Summer of Loud Brings the Heat in San Diego

Kaiya Vandemark
Jul 7, 2025
5 min read

Updated: Aug 4, 2025

Summer of Loud made its way to San Diego on July 2nd. This is the inaugural year of this mini fest with a stacked lineup featuring TX2, Alpha Wolf, The Devil Wears Prada, The Amity Affliction, and four headliners including Beartooth, Killswitch Engage, Parkway Drive, and I Prevail that rotate order each night. This whole tour is dedicated to the memory of Dave Shapiro, Emma Huke, and Kendall Fortner who tragically lost their lives in a plane crash on May 22 of this year. This tour had been a dream for many years, and Dave was the one who had the grand vision for it all and Kendall and Emma helped make it a reality. The vibe of the day was a celebration of life and being grateful for those in our lives. As cliche as it sounds, it was truly a day of love.

TX2 kicked off the day and didn’t waste any time because by the first couple songs, he had already jumped off the stage and into the crowd. A little circle pit kind of formed around him and there was somebody with a “TX2 saved my life sign” which I thought was sweet. They carried explosive energy throughout their whole set and even during their last song, he jumped down onto the barricade again and was trading Pokémon cards with fans.

Alpha Wolf was up next and stated that they have pretty much hit every other city in California, but this was their first time playing in San Diego. Having seen them in a few other California cities prior to this, it was an honor to see them playing in my hometown for the first time. Alpha Wolf properly warmed up the crowd by calling for the first Wall of Death of the day during “Sub Zero”. They closed out their set with “Akudama” and sadly no one “let the bodies drop” cause there were no crowd surfers during their infamous crowd surfing song.

The Amity Affliction out of Gympie, Queensland was up next and went straight into fan favorite, “Pittsburgh (No Intro)”. They dedicated “I See Dead People” to Dave Shappiro and also dedicated “Soak Me In Bleach” to The Devil Wears Prada. During the breakdown of that song, they got the entire, and I'm not exaggerating when I say ENTIRE, crowd to get down on the ground. Everyone jumped up when the song kicked back in and it was a great way to close out their set.

Up next was The Devil Wears Prada. The loss of close friend Dave Shapiro and former drummer Danial Williams, who was also on the plane that crashed in San Diego on May 22, hung heavy in the air. Though you could feel the emotion, their whole was full of love and felt like a true celebration of life. They played two new songs, “Ritual” and “For You” and still hit fan favorites like “Watchtower” and “Salt”. They dedicated “Chemical” to the lives that were lost on May 22nd.

Now it was time for the four rotating headliners! I’ve been to shows where they’ve had two or even three headliners, but never one when there were four! It's a fun dynamic because truly no two shows on this tour were the same. Beartooth kicked off the headliners and were the first to bring the heat (literally). They had full pyro their whole set which was so cool. It was a member of the Beartooth crew's birthday so lead singer Caleb Shomo got the whole crowd to say Happy Birthday to Steven! Caleb took a minute to give a little speech, telling us to “take all the shit you’re holding on to and let it go.” Just feel and be in the moment. Also “Fuck whoever you want.” They closed out there set with “In Between”

Killswitch Engage was up next. The fest happened to take place at Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, so lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz asked “Where are the Dodger fans at?” and of course the whole crowd boo’d, obviously. He goes good because if you are, no one likes you, not even your parents. He said as he was wearing an “I’m with Stupid” shirt. Lead singer Jesse Leach was looking sharp dressed in white and with a blonde mohawk. During one of the first couple songs Jesse went down to the barricade to greet fans. His biggest fan was right there in the corner videoing her husband with a big proud smile on her face. They are so cute! Jesse went down the whole rail singing with fans. He later dedicated “Forever Aligned” to his wife, Corinne Paris Leach. If you love dogs like we do, this will warm your heart. “Blood Upon the Ashes” is a new song released that is part of a charity compilation album titled “The Dogs of Hope” that benefits the no kill shelter in Alabama called Randolph County Animal Shelter. The song was originally recorded for The Consequence album but didn’t make the cut, so the pups reap the benefits! They closed out their set by covering Dio’s “Holy Diver”.

Parkway Drive warmed up the crowd by playing “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen before walking out on stage. Then they went straight into “Glitch” with a proper “3,2,1” countdown. Parkway Drive very quickly became one of my favorite live bands during Covid times (ironic isn't it). I discovered them just watching random concert videos on YouTube and was instantly enamored by them because of the whole production they put on. The Pyro, the spinning drum kit, and their stage presence alone is just incredible. Unfortunately for this show, we didn't get to see the spinning drum kit, but they definitely still brought the heat! They slowed it down for a minute and dedicated “Darker Still” to Dave Shapiro before closing out their set with “Crushed”.

Its always fun to play “who's the headliner tonight”, especially when there're FOUR headliners! Tonight, I Prevail headlined. I Prevail recently just parted ways with co-vocalist Brian Burkheiser. Brian has been battling a rare condition called Eagles Syndrome that may have impacted his ability to perform. Eric Vanlerberghe has taken on more vocal duties with assistance from guitarist Dylan Bowman. I love I Prevail and this is quite a change. Eric is doing an amazing job taking it all on, but I do miss seeing Brian up there. I’m looking forward to seeing the transition progression as the band gets into their next era. The new single “Violent Nature” and "Into Hell” are definitely a lot heavier. They are set to release their new album Violent Nature on September 25, 2025. They dedicated “Hurricane” to Dave Shapiro before closing out their set with “Gasoline”.