Festival Review: Disrupt Fest at Lakeview Amphitheater in Syracuse, NY

Words + Photos By: Amber James

Those who attended the Syracuse date of the inaugural Disrupt Festival were treated to a fun and energetic performances from a well-rounded rotation of bands who have honed their sets on past festivals like Warped Tour. Speaking of Warped Tour, with its’ absence in our summers nowadays, Disrupt Fest was one of the summer festivals working to fill that void in our little pop punk scene hearts.

Disrupt Fest is a new, summer-long festival comprised of some of the biggest names from the Warped scene to bring us plenty of mosh pits and singalongs. A plus side of Disrupt was that instead of multiple stages and having to determine which sets to watch, this festival had all the bands playing on an outdoor festival stage for the first handful of bands and then moving to another amphitheater stage for the main headlining bands. This way, you never had to make a decision of which band to see or be distraught about having to miss a set.

With the lineup varying slightly throughout the summer and based on location, our date was treated to performances by Hyro the Hero, Juliet Simms, Trophy Eyes, Memphis May Fire, Four Year Strong, Andy Black, and Sleeping With Sirens on the outdoor festival stage. Moving inside to the amphitheater main stage, the night was finished out with sets by Atreyu, The Story So Far, Circa Survive, The Used, and Thrice.

Standout moments of the night came from Atreyu and Circa Survive on the main stage. Atreyu’s vocalist Alex Varkatzas kept venturing out into the upper levels of the seating with bassist Porter McKnight. At one point, McKnight was leading a circle pit around the entire mid-level of the amphitheater, and Varkatzas asked everyone to come join them down in the VIP pit area.

Later that night, as Circa Survive took the stage, I could’ve sworn the Energizer Bunny had taken over as vocalist instead of Anthony Green. Green was utilizing the entire stage from end to end with his dance moves, mic cord swinging, and snapping and just putting most bands’ of the day’s stage presence to shame. Thrice finished out the night with a calmer, post-rock set comprised of songs from their newer albums interspersed with some classics such as “Artist in the Ambulance” and “Under A Killing Moon.”

Memphis May Fire