Rock the Park wraps up with all-star Canadian bill
CREDIT: KONSTANTINOS DROSSOSAlexisonfire perform at RBC Rock the Park 2023.
The heavy rain this past Saturday did not stop rock fans from attending the last day of the RBC Rock the Park 2023. The four-day music festival was held at Harris Park, with each night having a lineup from different genres of music.
At Saturday’s show, the organizers raffled off a custom Harley Davidson motorcycle, from Rocky’s Harley Davidson in London. There were many different stations with food and drinks to choose from and a merch stand that had a variety of shirts from the bands that played there that night.
The Dirty Nil kicked off the show followed by Canadian emo icons, Silverstein, who performed hits like “My Heroine” and “Massachusetts,” as well as a cover of a Linkin Park song in memory of front man Chester Bennington.
The following performances included rap icon group, Cypress Hill who livened up the crowd with many of the classic songs, most notably “Insane in the Membrane.” They finished their set by covering the famous hip-hop song “Jump Around” in honour of the genre of hip-hop reaching the age of 50 years.
Alexisonfire kicked off the headlining acts with a powerhouse of a setlist for over an hour and a half. They played fan favorites like “This Could Be Anywhere in the World,” ending their time on stage by playing out to “Young Cardinal,” from their fourth album Old Crows/Young Cardinals. This was the first time in 13 years the band has played in London since their last show which was in 2010.
To end the night, Billy Talent played many songs from their self-titled albums Billy Talent II and Billy Talent III, with some songs like “I Beg to Differ (This Will Get Better)” and “The End of Me” from their newest released album, Crisis of Faith. Front man Benjamin Kowalewicz expressed with the crowd a milestone saying that the band was celebrating 20 years together as Billy Talent, making it a special night for them to be performing.
Around 12,000 people were in attendance for the concert and stuck around through the on and off downpour. All the proceeds that were gathered from the show were donated to The Children’s Health foundation, Make a Wish, and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of London.
