Friday, June 10, was the first day of the Inaugural Orange Loop Rock Festival held at The Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The hotel, a former casino, is located directly on the boardwalk. The Monday before the event was to take place, the decision was made to host the event indoors due to the forecasted thunderstorms for both Saturday and Sunday. This would allow for longer set times according to the event organizers. There were lots of opinions on social media regarding this decision, however, I think it was a good call, especially after what happened at Welcome to Rockville with all the rain. There were very few people in line and the doors opened about 20 minutes late, as you could still hear the bands sound-checking. The main stage venue was located in the former House of Blues location within the hotel.
Day one of The Orange Loop Rock Festival featured rockstar tribute bands, Ozzmosis, The Four Horsemen, and East Side Steven and The Asbury Jacks (AC/DC Tribute). Foreigners Journey was another band that was scheduled to play but mysteriously fell off the bill with no explanation. By the time the first band started, the crowd was still very light, which I sort of expected as there were no original artists playing.
East Side Steven and The Asbury Jacks (AC/DC Tribute)
Friday, June 10
7:20 pm – 8:20 pm
Main Stage
First up was East Side Steven and the Asbury Jacks, an AC/DC Tribute band originating from Asbury Park, New Jersey. They feature primarily songs from the Bon Scott era of AC/DC. Steven Statland came out with a high energy performance jumping and spinning around while nailing his vocals. Christopher “Crash” Siegal on bass was the next most high energy performer. He wore a huge smile the whole show and was interacting with all the other members and jumping off the drum riser multiple times. Their younger guitarist, Francies O’Brien was a shining star flawlessly nailing all the leads. You could tell Kelsey Thomas was having a blast on the drums by his smile and Mitch Wilson was playing a cool Gretsch hollow bodied guitar. Some of the songs they played were “If You Want Blood”, “Sin City”, “TNT”, and “Bad Boy Boogie”. These guys really nailed the sound and put on a great show!
East Side Steven and The Asbury Jacks (AC/DC Tribute) is:
Steven Statland – vocals
Mitch Wilson – guitar
Kelsey Thomas – drums
Christopher Siegel – bass
Francis O’Brien – lead guitar
The Four Horsemen (Metallica Tribute)
Friday, June 10
8:40 pm – 9:40 pm
Main Stage
The Four Horsemen is a Metallica tribute band reminiscent of Metallica in their younger days. Playing a set of mostly older songs along with a few more mainstream hits like “One”, and “Enter Sandman”, these guys ripped through their set flawlessly while banging their heads and probably getting whiplash. Sean, Luke, and Alec were all wearing black tank tops or shirts with cutoff sleeves and long hair while the drummer, Drew, was sporting only facial hair, a bandana on his head, and lots of tattoos. These guys reminded me of a young metal band in the 80’s. Sean’s guitar had a “More Beer” sticker predominantly placed on the front of it. Some of my favorite songs they played were, “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, “Battery”, “Master of Puppets”, “Harvester of Sorrow”, “Sanitarium”, and “Creeping Death”. They ended their set with nothing else but “The Four Horsemen”.
Sean Perry – rhythm/lead guitar, lead vocals
Drew PenCook– drums
Luke – lead guitar, backing vocals
Alec – bass, backing vocals
Ozzmosis (Ozzy Tribute)
Friday, June 10
10:00 pm – 11:30 pm
Main Stage
Although the crowd was still much lighter than expected, it had filled in a little more by the time Ozzmosis hit the stage. This band had a much more elaborate stage setup with a full backdrop featuring stone arches, huge crosses on each side of the stage with the bands logo on them, and CO2 and confetti cannons. The lead singer donned a long trench coat, a jet black wig, and shades and was a great look alike for The Prince of Darkness. Jimmy Tee’s drum kit encompassed him and I think he used every piece of it at least once. I would guess it was a 100+ piece kit. Although I was hoping for a more high energy stage performance, I have to say these guys nailed the sound. Playing a 16-song set including a guitar solo during the song “Suicide Solution”.
Ozzmosis is:
Ricky Woods – lead vocals
Andre Picard – bass guitar
Mike “MachineGun Kelly” – lead guitar
Jimmy Tee – drums, backing vocals
With day one of the inaugural Orange Loop Rock Fest in the books, everything appeared to go off without a hitch, other than the very light attendance. All three tribute bands sounded great and were fun to watch, and a great start to an even better weekend. Tomorrows lineup has 4 artist support network bands on schedule for The Beast Stage, and Doro, Slaughter, Great White, Stephen Pearcy, Hinder, and Chevelle on The Main Stage.
Find East Side Steven and The Asbury Jacks (AC/DC Tribute) online:
Find Ozzmosis online:
Find The Four Horsemen online:
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