Pointfest 2024 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Missouri on May 18th, 2024.
Photos and Review by The Pit Magazine Contributor Kayla Hayden Photos
Pointfest 2024 was held at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in St. Louis was held on May 18th, 2024 on one of the hottest days of the year so far. The heat did nothing to stop everyone from showing up and out to the 30th year of the rock music festival. The single day festival is split into four stages throughout the day: Pop’s local stage, Point Black and White Stages, and the main stage.
The Black and white stages alternated bands for the first half of the day, starting with Facing Infamy followed up by The Doubted was up next on Point White Stage. Both bands are St Louis natives who were finalists in the Road to Pointfest 2024 competition leading up to the day’s event. Letdown followed up with a great performance, featuring their newest single Raincoat which came out only eight days before their performance at Pointfest. Letdown. Aka Blake Coddington started his music career during the pandemic and has quickly racked up thousands of monthly followers online. His vocals and performance live show why he is quickly on the rise.
LETDOWN GALLERY
Oxymorrons was up next, a band I was personally pretty excited to see after listening to a bit of the band before the festival. They had a very chaotic yet fun and eclectic vibe to their outfits for the day with lead vocalist, Dave “Deee” Bellevue wearing a vibrant blue ski mask, red varsity jacket and fluffy leg warmers. I noted his fashion choices in particular as it was about 86 degrees and midday, so I often wondered how he wasn’t having a heat stroke. I wondered the same about fellow lead vocalist and Deee’s brother, Ashmy “KI” Bellevue, who came on stage in a long dark trench coat and a bunny-eared hat. Oxymorrons describes their sound as a, “melting pot of sounds,” which can never be shoved in a box to create their unique sound. I’m very excited to see what comes next for them.
OXYMORRONS GALLERY
New Year’s Day was next on the Point White Stage, which was another band I had not heard of before Pointfest 2024. I loved the vibe of the band as soon as they stepped on. They all coordinate outfits and colors, which adds to the consistency of their feel and look. Lead singer, Ashley Costello has a vibrant, captivating stage presence that demands audience attention and a great scream. It’s always refreshing to see a strong female vocalist in rock music. The band performed hit songs as well as many singles from their new album, Half Black Heart, which was released this year and closed out their tour here at Pointfest.
NEW YEAR’S DAY GALLERY
Sleep Theory took Point Black Stage following New Year’s Day, and closed out our time at the Black and White stages for the day. This was my second time seeing Sleep Theory live, and they are the kind of band I can see rapidly rising in fame. Their online presence has picked up in the past few months due to their song “Gone or Staying,” going viral on TikTok, as well as the band’s song “Numb” hitting 13M global listeners on Spotify. It’s safe to say they are on the up and up. During their fantastic set, they made sure to play a song we could all scream to, covering NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” to make sure the crowd was on their feet and having a great time, which is exactly what we did. It was a great way to end our time at the side stages and get everyone excited for the main stage performances.
SLEEP THEORY GALLERY
Avatar began our time at the main stage, opening their set with a yellow gift box that was opened to reveal Johannes Eckerström, the band’s lead vocalist. In true Pennywise style, Johannes popped out sporting a red balloon and a top hat as he made his way to the mic to greet the crowd. After popping said red balloon in his hands, the band opened with “Dance Devil Dance,” and gave a fun show to watch. They have a great heavy metal sound and were very entertaining, ending their last song with Eckerstrom drinking from what looked to be a gasoline container.
AVATAR GALLERY
Next Pointfest 2024 was Grandson, a performer I am no stranger to. This was my fourth time seeing him live and he never disappoints. His bouncy stage presence coupled with the iconic image of Trump kissing Bideon he used as his background paired for a chaotic yet fun feeling show. As always, Jordan Edward Benjamin aka Grandson spent time during his set talking about the disappointment of some due to the festival’s line up, as this year was deviating from the same bands that tend to play. He also took the time to speak about important issues going on in Missouri regarding women’s health and trans rights. Something I appreciate about Grandson is that he always takes the time to be informed about what’s going on in the city or state he is playing in. During his last song, “Blood//Water,” he came out into the crowd to jam out with us farther away from the stage.
GRANDSON GALLERY
Following Grandson was Wage War, a band I actually saw for the first time only two weeks before Pointfest 2024 in Kansas City. After seeing them once I was very excited to see them again with a larger crowd. They quickly had a circle pit going close to the stage during their song “Death Roll.” They also played some older songs, as well as their “Tombstone,” which had only been released the day before and the crowd seemed to love. They ended their set with my personal favorite from the band called “Manic,” which was the perfect way to hype the crowd up for the highly anticipated headliner.
WAGE WAR GALLERY
Bad Omens ended our night with a performance I don’t think anyone will forget soon. This was my first time seeing Bad Omens live and I was stoked to say the least. Their visual effects were something to behold in addition to their use of fire, fog, and crazy lighting. Noah Sebastian is a force of nature. His vocals live were so good and I found my eyes glued to the stage (when I wasn’t headbanging). There was no way to stay in your seat while they were on stage even after the long day. I feel grateful to have seen them live here as only a few days later, the band announced via social media that they would be canceling some of their upcoming shows to take a needed health break. Wishing all the best to Noah and the band during their time off.
Overall, my first time at Pointfest was a blast even with the heat. The change in lineup was needed and added so much more energy to the day. It was refreshing to see new bands and new fans. I would add it to your 2025 festival list now!
Photos by The Pit Magazine photographer Kayla Hayden Photos in Kansas City, MO. ©2024.
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