Jera On Air’s second day took place on the 28th of June, which was one of the hottest days of the summer so far, and hopefully will be one of the hottest days of the entire summer. With temperatures rising to 35 degrees Celsius and a line-up that was packed with even heavier acts than the day before, the second day was a challenge to get through. The key: staying hydrated!
For us, the day kicked off with the Australian Polaris who are making massive waves in the metalcore community right now. Not even two years ago, the band were featured on the Never Say Die! tour line-up for Europe, and last year the band opened for Architects on their absolutely massive tour through the continent. As a result, Polaris kicked off their set in the second of three tents in the middle of the afternoon in front of a steaming hot, packed tent. With their fast-paced metalcore and catchy choruses, Polaris have put themselves on the map and they are there to stay. Check out the photos of their explosive performance below.
Polaris:
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Next up was the experienced Municipal Waste, who have been a band for more than 20 years now. Municipal Waste came to party with their 80s trash metal in Jera On Air’s Eagle stage and that’s exactly what they did. With a discography spanning two decades, Municipal Waste entertained the Eagle stage for the time they were on it. Nothing too flashy, nothing too special – just incredible music played by extraordinary musicians who have been doing this for a long time. Check out the photos below!
Municipal Waste:
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Next up – again on the Eagle stage – was the popular punk act Comeback Kid. Known for their hyper-speed rhythm and their ability to build a party on stage, Comeback Kid unsurprisingly had the Eagle tent packed with fans and enthusiasts. Eva van Kuik was there to check out their set through the lens and her photos can be seen in the gallery below.
Comeback Kid:
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In the midst of an online contraversy, Our Last Night find themselves in Europe playing festival shows, with Jera on Air being the third they played in a timespan of 24 hours. The post-hardcore band are known for their tireless work schedule, releasing new original songs, as well as covers left and right while touring the globe. The band surrounding the brothers Wentworth took the stage in front of a packed Vulture tent. Surprisingly, the band stuck to their own material rather than play a cover, but their discography includes some hits within the scene, so most of the songs were familiar to the ears of the crowd. We saw the post-hardcore’s performance in the flesh and you can check out the shots via the gallery below.
Our Last Night:
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While we checked out artists in all tents on the Friday, the Saturday was packed with bands performing in the Eagle stage. Right after Our Last Night, both Dutch glory De Heideroosjes and hardcore legends Hatebreed took the Eagle stage to perform in front of massively packed crowds where the moshpits were whirling and beer was richly flowing. Eva van Kuik checked out both artists and you can check out her photos in the respective galleries right below.
De Heideroosjes:
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Hatebreed:
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As the evening progressed, and the final headliner Parkway Drive was afar in sight, another Australian band took to the Vulture stage to entertain the crowd for 40 minutes. The band in question is the metalcore act The Amity Affliction, who released their latest album ‘Misery’ last year. While the band were known for their signature metalcore sound, the band took a step in a different direction for their new album ‘Misery’. With new hits such as ‘Drag The Lake’, ‘Ivy (Doomsday)’ and personal favourite ‘Feels Like I’m Dying’. Those tracks, as well as older hits such as ‘Open Letter’ and ‘Pittsburgh’ got an extraordinary response from the crowd. Photographers who were shooting the band’s set while risking their lives due to the high volume of crowdsurfers coming through the crowd. The set reached the highest point during the performance of ‘Death’s Hand’, with the infamous line "Hey death, get fucked". This breakdown always spawns the biggest of walls of deaths. Check out the photos we took of the performance in the gallery below!
The Amity Affliction:
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Jera On Air 2019, you have been absolutely incredible. Besides from the incredible artists on the line-up, the organisation and volunteers made for this year’s Jera On Air to be a massive success. Before this year’s epic edition came to its closing, there was still one band left for us: The headliner and thus closer of the festival, the almighty Parkway Drive.
Another band from down under had the honour to close the festivities, and if you have ever been to a Parkway Drive show, you know the epicness that we witnessed. Parkway Drive keep getting better and better with every tour they announce, and with the show surrounding their most recent album ‘Reverence’, their show has been lifted to yet another next level. Before ‘Reverence’, Parkway Drive’s discography consisted of metalcore tracks of different heaviness levels, but the new songs also include some very different songs, such as ‘Cemetery Bloom’ which translate incredibly well yet very different in a live setting. With angelic lightning, frontman Winston McCall’s powerful gestures and an incredible vibe, Parkway Drive shows Jera why they are still ahead of the curve, not to mention the legendary performance of ‘Crushed’ from the band’s 2015 album ‘IRE’. This track, which the band played while returning to the stage for the encore, features more fire than any show at any given moment ever has and is for that reason alone already iconic. Check out the photos of the band’s epic lightning, the pyro and the performance overall in the gallery below and we’ll see you next year!
Parkway Drive:
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