Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival
Welcomed A Record-Breaking Sold-Out Crowd Of Over 184,000 Music Fans
Retaining Its Reputation As The Pinnacle Of Rock Festivals In America
May 14-17, 2026 At Historic Crew Stadium In Columbus, Ohio
The 4-Day Destination Event Offered Nearly 145 Bands On 5 Stages
With Headlining Performances From:
My Chemical Romance (Thursday), Shinedown (Friday),
Bring Me The Horizon (Saturday) & Tool (Sunday)
Exclusive Performances, Debuts & Collaborations Included:
Bring Me The Horizon Performing “Doom” with MAPHRA
My Chemical Romance Celebrating The 15th Anniversary Of “Danger Days”
Shinedown Bringing Out Special Guest Daughtry, Plus 3 Doors Down Tribute
Public Enemy Making Their Debut At A DWP Event & More
Plus Unique Art Installations From Terry Urban, Jay Howell &
The Secret Walls Art Battles
2027 Dates To Be Announced Soon
May 21, 2026: Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival marked another record-breaking event, bringing in a sold-out crowd of over 184,000 music fans and continuing its reputation as the Pinnacle of Rock Festivals In America.
Held at the Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, the 4-day destination event from festival producer Danny Wimmer Presents offered nearly 145 bands on 5 stages including My Chemical Romance, Shinedown, Bring Me The Horizon and Tool, plus Pierce The Veil, Staind, Good Charlotte, Godsmack, Breaking Benjamin, Sublime, Marilyn Manson, Megadeth and many more.
This year’s massive event also offered an incredible number of special performances, collaborations and exclusive moments, including:
- My Chemical Romance celebrated the 15th anniversary of their album Danger Days with performances of songs like “Vampire Money” for the first time in years
- Bring Me The Horizon wrapped up their North American tour and brought out special guest MAPHRA for a performance of “Doom”
- Shinedown invited Daughtry to join on the song “Monsters” and also covered 3 Doors Down’s “Kryptonite” in memory of Brad Arnold
- Breaking Benjamin was joined onstage by Lacey Sturm (Flyleaf) for “Dear Agony”
- Hip-hop legends Public Enemy marked their debut at a DWP festival in a celebration of the band’s 40-year legacy
- Daughtry invited Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale to guest on their cover of Journey’s “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”
- Flyleaf performed “So I Thought” with Breaking Benjamin’s Ben Burnley
- Atreyu covered Audioslave’s “Like A Stone” to commemorate the 9th anniversary of Chris Cornell’s passing
- Ice-T his son Tracy “Lil’ Ice” Marrow Jr. on backing vocals during Body Count’s set, which was the band’s Sonic Temple debut and first Ohio show in 8 years
- Fan proposals happened during Slaughter To Prevail and Paleface Swiss
Beyond the music, one of the most distinctive elements of Sonic Temple was its celebration of visual art—transforming the festival into a living, breathing gallery experience. Featured artists this year included contemporary American painter Terry Urban, known for his vibrant pop-meets-street style, and illustrator and cartoonist Jay Howell, the creative mind behind Bob’s Burgers and Sanjay and Craig.
Some of the exclusive moments included Brian Butler illustrating sets from Nekrogoblikon, The Pretty Wild, Buckcherry, Lit, Butcher Babies, Novelists and Castle Rat and Jay Howell creating live portraits with surprise guests Atreyu, State Champs, Castle Rat and SiriusXM’s “Metal Ambassador” Jose Mangin.
A new art component this year was Secret Walls, the world’s premier live paint battle, where global street artists went head-to-head in real time in creating live murals. The matchups included Austin Tolliver vs. Dave Tattoos, Hakimartnstuff vs. Joshua Stout, Dane Khy vs. Patch Whisky and Lamour Supreme vs. Brian Butler.
As well, the Rock Royalty VIP experience included meet & greets with Hawthorne Heights, Stone Temple Pilots, New Found Glory, Daughtry, Pop Evil, Bush, P.O.D., and Saliva.
Here’s what the media had to say about Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival 2026:
“With record attendance at this year’s festival, the enormous turn-out and vibes just cement the sense that Sonic Temple is fast becoming the spiritual home of metal in the US.” — Metal Hammer
“Sonic Temple never fails to deliver one of the year’s biggest spotlights on modern hard rock and metal and this year is no different.” — Loudwire
“Sonic Temple just delivered another massive four-day concert event that found more than 140 acts treating heavy music fans to a hell of a show.” — Revolver
“Sonic Temple 2026 spread its wings over Historic Crew Stadium with a roar that made all its previous editions sound like a warm-up, shattering attendance records and confirming that DWP’s empire of rock and metal festivals has yet to find its ceiling. Columbus keeps answering the call, and Sonic Temple keeps redefining what answering it looks like. “ — Metal Injection
“With record-breaking attendance … and a lineup that read like a living archive of heavy music’s past, present, and future, Sonic Temple didn’t just return, it expanded its footprint as one of America’s most essential hard rock festivals.” — Consequence
“Rock is alive and well. Thank you, Sonic Temple.” — Richland Source
The 2027 festival dates for Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival will be announced soon.
Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival is produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, one of the largest independent producers of destination music festivals in America.
In 2025, producer Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) solidified its long-term commitment to Columbus by announcing a five-year extension of its partnership with the Historic Crew Stadium, ensuring that the Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival will continue through at least 2030. This milestone not only secures the future of one of the nation’s most iconic rock festivals but also underscores the event’s growing cultural and economic impact on the region.
Sonic Temple was proud to partner with an incredible lineup of partners in 2026, including Beatbox Beverages, Bud Light, Brixton, Jack Daniel’s, Middle West Spirits, Mountain Dew, Ohio Lottery, Rockstar Energy & White Claw, and more.
For more information on Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival, visit:
Website: https://sonictemplefestival.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sonictemplefestival | @SonicTempleFestival
Twitter: www.twitter.com/sonictemplefest | @SonicTempleFest
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sonictemplefestival | @SonicTempleFestival
Sonic Temple crowd, by Sam Shapiro
My Chemical Romance, by Steve Thrasher
Shinedown, by Austin Cooper
Bring Me The Horizon with MAPHRA, by Nathan Zucker
Tool, by Steve Thrasher
Breaking Benjamin with Lacey Sturm, by Justin Agoncillo
Public Enemy, by Steve Thrasher
Daughtry with Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale, by Steve Thrasher
The Dive Bar, by Nathan Zucker
Secret Walls Battle, by Nathan Zucker
Brian Butler’s Sonic Temple artwork, by Nathan Zucker
Sonic Temple fans, by Nathan Zucker
Sonic Temple fans in front of Jay Howell artwork, by Nathan Zucker
About Danny Wimmer Presents: Since 1995, music industry veteran Danny Wimmer has been producing concerts and festivals, both large and small. In 2011, he founded Danny Wimmer Presents, a live entertainment company that produces the largest rock, metal, and alternative music festivals in the U.S. DWP creates unforgettable and all-encompassing festival experiences, leaving both attendees and partners with lasting and meaningful impressions. Since 2020, DWP has been an innovator in the digital content space with over two dozen international livestreams, acclaimed social series Offstage with DWP, DWPresents Channel on Twitch, which has garnered over 25 million worldwide views since its launch in mid-2021, and The Power Hour, a weekly show dedicated to the world of rock that aired on AXS TV. DWP’s paranormal investigative video series Paranormal Prison (2023-2025) documented some of the supernatural experiences at Ohio State Reformatory during Inkcarceration with the help of bands performing at the festival. Episodes are available at www.youtube.com/@DannyWimmerPresents. The 2026 DWP festival lineup includes Aftershock, Bourbon & Beyond, Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival, Louder Than Life, Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival and Welcome To Rockville.
Facebook.com/Dannywimmerpresents
Instagram.com/Dannywimmerpresents
About Historic Crew Stadium: Historic Crew Stadium is the first ever professional soccer-specific stadium in the United States. In addition to hosting concerts, sporting events and programming throughout the year, the venue also serves as the home of Columbus Crew 2 of MLS NEXT Pro. As announced in October 2025, Historic Crew Stadium will also welcome the United Football League’s Columbus Aviators for their inaugural season in the spring of 2026. Previously serving as the home of the Columbus Crew from 1999-2021, Historic Crew Stadium opened its doors on May 15, 1999 to a sellout crowd for a match against the New England Revolution. It has hosted numerous national and international events: eight U.S. Soccer FIFA World Cup Qualifiers – specifically four consecutive “Dos a Cero” victories for the U.S. over Mexico (2001, 2005, 2009, 2013) – FIFA Women’s World Cup matches, three MLS Cups (2001, 2015, 2020), two MLS All-Star Games and a number of concerts. It was named the world’s most influential stadium of the decade by Stadia Magazine in 2010. In 2008, the venue added a permanent stage in the North End, allowing for up to 35,000 fans to take in concerts and other marquee events.