Date: Thursday May 14th 2026
Location: Historic Columbus Crew Stadium
City: Columbus Ohio
Event: Sonic Temple 2026 Day 1 of 4:
Featuring: My Chemical Romance, Slaughter To Prevail, Breaking Benjamin and Many More.

In May the world of metal, hard rock and Emo light up the sky as fans from all over the country descend upon Columbus Ohio for the Annual Sonic Temple Music and Arts Festival. This year they added a fifth stage as well as Art Battles to the fun so it’s a new look in 2026. Many flock to Columbus Crew Stadium early to get in by doors opening, which on this day were 10AM (as they did a soft opening for day 1), while others filter in throughout the day depending on when their favorite act is performing. The set times are generally released weeks in advance so you can plan your day though as most festival goers know it never seems to go as intended when you arrive and deal w/ your body shutting down or potentially showing up for you. My day was meant to cover about 15-20 bands and managed to be closer to 25 as things seemed to just be going well and bands were either perfectly on time, or some ended early which led me to catch the end of another set I hadn’t even planned on.

The Used on the Cathedral Stage at Sonic Temple 2026.

Previously I had drove in early Thursday morning, showed up an hour or two into the festival and checked into the hotel later after the show. This year I decided to come in a day early so as to be there when it starts in order to see some bands like The Pretty Wild, Nekrogoblikon and Egypt Central. I chose the Shuttle option this year and it was very smooth. I arrived at the venue a little before 11AM and realized that the shuttle situation did have one flaw to it, which was you are dropped off where rideshare is and that my friends is about three quarters of a mile walk to the actual stadium. It is what it is, however when you're at a festival and plan on walking all day an unexpected pre mile is a bit of a bummer. Non the less, the Festival saw me roll in through the doors around 11:15. That gave me 45 minutes until the first band of the day.

The Goblikon and Nekrogoblikon open up the brand new Alter Stage at Sonice Temple 2026

If I’m being completely honest the first bands I really committed to in my head were The Pretty Wild and Egypt Central which the fact that they played the exact same time was my first dilemma of the weekend. However, being their early enough, I figured let’s check out Nekrogoblikon band. They did not disappoint as I was able to catch a good 15 minutes of their set. They have a screamer and then they have the singing Goblin known as the Goblikon. I must say the mix really works well. They had the crowd moving at noon which is always a great way to show your skillset. The Goblikon is a presence as well. When he walks on stage you definitely think to yourself, well he’s someone. I’m really glad I checked them out and would love to get them in the midstage in the future.
I did leave the set early because our friends in The Pretty Wild were opening the Sanctuary stage which is located over next to the Citadel stage. They rotate performances all day. I was able to get right up front on the gate. The band played a powerful set opening w/ “Paradox” and immediately getting the pits going and the crowd singing along w/ the chorus, “Caught in a Paradox”. They have so much energy, stage presence and charisma that you just know they’ll be climbing the timeslots on these stages each time they perform. Where they’ll end up is anybody’s guess but they are main stage worthy in my opinion. They are also up there with smiles on their faces to which is important to note because not all bands see this as fun, many see it as only a business. Its good to see a band see it as both and not lose sight of the fact that they are doing something they love and feel compassionate about.

The Pretty Wild Open the Sanctuary Stage at Sonic Temple 2026