Countdown to Riff Fest: What’s New with the Bands?

We're weeks away from Riff Fest 2023, and it's time to get excited. This year's lineup is jam-packed with great talent, including I Prevail, Bad Omens, Badflower, Rival Sons and many more. Also, the Riff Fest Festival Stage will have Des Rocs, TigerCub, and BRKN Love. Get your Riff Fest tickets here!

So, what's new with the bands? Here's the latest on Riff Fest 2023 artists.

Rival Sons

Rival Songs recently released their latest studio album, “Darkefighter,” via Low Country Sound/Atlantic Records. Listen to the new album here. Of the album, band member Scott Holiday said in a statement, "It’s a great and accomplished feeling to be able to present to everyone our 8th album: ‘Darkfighter.' This is most certainly our most focused and well thought out album. Something I am very proud of on a personal level. From the early writing and recording to the mixing and mastering… and even the artwork… this is something that represents very much where we are and especially how we have grown. We’ve done our best to push the limits on every aspect once again."

I Prevail

I Prevail has a really snazzy tour bus, and they recently took fans inside that incredible $1 million tour bus via a YouTube tour. The band took to YouTube to post a 10-minute video about their huge living area that the band uses while on the road. I Prevail are currently on tour in support of their 2022 studio album, True Power, which features the hit single “Deep End.” Check out the YouTube video from I Prevail here.

Bad Omens

It's great to have Bad Omens at Riff Fest, especiall because they are selling out shows around the world. Recently, Phoenix metalcore band The World Alive teamed up with Noah Sebastian of Bad Omens for a new song, “One of Us.” Listen to the new song here.

If you're in my life, then you've heard about the band Bad Omens incessantly. I can't stop talking about them. I think the thing that struck me about this band is that it's been a long time since I've heard a brand new band that really connects with me. So, hearing this band and latching onto them was really special for me.

You know how it is. Or, maybe not. But, at least for me, the bands that I first discovered when I first started listening to music are the bands that have remained my favorites. There are too many to list, but some of my favorite bands from the "early days" include Tool, AFI (read more about my love for them here), Staind, Seether, Judas Priest and so many more.

Early last year, I was listening to some music, and suddenly, a song came that made me say, "Wow. What is that? Who is this?!" The song was "Like a Villain" by "Bad Omens." I immediately texted Jade from WRIF to ask if we were playing the band. I fell in love with their sound right away.

Then, I started to listen to all the tracks off their new album, "The Death of Peace of Mind." This is one of the most unique albums I've ever heard. It covers so many genres. It's so experimental and imaginative, but it also is commercial sounding enough to just have a great, mainstream appeal. I've picked a few of my favorite Bad Omens songs below to share with you. I feel like I'm sharing a piece of my heart, as silly as that sounds, as I share these tracks. Enjoy!

Oh, and for the record, my mom loves Bad Omens, too. She's awesome, so that's a big stamp of approval. Learn more about the band here and here. Bad Omens is playing Riff Fest. Get to know the full lineup for this year's festival here.

Bad Omens' "The Death of Peace of Mind" is my favorite Bad Omens song to date. So perfect. It grows and crescendos in such a dramatic way.

"Concrete Jungle" is simply epic. I can listen to it over and over again. Every time I listen, I hear a new sound that I didn't hear before.

I love this unplugged, acoustic version of Bad Omens' "Never Know." Bad Omens can really do anything. They can scream, they can sing and they can pull things way back.

This is the song that made me discover Bad Omens. When I heard it, I was like, "Who is this?" It's been a long item since I've had that reaction to a new band!

Bad Omens' "Just Pretend" went viral on TikTok, and now it's one of the most played rock songs in America. It's a great song, and I'm super happy for their success with it. I actually like the other songs off the album even more, but that just says a lot about how many good tracks these guys can make.