Aug 1 - 2, 2009 (15 years ago) Knebworth Knebworth, England, United Kingdom
The British edition of the Sonisphere Festival took place over two days, on Saturday the 1st and Sunday the 2nd of August 2009, at Knebworth, Knebworth with headliners Linkin Park (Saturday) and Metallica (Sunday). The festival featured four stages of music over the weekend - Apollo, Saturn, Bohemia, and Jager, with the main two being staggered staging, allowing viewing of all bands performing on both stages, with the others being within the Bohemia village. The Bohemia stage (the third of four stages) was an undercover stage and was able to continue past the sound curfews placed upon the main stages. This was The Rev's final live performance as Avenged Sevenfold's drummer before his death in December 2009. It was also the last European appearance of Ronnie James Dio before he died of stomach cancer in May 2010.
Avenged Sevenfold played their final concert with The Rev before his passing on the 28th of December, 2009. The band's final song together was Almost Easy. Dead by Sunrise appeared on the Apollo Stage on the Saturday night as part of Linkin Park's encore. Coheed and Cambria were late arriving, due to them missing their ferry and as such were moved onto the Bohemia stage to play a later slot originally intended for the band FACT. As such, FACT played the Apollo stage. Lamb of God's guitarist Mark Morton missed the band's slot on 2 August as his wife was due to give birth around that time. Unearth's Buz McGrath filled in for him for the band's show at Sonisphere UK. Nine Inch Nails performance was said to be their last in Europe as they were set to stop touring at the end of that tour after 20 years. Ultimately the resumed touring, returning to the UK in 2013 at Reading and Leeds festivals and playing several dates in the UK in May 2014. Thunder played their 'last set' as well after 20 years of performing - only to, of course, resume touring (and they still were as of 2022). Anthrax played what was billed as a one-off show with former vocalist John Bush as the originally intended vocalist, Dan Nelson, was no longer part of the band. Machine Head pulled out when Limp Bizkit's addition bumped them down the bill; however, they did return to play the fourth slot on the Apollo stage as Special Guests. Frank Turner pulled out for undisclosed reasons, though he has claimed to fans that he was forced to choose between this festival and Leeds and Reading festivals, ultimately choosing the latter. Fear Factory cancelled tour dates for what they claimed to be recording of a new album, but was ultimately found out to be legal disputes over the use of the name Fear Factory. Thin Lizzy pulled out as the band parted ways with guitarist-vocalist John Sykes. Dirty Little Rabbits pulled out before the festival due to their drummer suffering from exhaustion after months of touring with Slipknot. The Ataris pulled out after one of their members contracted swine flu.
Sonisphere 2009 UK Ticket
Uploaded by Sable D
Sonisphere 2009 UK Event Calendar/Timings part 1
Sonisphere 2009 UK Event Calendar/Timings part 2
Sonisphere 2009 UK Flyer
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