Raven Moonla comments:

Challenges and persistence. The challenges are expected, and persistence is required to do most things that are worth doing. That most certainly applies to putting on a heavy metal festival in the Bible Belt. You may have noticed that I have been a bit quieter on social media the last couple of weeks. That’s because I have been putting out fires and making things happen.

Challenges: Aside from the many normal challenges of putting on a big show (and there are a million of them), putting on a metal show in THIS area, and all of the “satanic panic” and pushback from the locals who are against this show, have made things very challenging. Sure, we got some free press out of it, but also a ton of headache. We have done interviews and the interviewer decided to “ghost” us afterward and not air it, with no explanation. However, based on some of their recent FB posts, it appears that they are religious and had second thoughts about associating with us. I won’t blast their show here, because that show will not survive with them treating people in such a way. They will be their own undoing. Still, it was a waste of our time and effort, and very unprofessional.

There have been multiple lighting companies who turned us away after learning what kind of event this was, and several more who just refused to respond at all. There have been security companies who do not think this event is a “good fit” for them. Merch people who bailed on us with short notice, forcing us to find someone new with very little time left. Having to re-negotiate our contract with the venue due to push back from the scared locals.

We were even asked to make this show rated R, which would mean only people 18 and up could attend. We refused. I don’t see them making their religious revivals rated R, or the haunted houses, etc. NO. We will not do that just because some folks think the music is evil. We did agree to make it PG-13 so it could remain all-ages. We also had to agree to end the show 30 minutes earlier than planned so that the locals could get their beauty sleep. This caused us to have to go through a lot to change set changes, etc. and keep the lineup and performance times the same. There has been so much more, too.

But this is where the persistence part comes in.

This music and these bands…..this business…it is our PASSION. When you are passionate about something, you fight like hell for it. We always have, and we always will. We are jumping over hurdles left and right, and this show is going to happen because of passion and persistence. When things get hard, we do not cave and bow out. We fight back. We rebel against those who are against us. We stay true to who we are and what we stand for. That is what heavy metal is all about, anyway.

We are SO excited for this show. We cannot wait to see everyone and to listen to heavy music and eat and shop the amazing vendors. You are our “people”, and it will be amazing to see the metal community come together in one place, to enjoy what we love, and to show all of the haters that we don’t back down. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive. The metal community is a family, and we could not ask for a better family.

This coming Saturday, we will be 6 weeks away from the Tennessee Metal Devastation Music Fest on October 8th. That means only 5 weeks left to get your tickets online, save time at the gate, and save money. Come out and support these bands and help create a thriving metal scene in our area.

Tickets available at this link:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tennessee-metal-devastation-music-fest-tickets-331883521547

~ Raven Moonla  https://www.facebook.com/ravenmoonla/posts/3420598734837683