ELVERTA –
The normally bucolic Gibson Ranch is anything but this weekend. This weekend it plays host to Aftershock, a massive rock-and-roll festival that grew up in Sacramento. Between 20 and 30,000 people are expected to show up and rock Saturday and Sunday.
“This could be three days. This could become 40,000 a day. This could become our biggest festival once we learn the logistics and figure out how to make it work,” said Danny Hayes, the festival’s CEO.
Hayes estimates the overall economic impact of all those music fans to be between 15 and 20 million dollars.
But that money has its own price.
For the past four years, Aftershock has been held at Discovery Park, in downtown Sacramento. But the festival grew, and that space couldn’t handle the crowds.
Hayes says he’s enjoyed working with the neighbors at Gibson Ranch in Elverta. But some have taken to Facebook, complaining about the traffic, the inconvenience, and the rock-and-roll crowd.”
There’s a lot more people, it’s a lot on the infrastructure. The neighbors have been great. And we’ve made some mistakes, but we’re going to figure it out,” Hayes said.
It may be that focus on putting the best foot forward as a neighbor that had staff at Aftershock trying to block FOX40’s cameras when a fire broke out in a truck parked in the field that had been clear for employee parking.
The truck was destroyed. There were lots of public safety personnel on hand though the fire did not spread and no one was injured.
Neighbors’ may have noticed the thick column of black smoke, but most fans inside barely even noticed as they queued up for their favorite bands.
“Suicidal Tendencies, Slipknot, Black Veil Brides, Seether,” lists fan Jose Perez, who came to the festival from San Jose.
For September Mourning, this is their first time playing Aftershock. But front woman Emily Lazar had been a fan at this festival when it was held in its old space.
“It was at a different park I believe? But this one is amazing. And I’m really glad it moved here,” Lazar said.
