SONIC TEMPLE

Sonic Temple, officially known as Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival, is an annual rock and heavy metal festival held at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The festival was established in 2019 by concert promoter Danny Wimmer Presents, replacing Rock on the Range, which had been held at the same location from 2007 to 2018. The change followed a disagreement between Danny Wimmer Presents and AEG Presents, the two companies behind Rock on the Range. The inaugural Sonic Temple took place from 17 to 19 May 2019, with System of a Down, Disturbed and Foo Fighters as headliners. Other performers included Ghost, Lamb of God, Meshuggah, Gojira, The Black Dahlia Murder, Killswitch Engage and Black Label Society. The festival was cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and did not return until 2023, when it expanded from three to four days.

Sonic Temple takes place at Historic Crew Stadium, a former professional football stadium that opened in 1999 as the home of Columbus Crew. The main stage is positioned at one end of the stadium, with the football pitch serving as a standing concert area and the surrounding grandstands providing additional seating. Several smaller stages are erected outside the stadium, together with food stalls, merchandise stands and other festival facilities. In addition to concerts, Sonic Temple features large-scale murals, street art, live painting demonstrations and art installations throughout the grounds. The original 2019 edition also included a separate comedy and spoken-word programme, featuring performers such as Henry Rollins, Andrew Dice Clay and Pauly Shore.

The festival has grown considerably since its establishment, attracting a combined four-day attendance of approximately 175,000 in 2025 and more than 184,000 in 2026. The 2025 edition featured Metallica performing two different headline sets, alongside Korn, Linkin Park and numerous other bands. In 2026, Sonic Temple expanded to five stages with more than 140 artists covering hard rock, heavy metal, thrash metal, death metal, black metal, metalcore, punk and alternative rock. The programme included Tool, Megadeth, Lamb of God, Behemoth, Cradle of Filth, Carcass, Kreator, Dying Fetus, Napalm Death, Suffocation and Amon Amarth, as well as mainstream rock acts such as My Chemical Romance, Shinedown and Bring Me the Horizon. The festival has secured an agreement to remain at Historic Crew Stadium until at least 2030.

ADDRESS:
One Black and Gold Blvd, Columbus, OH 43211, USA

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Upcoming artists at Sonic Temple

14 May 2027 Sonic Temple 2027 Festival Sonic Temple 2027 Columbus Show artists

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  • Iron Maiden

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