Aftershock 2026 is over. Its 14th edition ran Thursday through Sunday, October 1–4, at Discovery Park in Sacramento, across five stages. This is the look back, night by night. Lineup, schedule and festival details stay on the Aftershock 2026 event hub. Times are scheduled set times, Pacific.
Thursday, Oct 1: My Chemical Romance went full Black Parade. My Chemical Romance closed opening night from the Aftershock Stage, scheduled for 8:25 p.m. They played The Black Parade front to back for its 20th anniversary, in costume, with added strings and percussion and bursts of pyro. They then came back for a looser closing run of “Thank You for the Venom,” “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” and “Helena.” Guitarist Frank Iero pulled double duty after an earlier set with L.S. Dunes. The day also featured The Offspring, Sublime, The Pretty Reckless, Sevendust and Apocalyptica. New Found Glory withdrew after the death of guitarist Chad Gilbert, and Mayday Parade worked NFG’s “My Friends Over You” into their set as a tribute.
Friday, Oct 2: Hip-hop met nu-metal. Silly Goose opened the Aftershock Stage at 11:30 a.m. From there the day leaned into rap-rock history. Drowning Pool closed with “Bodies.” P.O.D. fought through technical issues. Insane Clown Posse and Cypress Hill followed. Public Enemy (5:55 p.m.) and Wu-Tang Clan (7:35 p.m.) led into the night. Three 6 Mafia also played, and $uicideboy$ drew one of the day’s biggest crowds. Limp Bizkit closed at 9:45 p.m. on a hits set and played “Break Stuff” twice, once to open and once to close.
Saturday, Oct 3: Pierce The Veil’s first Aftershock, as headliner. It was the hottest day of the weekend. Pierce The Veil made its Aftershock debut as the 9:25 p.m. closer. A mariachi intro led into “May These Noises Startle You in Your Sleep Tonight,” and the band ran roughly 90 minutes, ending on “King for a Day.” Before that, A Day To Remember (8:15 p.m., Shockwave) finished with “If It Means a Lot to You” and “All Signs Point to Lauderdale.” BABYMETAL (7:20 p.m.) closed on “Gimme Chocolate!!” and “Road of Resistance.” The undercard included Sleeping with Sirens, Melvins and ivri.
Sunday, Oct 4: Tool closed the festival. Tool started at 8:25 p.m. Early in-ear trouble after “Stinkfist” gave Maynard James Keenan an unusual stretch of stage banter. The set then ran through “Rosetta Stoned,” “Fear Inoculum,” “The Grudge,” “H.,” “Jambi,” “Pneuma” and “Crawl Away,” and ended with “Invincible” and “Vicarious,” wrapping up around 10 p.m. Earlier, Danny Elfman (6:15 p.m.) brought an orchestra and a rock band for film themes and Oingo Boingo songs. Queens of the Stone Age (7:20 p.m., Shockwave) closed on “No One Knows” and “A Song for the Dead.” AFI (4:40 p.m.) ended with “Silver and Cold” and “Miss Murder.” Filter and President both played afternoon sets.
That’s how the four nights played out. For the full four-day bill and the stage-by-stage day sheets, go back to the Aftershock 2026 page and its day-by-day lineup.