Knotfest

Knotfest is a music festival created in 2012 by American heavy metal band Slipknot. The event has been held both as a touring festival and a destination festival in several countries including the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Australia, Colombia, France and Chile. Aside from Slipknot, Knotfest has featured a diverse alumni of past performers including Deftones, Marilyn Manson, Lamb of God, Bring Me the Horizon, Prong, Deadly Apples, In This Moment, Amen, Butcher Babies and Prayers.

History

Creation

Knotfest was officially announced on June 4, 2012. Among the activities the festival offered as part of its "dark carnival experience" were circus big-top tents, pillars of fire, amusement park rides, burlesque performers, firebreathers, stilt walkers, drum circles made of junkyard cars and graffiti walls. The two shows also debuted a Slipknot museum.

"It's all about having fun and going crazy, bringing it to the standard it used to be," Slipknot's Shawn "Clown" Crahan told Rolling Stone. "It's time for us to really engulf this idea known as Knotfest where we're in control, we make a day devoted to our mindset, our ideas, the people that we want to play with, the people that we think our fans want to be around... When everyone leaves their senses [will be] overloaded, and I'm talking about smells, sights, hearing, your body, everything is overloaded with stimulation, because that's what Slipknot does."

The inaugural Knotfest was a two-city event and took place on August 17, 2012, in Council Bluffs, Iowa and August 18, 2012, in Somerset, Wisconsin. Among the line-up were bands such as Deftones, Lamb of God, and Cannibal Corpse. On March 24, 2014, it was officially announced that "Knotfest Japan" would be held in November 15 and 16 at Makuhari Messe, Tokyo. Headliners were Slipknot. Korn, Limp Bizkit, Lamb of God, Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach, Bring Me the Horizon, Trivium and In Flames. On the first date of the Mayhem Festival 2014, Knotfest 2014 was announced, with it being held at the San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino, California, on October 24–26. Knotfest 2015 was to be held at the same location, from October 23 through 25. In December 2019, it was announced that Knotfest would be held in the United Kingdom for the first time in 2020.

Broadcast

On July 11, Slipknot announced that their closing performance at Knotfest would be broadcast via a pay-per-view streaming website. Shawn "Clown" Crahan said, "It means everything for everyone to see the live spectacle we're creating in the flesh, but we understand some fans around the world can't be at the show. We've now made it possible for you to be there in spirit - so join us live on August 18."

Performers

2012 line-up

Friday 17 August		Saturday 18 August
Main Stage	Second Stage	Main Stage	Second Stage
Slipknot Deftones Serj Tankian Prong	Lamb of God Machine Head The Urge Dirtfedd	Slipknot Deftones Serj Tankian The Dillinger Escape Plan	Lamb of God Machine Head Cannibal Corpse Disconnect Hardcore (Ph) Prong Gojira

2014 line-up

California

Friday 24 October
Stage 002	Stage 003	Campground Stage
Suicide Silence Butcher Babies Alterbeast	The Black Dahlia Murder Chelsea Grin	The Athiarchists

Saturday 25 October
Rockstar Energy Drink Main Stage	Stage 002	Stage 003	Headbang for the Highway Stage 004	Extreme Stage 005	Campground Stage
Slipknot Danzig Anthrax Black Label Society Hatebreed	Testament Carcass Maximum the Hormone King 810 Man with a Mission	In This Moment The Devil Wears Prada Butcher Babies Miss May I One Ok Rock	The Faceless Stands with Fists Dehumanizer Kings of Carnage Play for Blood Shortfuse	Fear Factory Otep Prong Amen Immolation	The Athiarchists

Sunday 26 October
Rockstar Energy Drink Main Stage	Stage 002	Stage 003	Headbang for the Highway Stage 004	Extreme Stage 005	Campground Stage
Slipknot Five Finger Death Punch Volbeat Tech N9ne Atreyu Hellyeah	Of Mice & Men DevilDriver Veil of Maya Nothing More	Killswitch Engage Whitechapel Upon a Burning Body Anti Mortem	Dead for Denver Motograter Fire from the Gods I, of Helix A Threat to the Enemy Still Not Dead	Napalm Death Avatar Attika 7 Exmortus Rattlehead	The Athiarchists

Japan

Saturday 15 November	Sunday 16 November
Slipknot Limp Bizkit Lamb of God Papa Roach Bring Me the Horizon Miss May I One Ok Rock SiM Crossfaith coldrain Meaning Crystal Lake HenLee	Slipknot Korn Trivium In Flames Five Finger Death Punch Amon Amarth Maximum the Hormone Man with a Mission Wagdug Futuristic Unity AA= Knock Out Monkey Make My Day Silhouette from the Skylit

2015 line-up

California

Friday 23 October
VIP + Camping Kickoff Party
Sepultura The Faceless Rings of Saturn Khaotika Motorbreath

Saturday 24 October
Rockstar Energy Drink Main Stage	Stage 002	Stage 003	Extreme Stage 004	Headbang for the Highway Stage 005	Campground Stage
Judas Priest Korn Mastodon Trivium Corrosion of Conformity	Body Count At the Gates Red Fang Battlecross	Gwar Born of Osiris Earth Crisis Goatwhore	Kataklysm Belphegor Inquisition Abysmal Dawn Her Name in Blood Khaotika	Fire from the Gods Buried Under Texas Doomsday Mourning Born for War A Tragedy at Hand Grand Lord High Master Piece in Terror Short Fuse Green as Emerald Kaustik Skyburial This Place Is a Zoo Chasing the Bullet	Street Drum Corps

Sunday 25 October
Rockstar Energy Drink Main Stage	Stage 002	Stage 003	Extreme Stage 004	Headbang for the Highway Stage 005	Campground Stage
Slipknot Bring Me the Horizon Clutch Ghostface Killah Mobb Deep	Suicidal Tendencies All That Remains Beartooth Kyng	Cannibal Corpse Helmet Snot Devour the Day	Dying Fetus Disgorge Internal Bleeding Green Death The ReAktion Kings of Carnage	I, of Helix Proletariat Avoid the Void Abhor A Threat to the Enemy Stands with Fists Paranova Everybody Panic! As Oceans Dead Animal Assembly Plant Speaking with Ghost Xero for Life The Darkest Day	Street Drum Corps

Mexico

Saturday 5 December
Main Stage	Tecate Stage
Slipknot Megadeth Lamb of God HIM A Day to Remember Trivium Atreyu Asking Alexandria Tanus	Cradle of Filth Ill Niño The Dillinger Escape Plan Brujeria Resorte 36 Crazyfists Here Comes the Kraken Everyone Likes Cathleen

2016 line-up

"Ozzfest Meets Knotfest" California

Friday 23 September

Armored Saint Metal Church Exmortus Thrown into Exile

Saturday 24 September
Lemmy Stage	Monster Energy Drink Stage 001	Monster Energy Drink Stage 002	Nuclear Blast Stage
Black Sabbath Disturbed Megadeth Opeth Black Label Society Rival Sons	Suicidal Tendencies DevilDriver Huntress	Hatebreed Goatwhore Allegaeon	Municipal Waste Brujeria Kataklysm The Shrine Still Rebel

Sunday 25 September
Lemmy Stage	Rockstar Energy Drink Stage 001	Rockstar Energy Drink Stage 002	Nuclear Blast Stage
Slipknot Slayer Amon Amarth Anthrax Trivium Motionless in White	Sabaton Suicide Silence Butcher Babies	Overkill Emmure Man with a Mission	Whitechapel Combichrist Carnifex Loathe SiM ONI Westfield Massacre

Mexico

Saturday 15 October
Main Stage	Iowa Stage
Avenged Sevenfold Slayer Marilyn Manson Disturbed Chevelle Alesana Attila S7N	Meshuggah Killswitch Engage Sevendust Hatebreed DevilDriver The Black Dahlia Murder Volumes Arcadia Libre

Sunday 16 October
Main Stage	Iowa Stage
Slipknot Deftones The Offspring Ministry Enter Shikari Emmure Thell Barrio Fire from the Gods	Opeth Arch Enemy Iced Earth Carcass Animals as Leaders Agora Nothing More Sabrina Sabrok Joliette

Japan

Saturday 5 November	Sunday 6 November
Slipknot Deftones Disturbed A Day to Remember Hoobastank Issues SiM Rize Rottengraffty Oldcodex coldrain Crystal Lake A Crowd of Rebellion Survive Said the Prophet Jealkb The Sixth Lie	Slipknot Marilyn Manson Lamb of God In Flames Anthrax Butcher Babies Man with a Mission the GazettE Crossfaith MUCC Her Name in Blood Crazy N' Sane THE冠 魔法少女になり隊 彼女 in the Display Salty Dog

2017 line-up

Mexico

Saturday 28 October
Tecate Stage	Day of the Gusano Stage	The Maggots Stage
A Perfect Circle Korn Stone Sour Bullet for My Valentine Cannibal Corpse Ill Niño Maximum the Hormone Deadly Apples Cerberus	Anthrax Children of Bodom Hatebreed Suicide Silence S7N Here Comes the Kraken Lack of Remorse	Anti-Flag Periphery Tech N9ne Attila ONI Parazit

Ozzfest Meets Knotfest 2017

Friday November 3

Monster Magnet Brant Bjork Sasquatch Lo-Pain

Saturday 4 November
Lemmy Stage	Monster Energy Drink Stage 001	Monster Energy Drink Stage 002	Nuclear Blast Stage
Ozzy Osbourne Prophets of Rage Deftones Children of Bodom Orange Goblin	Kreator Baroness High on Fire Iron Reagan	1349 Havok Tombs Night Demon Thrown into Exile	Municipal Waste Possessed Kataklysm Suffocation Rings of Saturn

Sunday 5 November
Lemmy Stage	Rockstar Energy Drink Stage 001	Rockstar Energy Drink Stage 002	Nuclear Blast Stage
Rob Zombie Marilyn Manson Stone Sour Eighteen Visions Prayers	Testament The Black Dahlia Murder Code Orange Stitched Up Heart Goatwhore	Life of Agony Upon a Burning Body Death Angel Oni Ded	Sid Wilson of Slipknot Repulsion Exhumed Warbringer Ghoul Zombie Eating Horse

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