This year’s 98ROCKFEST, in Clearwater, felt like a reset in the best way possible. A tighter lineup, a new home at The BayCare Sound, and a night that felt more intentional than oversized. It wasn’t about cramming in as many bands as possible—it was about letting each one actually matter, and the crowd loved that!
The Pretty Wild opened the night with a set that didn’t try to play it safe. There was a gritty, almost chaotic edge to what they were doing, less about polish, more about presence. You could tell not everyone in the crowd knew them walking in, but by the end of their set, people were paying attention. They did exactly what an opener should do: break the ice and make you look up.
The Funeral Portrait took that early energy and gave it structure. Their set leaned into a darker, more theatrical vibe, and it worked. There was a noticeable shift in the crowd here, phones came down, eyes went to the stage. It felt more immersive, like people weren’t just listening anymore, they were in it. They didn’t just fill a slot…they created a mood.
Sleep Theory ended up being one of those sets people will talk about after the fact. Not just because they were good—but because they felt like a band on the edge of blowing up. Their mix of melody and heaviness hit that perfect middle ground where it pulls in both casual listeners and the heavier crowd. What really stood out was how quickly they built momentum. Early in the set, people were watching. By the end, they were fully in it, heads moving, voices joining in, phones coming out. It didn’t feel like a support act, it felt like a preview of a future headliner.
When I Prevail took over, the entire night shifted into another gear. This is where the energy stopped building and just exploded. Their set was insanely tight…no dead space, no wasted transitions, just constant energy from start to finish. The dual vocal dynamic hit especially hard live, bouncing between clean choruses and aggressive screams in a way that kept the crowd locked in. You could feel the pits get bigger, the crowd surge closer, and the volume of the singalongs jump up a level. They were controlling the entire atmosphere, their entire set.
Finally, Three Days Grace closed the night with something that felt bigger than just a performance, especially with Adam Gontier back on stage. There was a weight to their set that you don’t really get unless a band has that kind of history. Adam Gontier and Matt Walst singing, side by side, is just pure magic. Every song landed with a sense of familiarity, but not in a tired way. The crowd didn’t just sing along, their entire souls sang along. You could hear it in how loud the choruses got, with crowd surfers letting every ounce stress out. The energy of Three Days Grace set was thunderous from start to finish. No overproduction, no distractions…just a band and a crowd completely locked into each other to close the night.
