Photo by @nathanzucker / Danny Wimmer Presents

Maybe it was the Daytona air. Maybe it was the 50,000 fans who’d been waiting since gates opened at noon. Or maybe — just maybe — it was the fact that Guns N’ Roses had unfinished business in Florida. Whatever it was, something clicked Thursday night at Welcome To Rockville, and the “most dangerous band in the world” showed up ready to remind everyone why that title still fits.

This was supposed to happen in 2022. GNR was booked, the stage was set, and then the sky opened up. Thunderstorms washed the whole thing out. Four years later, Axl, Slash, and Duff finally got their Daytona moment. And honestly? It felt less like a festival set and more like a band with something to prove.

Scheduled for a three-and-a-half-hour slot, GNR came in slightly late — because of course they did — and delivered 24 songs in just over 150 minutes. Compared to last summer’s wildly overstuffed 30-song sets, this was the lean, mean version. Less noodling. Less dead air. Just the hits and a handful of deep cuts, the way it should be.

And Axl? Can we talk about Axl? No, he can’t roll back four decades of wear and tear on those vocal cords. He’s not going to sound like 1987 ever again. But Thursday night, he was sharper than he’s been in years. Playfully sassy, too. After absolutely torching through Live And Let Die — a Wings cover GNR has basically stolen and made their own — he smirked at the crowd and said, “I remember all the way back to when Paul and I didn’t write that together.”

Photo by @SamShapiroMedia / Danny Wimmer Presents

The moment that had everyone talking, though, came during Double Talkin’ Jive. Axl disappeared for the extended instrumental outro — Slash doing Slash things, which never gets old — and when he wandered back out, he had the biggest grin on his face. “I apologize if I was gone too long,” he told the crowd. “You guys got me so excited, I had to go rub one out.” Fifty thousand people lost it.

The setlist was a greatest-hits tour de force. Mr Brownstone and It’s So Easy came early and hit like a freight train. Sweet Child O’ Mine landed exactly when the crowd needed it, and November Rain — piano and all — turned the speedway into the biggest karaoke session in Florida history. Nightrain into Paradise City closed the night, and watching that massive audience spill out into the heat with Paradise City still ringing in their ears was the kind of festival moment you don’t forget.

But Day One wasn’t just about the headliner. Not even close.

Day One’s Best of the Rest

Five Finger Death Punch hit the main stage in the late afternoon and did exactly what they do — pummeling, crowd-pleasing, singalong-heavy metal that had the pit churning before the sun even started thinking about setting. Ivan Moody worked the massive stage like he owned it, and for 45 minutes, he basically did.

Godsmack followed and reminded everyone why they’ve been festival staples for two decades. Sully Erna’s voice has somehow gotten better with age, and the dual-drumming battle sequence — a Godsmack tradition at this point — had first-timers pulling out their phones like they’d just witnessed a magic trick.

Photo by @NathanZucker / Danny Wimmer Presents

Ice Nine Kills turned their set into a full-blown horror movie. If you haven’t seen what these guys do live, it’s less of a concert and more of a slasher film with breakdowns. Spencer Charnas went through multiple costume changes, there were actors in full gore makeup reenacting murder scenes, and the crowd ate up every single second of it. INK are doing something no one else in heavy music is even attempting right now.

Alice Cooper — at 78 years old — brought the theatrics that basically invented the rock show as we know it. Guillotine, straightjacket, the whole nine yards. Watching a new generation of rock fans see Alice Cooper for the first time is its own kind of entertainment. The guy doesn’t need pyro or video walls. He just needs a stage and a prop department, and he’ll make it feel like the biggest show you’ve ever seen.

Amon Amarth brought the Viking invasion. Their stage setup — a massive longship, fire everywhere, Johan Hegg in full warrior mode — has become one of the most reliably awesome sights on the festival circuit. When the row pit opened up during Twilight of the Thunder God, it looked like a Renaissance Faire got really, really angry. In the best way.

Story of the Year and Mayday Parade held it down for the emo and post-hardcore faithful on the side stages, proving that 2005 never actually ended — it just got louder. State Champs turned their set into a pop-punk clinic, and Cradle of Filth brought the black metal theatrics that only Dani Filth can deliver.

The undercard was stacked in a way that only Rockville seems to pull off. Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening — if you haven’t seen this, you need to — brought genuine Zeppelin magic courtesy of the son of the greatest rock drummer who ever lived. Dethklok brought the cartoon death metal chaos. All That Remains and Anberlin represented two completely different corners of the scene and both killed it. Death Angel, Born of Osiris, Deicide, Suffocation, Immolation — the death metal representation on Day One alone could have been its own festival.

And the discoveries? Every Rockville has them. The Paradox turned heads on one of the smaller stages. Castle Rat brought a medieval doom energy that felt like it belonged in a different century. Afterlife — a relatively new name on a bill this massive — had people checking set times to make sure they didn’t miss whatever comes next from them.

The Vibe in Daytona

There’s something about the Daytona International Speedway as a festival venue that just works. The space is massive — you’re walking miles between stages if you’re not strategic about it — but it never feels empty. The Owners Club grandstand gives the bougie crowd a place to sip cocktails and watch from above, while the pit warriors do their thing down front. Off-duty cops were spotted on top of a portacabin with their arms around each other’s shoulders during the GNR set. That’s the energy. Everyone’s dialed in.

If there’s one thing to nitpick, it’s the Florida heat. May in Daytona Beach means sunscreen isn’t optional, it’s survival gear. Hydration stations were doing the lord’s work all day, and the misting tents had lines that looked like they were giving away free merch. But honestly? The weather cooperated. No rain. No thunder. No repeat of 2022. Just a perfect, sweltering rock and roll Thursday.

And somehow — it’s only Thursday. Three more days of this.

Foo Fighters headline Friday. Bring Me The Horizon owns Saturday. My Chemical Romance closes the whole thing out Sunday. That’s an absurd amount of rock royalty still to come, and Thursday already felt like a full weekend.

If Day One was any indication, Rockville 2026 is shaping up to be the kind of festival people will be talking about for years. And the best part? We’re just getting started.