In its third year of bringing hard-rock back to Somerset Amphitheater, the Northern Invasion festival will go back to the '90s in 2017: The top acts for its May 13-14 lineup will include Soundgarden, Kid Rock, Godsmack, the Offspring, Bush, Papa Roach and the Creed offshoot Alter Bridge. Some of the younger bands on the bill include the Pretty Reckless, Amon Amarth, Opeth, In Flames, Gojira, Pierce the Veil, the Struts, Dillinger Escape Plan and the Story So Far.
The lineup was announced Monday afternoon before pre-sale tickets go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m., priced $89.50 for general-admission or $189.50 for VIP via NorthernInvasion.com. Campsites are available separately.
Soundgarden was a real coup for the festival. The Seattle rockers of "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun" fame have only performed in the Twin Cities once since reuniting (a sold-out 2013 show at the Orpheum). Word is they are working on a new album for release next year.
As for Kid Rock, he's an interesting pick since he is currently selling his own brand of pro-Trump T-shirts that label Minnesotans "dumbf---s" for going for Clinton in the election. Never mind that Somerset Amphitheater usually pulls the bulk of its audience from across the St. Croix.
Northern Invasion was a big hit right out of the gate in 2014 when Slipknot headlined and all 25,000 tickets sold out. Organizers then turned it into a two-day event last year. The event was brought to Somerset as part of a chain of hard-rock festivals promoted throughout the country with AEG Live as World's Loudest Month, a brand name that also includes the Rocklahoma fest and Ohio's Rock on the Range.
Here's the full lineup of confirmed acts so far for Northern Invasion 2017:
Soundgarden, Kid Rock, Godsmack, The Offspring, Bush, Papa Roach, Alter Bridge, the Pretty Reckless, Amon Amarth, Opeth, In Flames, Gojira, Pierce the Veil, Sum 41, the Struts, Motionless In White, the Dillinger Escape Plan, the Story So Far, Nothing More, Fozzy, Every Time I Die, Rival Sons, Attila, Starset, I Prevail, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Volumes, Bad Omens, As Lions, Radkey, Dorothy, Sylar, Wage War, Bleeker, Goodbye June, Badflower, The Charm The Fury, Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes, Citizen Zero, and more.
