Inaugural ‘Rocktober Fest’ Coming To The Legendary Majestic Theater

Get excited rock fans! Detroit is getting a new festival that has the music community buzzing. The inaugural 'Rocktober Fest' is coming to the legendary Majestic Theater on October 21st!

This rocking event features both national and up-and-coming local rock bands. Its debut lineup includes Bird and Byron, The Thing With Feathers, Cinema Stereo, Annie Dukes, Loud Thoughts, Pageant, The Dirty Janes, and Lost Hearts Band. In addition to the show on the 21st, festivities will kick off on October 20th with a press day being held at the Majestic featuring all of the artists.

For me, there's nothing like a good music festival in our community. It gives us a chance to get outside and check out a part of town we may not be familiar with. Additionally, it's always a great excuse to leave the house, hear some live music, and maybe discover a new favorite band.

Doors open at 6pm for 'Rocktober Fest' at the Majestic Theater on October 21st. All ages are welcome and tickets are currently going for $49.95 on the website. This is the debut year for the festival, and hopefully it can become an annual thing for us here in Detroit.

The Majestic Theater is always a great venue to see a show. It's standing room so you can be as close or as far from the stage as you'd like. It's stunningly beautiful inside and you get the feel of a large venue, while also enjoying the intimacy of a smaller show. Truly the best of both worlds. Then, the area around the Majestic is great, as well. It's right on Woodward in Midtown, meaning there are plenty of bars and fun places within walking distance to check out before or after the show. Some of my favorite bars in Detroit are in Midtown right around that area.

Check out some songs from some of the bands who will be at the festival below! Then, keep scrolling to check out some other shows at the Majestic Theater that the WRIF has been a part of or gone to. You'll see that one of a kind beauty I was describing earlier.

Detroit is Rock City. Hey, that's not simply my opinion. Just ask the guys in Kiss. I think it's safe to assume they know a thing or two about rock and roll and can be considered experts. With Detroit being Rock City (sorry, Cleveland), are these really Michigan's favorite rock bands?

You'd think it would be some of our many homegrown bands. Icons like Alice Cooper, Bob Seger, Jack White, Kid Rock, and more all are from Detroit. Certainly, our taste in rock leans local, right?

According to a new report from BetMichigan.com, the answer is: no. That took me by surprise. I've long felt that we had a greater appreciation for all things Detroit and Michigan Made. Unfortunately, I'm wrong. As far as the Top 10 goes, there are no Detroit bands. That means no Seger, no Kid, no MC5. I Prevail? Nope. They didn't make the list, either. What about Greta Van Fleet? They sold out Little Caesars Arena! Nope, not them, either.

So, if all of these local bands didn't make the cut...who did? How did they create this list? Turns out, it's legit. It's not just the opinion of one author, or anything like that. Real data and analytics were involved, to my dismay.

To find Michigan's favorite rock band, BetMichigan.com utilized Parade's Best Rock Bands Of All Time list to create a field of 100 rock bands. Then, they used Google Trends to determine what bands have been searched for the most over the past 12 months.

When all was said and done, here's what they determined were the favorite rock bands in the state of Michigan. As I previously mentioned, that makes this based in science. It's not opinion. However, I'd like to find a way to maybe bring social media into the equation, because I simply can't agree with the results. Perhaps if we also examined social media mentions, follows, or likes we'd see more local bands, like I suspected. In the meantime, I accept the results. I don't want to spoil anything but, if you're expecting to see some local bands at the top...prepare to be disappointed.

Okay, I get why The Beatles would be number one. They're largely considered the greatest band of all-time.

They're probably the biggest name in active rock right now. While they aren't local, they do have two shows in November at Ford Field. That could definitely be driving the Google Trends.

They're making a huge resurgence, thanks in large part to TikTok. A lot of younger people are probably Google'ing them now and learning more about them, which is great to see. I support this.

Not a surprise. I'm sure the movie is driving a fair amount of the Google searches, or at least helping. I'm still surprised there's no Detroit bands so far.

Great to see! One of my favorite bands of all-time. They're getting ready to drop a new album and it should be a gem.

Who doesn't love Bruce? I can't complain about him making the top ten. Still waiting on a Detroit band, though. However, I must say he has one of the best Christmas songs of all-time.

His music and legacy will live on forever. Still making the top ten list is a big statement given his passing roughly seven years ago. I enjoy his music, but I loved him in Extras with Ricky Gervais. One of the greatest cameos of all-time and worth checking out. Watch Ricky talk about the experience below.

I love Pink Floyd. They remain a timeless treasure. Note: still no Detroit bands.

They remain as relevant as ever. I don't know if I'm more surprised that they made the list or are only number 9?

AC/DC closes out the top ten list of Michigan's favorite rock bands, according to BetMichigan.com.

No Detroit bands made the top 10, as you just saw. Maybe it's because we don't need to Google them? We already know enough about our hometown heroes? I'll go with that.

For more on the inaugural Rocktober Fest check out their website!