Halestorm arrives in force at Aftershock

Halestorm – Picture by Steve Thrasher

Halestorm – Picture by Steve Thrasher

Halestorm – Picture by Steve Thrasher

Halestorm – Picture by Steve Thrasher

Halestorm – Picture by Steve Thrasher

Halestorm – Picture by Steve Thrasher

Day three of the Aftershock Music Festival in Sacramento was capped off with the long-awaited appearance of My Chemical Romance and the return of hometown favorite Papa Roach.

However, the atmosphere was created and delivered by the most confident and quite simply the absolute best hard rock band on the tour: Halestorm.

No one can roar like singer Lzzy Hale, but it was her connection with the fans that set the stage for Aftershock’s Day 3 climax.

“This is my church, and you are my people,” Hale rejoiced.

Fans celebrated with her during “I Get Off”, “Back From The Dead” and “I Miss The Misery”.

Halestorm joins an incredible number of female-led bands in Aftershock, including Evanescence and the Pretty Reckless, the latter of which is a must-see show for Day 4 on Sunday.

Plus, Sunday festival-goers would do well to heed The Warning – a burgeoning band from northern Mexico who learned to make rock music as a child through Rock Band video games, and later made a video YouTube of themselves performing Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” which went viral. They have received support from the entire rock community since 2014 and now have three albums to their name, with the famous “Error” being the latest this year.

Papa Roach – Photo by Steve Thrasher

Papa Roach – Photo by Steve Thrasher

Papa Roach – Photo by Steve Thrasher

Papa Roach – Photo by Steve Thrasher

Papa Roach – Photo by Nathan Zucker

Papa Roach – Photo by Nathan Zucker

Papa Roach – Photo by Nathan Zucker

YungBlud – Photo by Steve Thrasher

YungBlud – Photo by Steve Thrasher

As for the rest of Day 3, English singer Yungblud drew massive crowds to the Jack Daniel’s stage, almost vying with the audience for the headliner, but not quite.