JERA ON AIR REVIEW: Beautiful Weather & Great Bands On Friday

With a dodgy weather forecast, Jera On Air day 1 was supposed to be a very rainy, muddy day, but we collectively got very lucky. Around 2 PM there was some rain, but the rest of the day was filled with sunshine, beer and great bands.

With 3 stages on the festival, it’s always rough to make a selection where to go, but luckily the 2 biggest stages didn’t have a lot of clashes, giving us the opportunity to see and photograph a ton of bands, starting with the revered punk outfit Anti-Flag.

While never have seen Anti-Flag before today, we had heard good things about their energy and live performance and we were not disappointed. They were energetic, jumping on every chance they got, making the photography aspect of our purpose challenging and very fun. With a varied setlist of old and new, ranging from the 1996 album Die for the Government all the way to the band’s latest body of work 20/20 Vision, which came out in 2020, the audience responded well to both, even with the 24 year gap of release dates. There’s a reason Anti-Flag are still around and it is partly to their exceptional liveshow, which you can get an idea of in the gallery by Eva van den Bosch below.

Anti-Flag

Next up, on the mainstage, were the Japanese rock/metal whatever band Crossfaith who are very happy to be back in Europe. With Japan still having COVID restrictions in place, it must have been a blast to reminisce to simpler times with the old-school shows without any restrictions. Their set very well reflected this sentiment, as the energy was at an all-time high, and the musicians could not stop smiling. With a very unique sound of numerous electronic influences, as well as rock and metal, Crossfaith shows are on the ‘you have to see this atleast once in your life’ list, and we are fortunate to have witnessed and photographed the band on a few occasions. Get a glimpse of what their set looked like in the gallery below.

Crossfaith

As usual on a festival, the weather is a big aspect of your weekend, and while the lack of rain was celebrated, the heat also brings along its challenges. In the tents it was very hot when Being As An Ocean took the stage, which delivered a stellar, energetic set nonetheless. With their music ranging to all different genres and spectrums, a BAAO show truly has something for everyone whose heart belongs to alternative music. Check out some of the photos below!

Being As An Ocean

Next up on the mainstage were the always amazing Stick To Your Guns. The hardcore act from Southern California have a reputation for their absolutely mental shows. Each of the STYG shows are a new attempt for the world record of crowdsurfers and people participating in mosh pits, and every show they get pretty damn close. Stick To Your Guns tour for a great portion of the year and their liveshows reflect it, but the highlights of these shows have to be the energy back-and-forth between the band members and the ecstatic crowd. Check out some photos right below.

Stick To Your Guns

No time to relax, as the Sheffield based metalcore band While She Sleeps were up next on the mainstage. Since their album Brainwashed, While She Sleeps have been getting more and more popular, and are currently sitting on 850k listeners a month via Spotify alone. Armed with the new crowd-funded Sleeps Society, While She Sleeps are now back on the road, playing festivals to support this release and the deluxe edition of the album, which the recently released EYE TO EYE is on. Much like Stick To Your Guns, While She Sleeps shows are high on energy, crowdsurfers and moshpits and a delight to witness. Check out some shots of the mayhem below.

While She Sleeps

Today was a ‘heavy metal’ kinda day, as the next act on the list was Bury Tomorrow, another metalcore act from the UK that have been making some serious waves in the last couple of years. With some incredible singles on their discography such as Choke and Black Flame, as well as new songs which will be featured on the upcoming album, Bury Tomorrow played a beautiful mix of old and new, and we for one can’t wait for their new album to drop. We captured their set through the lens, which can be checked out below.

Bury Tomorrow

Switching things up with a softer band, just kidding, it’s Beartooth on the mainstage. The last slot on the mainstage before the headliner The Offspring gave Beartooth the opportunity to play for almost an hour. Kicking things off with the song that put the band on the map when they released their debut album in 2014: The Lines. As someone who has seen Beartooth play as opening act for ISSUES and Of Mice & Men, telling anybody who would listen ‘get there early cause Beartooth are insane’ in 2014, I can’t help but feel a bit proud of where the band is now.

Here stands a band that are on top of the metalcore game and are aware of it. Here stands a band so close to headliner slots, they can taste it. One great album removed from playing this festival as headliner, let’s consider this year a trial run, as Beartooth already brought along the necessary equipment and materials for a great headliner set. Fireworks, steam cannons and pyro – it all made an appearance during the explosive performance. With a setlist consisting of the catchiest songs they have (The Lines, In Between), but also some of the heavier songs such as Devastation, Beartooth played a metalcore masterclass which came to a close with a pyro-filled instrumental track The Last Riff, that frontman Caleb Shomo partially performed on the hands of the audience. Check out what the performance looked like in the final gallery of today.

Beartooth

Glenn van den Bosch

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