Rock am Ring and Rock im Park
The Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually in Germany. While Rock am Ring takes place at the Nürburgring race track paddock at the village of Nürburg, Rock im Park takes place some 200 miles away in Nuremberg, at the Zeppelinfeld which also is used as a race track paddock. Rock am Ring festival was founded by Marek Lieberberg in 1985.
The two festivals are usually regarded as one event sharing nearly identical lineups. All artists perform one day at the Nürburgring and another day in Nuremberg during the three-day event. There have been minor exceptions in the past years where an artist would be announced for one of the festivals only. Combined, Rock im Park and Rock am Ring are the largest music festivals held in Germany and one of the largest in the world with a combined attendance of over 150,000 people in 2007, selling out both events in advance for the first time.
History
In 1980, German concert promoter Marek Lieberberg initiated a festival project on the Nürburgring, which at the time only had the old part with very small paddock areas, but it failed due to protests from locals and a lack of parking spaces. The old Nürburgring pits were demolished in late 1982, and a modern Grand Prix track with large paved paddock was opened in 1984. Owner was the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, plus the local county.In 1985, Lieberberg was inspired to bring to the German region of the Palatinate the atmosphere that reigned in the town of Bethel during the first Woodstock festival. The first managing director of the new Nürburgring complex, Rainer Mertel, placed his trust in Lieberberg. Thus, in 1985, Lieberberg founded the Rock am Ring festival.
Rock am Ring was originally planned as a one-time festival on the Nürburgring motorsports complex, celebrating the inauguration of a newer, shorter version of the race track in 1985, but due to its commercial success, it was decided to make the concert an annual event. However, after a dip in attendance for the 1988 event, the festival was put on hiatus for two years. In 1991, the festival returned with a new concept: as well as featuring well-known artists, event organizers present lesser known up-and-coming bands to the public. In 1993, Rock im Park took place for the first time in Vienna. For the 1994 event, Rock im Park moved to the disused Munich-Riem airport, and the following year to Munich's Olympiastadion, where it found a home for the 1995 and 1996 event. In 1997 Rock im Park moved to Nuremberg's Frankenstadion where it was held until the venue was unavailable in 2004 because the stadium was being renovated for the 2006 Football World Cup. Since 2004 the venue moved again to the current Zeppelinfeld, where Rock im Park was since held with the exception of the 2006 festival, which due to the World Cup was moved to the nearby Luitpoldhain park.
The 2007 festival was used in a science experiment to test the effects of large bodies of people simultaneously jumping. The experiment data was used to calculate the result if the entire Chinese population were to jump in unison. The experiment concluded no significant results would come from the theoretical event.
After 29 editions of Rock am Ring, the new private owner of the Nürburgring decided that the contract would not be extended. The original festival organizers continued at another location in 2015 and 2016, returning to the Nürburgring in 2017.
2008 festival
The 2008 festival took place on 6–8 June 2008. 91 acts have been officially confirmed. Both festivals were sold out on 1 May.Confirmed acts:
3 Doors Down, 36 Crazyfists, Against Me!, Airbourne, Alpha Galates, Alter Bridge, Animal Alpha, Babyshambles, Bad Religion, Bedouin Soundclash, the Black Dahlia Murder, Black Stone Cherry, Black Tide, Bloodlights, Booka Shade, Bullet for My Valentine, CSS, Cavalera Conspiracy, Chiodos, Coheed and Cambria, Culcha Candela, Danko Jones, Die Toten Hosen, Dimmu Borgir, Disco Ensemble, Disturbed, Eagles of Death Metal, EL*KE, Fair to Midland, Fettes Brot, Fiction Plane, Filter, Finger Eleven, From First to Last, Gavin DeGraw, Gavin Rossdale, High on Fire, HIM, Hot Chip, In Case of Fire, In Flames, Incubus, Infadels, Jimmy Eat World, Joe Lean & the Jing Jang Jong, Johnossi, Jonathan Davis, Justice, Kate Nash, Kid Rock, Kill Hannah, Lostprophets, Madsen, Manic Street Preachers, Masters of Reality, Metallica, Motörhead, Nightwish, Oomph!, Opeth, Paramore, Pete Murray, Queens of the Stone Age, Rafael Weber, Rage Against the Machine, Rival Schools, Róisín Murphy, Rooney, Rose Tattoo, Saul Williams, Saxon, Seether, Serj Tankian, Silverstein, Simple Plan, Söhne Mannheims, Sonic Syndicate, Sportfreunde Stiller, Stereophonics, Steriogram, Takida, the Fall of Troy, the Fratellis, the Futureheads, the Hellacopters, the Offspring, the Prodigy, the Streets, the Verve, Tokyo Police Club, Turisas and ZOX.
Glory of Joann's lists them as performing at Rock am Ring, and lists them as officially confirmed.
2009 festival
The headline acts for 2009 were: Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, the Prodigy, Korn, Marilyn Manson, the Killers, Placebo and Billy Talent. Other bands included 2raumwohnung, Alexisonfire, All That Remains, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Basement Jaxx, Biffy Clyro, Black Stone Cherry, Bloc Party, Bring Me the Horizon, Chester French, Chris Cornell, Dir En Grey, DragonForce, Dredg, Enter Shikari, Esser, Expatriate, Five Finger Death Punch, Flogging Molly, Forbidden Theory, Gallows, Guano Apes, Hollywood Undead, Ich Bin Bunt, Jan Delay & Disko No. 1, Juliette Lewis, Kettcar, Kilians, Killswitch Engage, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Little Man Tate, Machine Head, Madina Lake, Madness, Mando Diao, M.I.A., Middle Class Rut, New Found Glory, Pain, Papa Roach, Peter Bjorn and John, Peter Fox, Phoenix, Polarkreis 18, Razorlight, Reamonn, Scouting for Girls, Selig, Sevendust, Shinedown, Staind, Steadlür, Sugarplum Fairy, the All-American Rejects, the Crave, the Gaslight Anthem, the Kooks, the Rifles, the Script, the Soundtrack of Our Lives, the Subways, Tomte, Trivium, Volbeat, White LiesRock am Ring tickets were sold out by March 26.
2011 festival
The headliners for the 2011 festival were System of a Down and Coldplay. Other bands included Disturbed, Alter Bridge, Rob Zombie, Interpol, Avenged Sevenfold, Social Distortion, Volbeat, Beatsteaks, August Burns Red, the BossHoss, Hurts, Korn, Madsen, Mando Diao, the Kooks, Sevendust, In Flames, 3 Doors Down, Lifehouse, the Devil Wears Prada, Ash and the Gaslight Anthem.2012 festival
Acts for the 2012 edition included As I Lay Dying, Anthrax, Awolnation, Billy Talent, Crystal Castles, Deichkind, DevilDriver, Dick Brave and the Backbeats, Die Toten Hosen, Donots, Enter Shikari, Evanescence, Example, Gossip, Gojira, Guano Apes, Kasabian, Keane, Korn, The Koletzkis, Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God, Lexy & K-Paul, Linkin Park, Machine Head, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, MIA., Motörhead, The Offspring, Opeth, Periphery, Shinedown, Skrillex, Soundgarden, Tenacious D, The Subways, and Trivium.2013 festival
2013's edition was sold out since the beginning of January, and included acts like Thirty Seconds to Mars, Green Day, The Prodigy, Fettes Brot, Volbeat, Stone Sour, Sportfreunde Stiller, Simple Plan, The Killers, Paramore, All Time Low, Fun., Imagine Dragons, Papa Roach, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Bullet for My Valentine, Amon Amarth, A Day to Remember, Bring Me the Horizon, Asking Alexandria, The Bosshoss, Airbourne, Bush, Hacktivist, The Bloody Beetroots, Hurts, Phoenix, Tocotronic, Biffy Clyro, Stereophonics, Kate Nash, Selig, Bosse, Kraftklub, Bad Religion, Royal Republic, Seeed, Casper, The Wombats, ASAP Rocky, Five Finger Death Punch, Coheed And Cambria, Coal Chamber, Escape the Fate, Newsted and Pierce the Veil2014 festival
The 2014 edition of Rock am Ring was spread over 4 days.Headliners: Iron Maiden, Kings of Leon, Linkin Park, Metallica. Other bands included Alligatoah, Alter Bridge, Avenged Sevenfold, Babyshambles, Booka Shade, Die Fantastischen Vier, Fall Out Boy, Ghost, Gogol Bordello, Heaven Shall Burn, In Extremo, Jake Bugg, Jan Delay & Disko No. 1, John Newman, Karnivool, Klangkarussell Live, Kvelertak, Left Boy, Mando Diao, Marteria, Mastodon, Maxïmo Park, Milky Chance, Nine Inch Nails, Of Mice & Men, Opeth, Portugal. The Man, Powerman 5000, Queens of the Stone Age, Rob Zombie, Rudimental, SDP, Sierra Kidd, Slayer, Suicide Silence, Teesy, Triggerfinger, The Offspring.
2015 festival
In 2015 the festival moved to a new location, Mendig Air BaseHeadliners: Foo Fighters, Die Toten Hosen, Slipknot, Motionless in White. Other bands included A Day to Remember, Asking Alexandria, Bad Religion, Bastille, Body Count Feat. Ice-T, Eagles of Death Metal, Enter Shikari, Godsmack, Hollywood Undead, In Flames, Interpol, Lamb of God, Marilyn Manson, Motörhead, Papa Roach, Parkway Drive, Pop Evil, Rise Against, Royal Republic, Skindred, Slash, Three Days Grace, Yellowcard and Zebrahead.
2016 festival
The festival was cancelled during the second day due to severe thunderstorms.2017 festival
In 2017 the festival returned to the Nürburgring.Headliners: Rammstein, Die Toten Hosen and System of a Down.
On the evening of 2 June 2017, the first day of the festival, the sold-out event with about 85,000 visitors was interrupted at 9:00 pm during a performance by the Düsseldorf band Broilers and the festival grounds cleared. The reason given was a terrorist situation. Other scheduled performances for Friday evening, including those of the headliner Rammstein and the rapper Marteria, were cancelled. Three men were arrested and checked in Hesse that same evening. Two of the men assigned to the Salafist scene in Hesse had access rights in the form of bracelets, which gave them direct access to many festival areas. One of the men was also suspected of having links to the terrorist scene. However, on the morning of 3 June, after a search of the grounds and a raid of the suspect's homes, the police announced that the suspicion of a threatening attack had not been substantiated, so that the festival could continue on Saturday noon. The access rights to the festival site had been received by the two main suspects due to a short-term staffing request from an external security service provider.
2018 festival
The 2018 festival took place again in Nürburgring. Headliners: Thirty Seconds to Mars, Muse, Foo Fighters, Avenged Sevenfold, Marilyn Manson, and Gorillaz.2019 festival
The 2019 festival took place once again in Nürburgring. Headliners: Tool, Slipknot, Die Ärzte, and Slayer. Out of the 77 artists in the lineup, 36 percent were rock bands, equally representing alternative rock, hard rock, and indie rock, and 29 percent were metal bands.| Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Bonez MC & RAF Camora The 1975 SDP Foals Cage the Elephant Welshly Arms Against the Current Drangsal iDKHow Palisades | Die Antwoord Slayer Sabaton Architects Three Days Grace Trivium Starset I Prevail The Fever 333 The Hu | Marteria & Casper Bastille Alligatoah Kontra K KC Rebell BHZ BRKN DVTCH NORRIS |
| Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Arch Enemy Behemoth Beartooth Kvelertak While She Sleeps Beyond the Black Bad Wolves Power Trip Fiend | Alle Farben Left Boy Kovacs Alice Glass Nothing, Nowhere. Juke Ross Ryan Sheridan Jadu | Hot Water Music Eagles of Death Metal Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Graveyard Kadavar The Struts Like a Storm Adam Angst Coldrain Blackout Problems |
2020 festival
On 16 April 2020, the 2020 festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.2021 festival
On 10 March 2021, the 2021 festival was once more cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.2022 festival
The festival resumed after being cancelled 2 years in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival took place from 3 June through to 5 June 2022. The festivals headliners were Green Day, Muse, Deftones, Volbeat, Billy Talent, Korn, Weezer, The Offspring, Mastodon, and The Distillers.| Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Scooter Marteria Jan Delay & Disko No. 1 BHZ Masked Wolf SSIO Serious Klein 102 Boyz | Casper Deftones Fever 333 Ice Nine Kills Mastodon Baroness Ego Kill Talent | Billy Talent Beatsteaks A Day To Remember Royal Republic Bush Tremonti Myles Kennedy Daughtry |
| Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Danko Jones Stick To Your Guns Caliban The Murder Capital Spiritbox Fire From The Gods Unprocessed Akuma Six | Sondaschule Die Kassierer Don Broco Toxpack Schmutzki The Linda Lindas Boston Manor Kafvka Schimmerling | Boys Noize Digitalism Drangsal 100 gecs Grandson Skynd The Faim Tempt RedHook |
2023 festival
June 2–4.Headliners: Foo Fighters, Limp Bizkit, Rise Against, Kings of Leon, K.I.Z, Tenacious D, Die Toten Hosen, 5FDP, Bring Me the Horizon, Machine Gun Kelly
2024 festival
June 7–9.Headliners: Die Ärzte, Avenged Sevenfold, QOTSA, Green Day, Broilers, Billy Talent, Måneskin, Parkway Drive, Kraftklub
2025 festival
The festival was the celebrating 40 years anniversary.- June 6–8.
- 90.000 guests
- 102 bands
- 4 stages - Utopia, Mandora, Orbit & Atmos
Headliners: Korn, Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon, Sleep Token, The Prodigy, Kontra K, Rise Against, SDP, Spiritbox, Beatsteaks and Biffy Clyro
Special Guests: Electric Callboy, Roy Bianco & Die Abbrunzati Boys, Knocked Loose
| Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Electric Bassboy Tocotronic Olli Schulz The Prodigy Adam Angst Destroy Boys Drangsal SOFT PLAY Mia Morgan Die Nerven Christin Nichols | Millencolin Smash Into Pieces Seven Hours After Violet Northlane Future Palace Evil Jared x Krogi Holy Wars Defects Still Talk | Brutalismus 3000 Stray From the Path Terror thrown Whitechapel Deafheaven VOWWS Amira Elfeky I See Stars Zetra |
| Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Boston Manor Creeper Fleshwater Nasty Static Dress FJØRT LØLØ Survive Said The Prophet Tulpe unpeople | Touché Amoré Turbostaat Zebrahead SiM (band) Superheaven Trophy Eyes Grade 2 Spiritual Cramp Teen Mortgage Kris Barras Band | Kasalla ZSK Deine Cousine Massendefekt AViVA Drug Church Pain of Truth Leftovers The Red Flags |