the other days were fun. I have no perspective on crowd overall since I haven't been in years, but it seemed like the shed was packed every night and the main stage also had a lot of folks. Food and drink access were no problem at all and it felt like all the stages had good viewing even from a distance.

Some thoughts:
- lots of delays / sound issues this year, thankfully none for the bands I really wanted to see
- Delta Sleep killed it, but the mix balance could have been better
- JEW were absolutely fantastic, a great headliner
- Texas is the Reason or STD should have been before JEW, Mom Jeans killed the crowd and vibe. I've never liked them and this show only made me like them less - they were super obnoxious and didn't sound good (or maybe they always sound this way)
- Say Anything were a mess, part of it I can't blame them for - they were late going on because of setup stuff, bass was non-existent for the first song, then you could really only hear Fred's guitar for most of the set despite there being 3 guitar players on stage. Max sounded exhausted after one song, I would not see them on purpose again
- Petey USA was wonderful and possibly my favorite show of the two days I was there, since it was my first time seeing him/them - they looked to be having a great time and sounded tight as hell, it was great. Dude is gonna be a rock star soon.

Overall a fun weekend, but I hope next year there are more bands I'm interested in seeing.

 

It seems like most of the sound issues were isolated to the main stage. I think the pond stage sounded better than I've ever heard it. Rolo Tomassi, Citizen, and Emery on that stage were highlights for me.

I think we're at the point where hardcore-adjacent bands are kind of annoyed to be on main stage instead of the shed. That's the impression I got with Terror, and I can't help but think Converge and TDEP deserved the shed as well.

Jimmy Eat World and Knocked Loose were worthy headliners. Did Dropkick Murphys have a good turnout? I didn't hear anyone talk about their set, other than just general apathy towards them as headliners for Saturday. Citizen were great, and it proved to me what I've always said about this fest: the pond stage should really move to cater to that brand of music. Bands like B&C, Citizen, Movements, Tigers Jaw, Pianos Become the Teeth, etc (yipcore basically) could really draw in some people, and I think their popularity fits perfectly on that stage. Keep the main stage for legitimately big bands, keep the shed hardcore adjacent no matter their size, and the pond for the emo/punk/grunge hybrids.

I also am tired of album play throughs. Norma Jean's "playthrough" of O' God was fine, but after their festival defining set last year, it felt lacking. Same with Emery, though I am glad they played Studying Politics in the correct album order and not save it for the end like they did with the hit from The Weak's End last year. Zao are a band I love, but a Liberate Te Ex Inferis playthrough really didn't move the needle for me, but that might be a spicy take in that fandom.

Overall though I just love the vibes of this festival. It's so easy to bounce back and forth to all the stages, plenty of shaded space, everyone is super cool, it's easy to navigate parking and entry/exit, and there are plenty of food options. I'm usually most proud of Birmingham during Furnace Fest weekend, I hope everyone enjoys my city when they come.

 

Hard to guess for 2026 having not been there this year, but Underoath DTGL seems like an obvious headline booking. Curious if they try to go for someone like a Yellowcard or The Starting Line, or more in the AFI or Rise Against route (for two alumni who haven’t played). Spiritbox would be a home run headliner for me. Turnstile are probably too big, but also they have the in.