The three artists teamed up for an impromptu concert after the final two days of Blue Ridge Rock Festival were called off because of severe weather
Papa Roach, Shinedown, and viral singer-songwriter Oliver Anthony unexpectedly linked up for a fully acoustic show — and a joint cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” — after the Blue Ridge Rock Festival was upended by severe weather.
Blue Ridge Rock was supposed to take place this weekend (Thursday, Sept. 7 through Sunday, Sept. 10), but a deluge of rain, lightning, hail, and strong winds led to the cancellation of most of the festival. After the final two days were officially called off, Papa Roach, Shinedown, and Anthony decided to break out the acoustic guitars and set up on a small stage, where they performed for a sizable crowd still stuck at the festival grounds (based on Loundwire’s reporting, it seems like evacuation logistics at Blue Ridge Rock were extremely chaotic).
On Twitter, Papa Roach shared a TikTok-sized montage of clips from the impromptu gig, which featured the band performing their song “Scars,” Shinedown doing “Second Chance,” and Anthony performing — of course — his viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond.”
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Accompanying the clip, Papa Roach wrote a short message thanking fans for “sticking around with us despite the rain and @BlueRidgeRock getting canceled!” The group also credited Shinedown frontman Brent Smith for “pulling this idea together last minute for the fans.”
A handful of other videos from the makeshift gig have surfaced on YouTube as well (including Papa Roach performing “Last Resort” if you ever wanted to hear that classic blast of rap rock given the campfire singalong treatment). But arguably the main highlight from the set was a full group cover of the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic, “Simple Man,” with Smith leading the way, the entire crowd singing backup, and even a couple of dogs hopping on stage to make the vibes immaculate.
