Labor Day Weekend. The last three-day weekend of summer. How will you spend the holiday? In the backyard BBQing with a few friends? On the beach with the feisty wumpty you met at the bar last weekend? Glued to the TV for the first weekend of college football? C'mon! There are better things to do. For example, a road trip to Biloxi, maybe? Houston? Why? Because the Uproar Festival will be hitting both cities this weekend, and Uproar has THE festival lineup of the summer. My Top 5 Reasons to Spend Labor Day Weekend at the Uproar Festival.

  • 5

    Sevendust

    Just the fact that Sevendust played the 1st and only "99X Fest" back in 1997 - just weeks after the released of their first album - and ROCKED OUR FACES off, tempts me to make them the #1 reason to spend Labor Day weekend at Uproar. But, they're not the headliner, nor are they even playing on the main stage, so, they'll kick things off at #5. I've had the pleasure of seeing Sevendust a couple of dozen times and they've never disappointed. LaJon Witherspoon is the consummate front man, and the duel guitar attack of Clint Lowery and John Connolly will melt your ears. Sevendust headlines the 2nd stage, so get to Uproar early...

    Ethan Miller/Getty Images
    Ethan Miller/Getty Images
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  • 4

    Bullet For My Valentine

    Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matt Tuck (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Paget (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jay James (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Michael Thomas (drums). They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana. The band has stated that their music is influenced by classic heavy metal acts such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Slayer. The band is part of the Cardiff music scene. That's about all I know about BFMV, except that they're on the main stage at Uproar, and Sevendust aren't...so they must be good, huh? I've vowed to listen to all of their music on the 6 1/2 hour road trip to Biloxi. If I'm going to yell "Free Bird" at a band while in a drunken haze, I'd like to know if they can play it or not.

    Jo Hale/Getty Images
    Jo Hale/Getty Images
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  • 3

    Seether

    God, I love Seether. I don't think they've ever recorded a song I didn't like. And 99X was one of the first radio stations to play Seether (in the U.S., anyway), so I have a special place for them in my musical heart. From Pretoria, South Africa, originally named Saron Gas and signed to Musketeer Records in South Africa, they changed their name in 2002, just in time for the release of their second album and major label debut, Disclaimer. Three albums later, we find them at Uproar. Singer Shaun Morgan has an on/off relationship with Amy Lee, singer for Evanescence and Seether's Yoko Ono. I say this because a couple of original members of the band have left since Yoko - I mean Amy - came into the picture. That aside, if you've never seen them, this is a band you don't want to miss. So don't.

    Noel Vasquez/Getty Images
    Noel Vasquez/Getty Images
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  • 2

    Three Days Grace

    Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band, formed in Norwood, Ontario, Canada in 1992, originally under the name Groundswell. SInce they're the only band that didn't get back to me regarding photos/interviews for the station/website, that's all I got. Bastages. I'm going to the beer line while they're on. But you might enjoy them.

    threedaysgrace.com
    threedaysgrace.com
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  • 1

    Avenged Sevenfold

    Like Three Days Grace, we just saw Avenged Sevenfold here at the CenturyLink Center a few months ago. While some might say "Ahh, I just saw them"...that's exactly why I'm going to Uproar. Because I just saw them, and they kicked nine kinds of ass. To be honest, I'd never heard of them before their 3rd album, 'City of Evil'. Someone was going through a stack of new disks, when all of a sudden I was like "whoa...wait a minute that sounds like Iron Maiden would sound if they were 20 and just got together! Who the #@&$ is that?!?!?!" I was hooked, and to this day, I never get tired of hearing 'Bat Country'. There's a reason they're headlining Uproar - amazing songs and they can pull them off live. No auto-tune and lip synching here. And they have killer t-shirts, the mark of a truly great band.

    Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
    Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
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