Rocklahoma, the multi-day destination camping rock festival, took place last weekend at Catch The Fever Festival Grounds in Pryor, OK. A special BraveWords.com report of Day 3 by Erik Tweedy can be read below:

With a storm brewing in the Western sky, TESLA hit the stage with their foot on the gas and proved once again why they are one of the best bands to make it out of the '80s. Their brand of meat and potatoes rock has survived for over 25 years and with 4 out of five original members still in tact, Tesla delivered a performance that not only the Rocklahoma ticket buyers enjoyed, but also was surely a favourite of the younger bands that performed earlier in the day. After a seven-week hiatus from touring, Tesla sounded fresh, relaxed and very tight. ‘Forever More’ kicked off the show and vocalist, Jeff Keith, lead the band through a setlist that now crosses over three decades. The show was cut a bit short due to the impending storm but included many fan favourites such as ‘Hang Tough’, ‘Heaven’s Trail’, ‘Song and Emotion’, ‘Paradise’, ‘Signs’ and the classic ‘Modern Day Cowboy’.

Chicago based band CHEVELLE put on what seemed like two different shows in one. First half of their show was an in your face screamfest that much of the crowd got bored with after three or four songs but when they hit the 2nd half that was much more melodic and accessible for the casual fan, everyone was on their feet and asking for more. With hits ‘The Red’, ‘Send the Pain Below’ and ‘Sleep Apnea’, Chevelle churned out one of the better performances of the festival.

Touring in support of their new release, ‘Cold Day Memory’, SEVENDUST pummelled the Rocklahoma crowd with ‘Honesty’, ‘Denial’ and ‘Enemy’ before letting up with their new single ‘Unravelling’. Rarely have the Rocklahoma faithful experienced the shear power and brutality of a band like Sevendust. Even GODSMACK from the night before seems tame when compared to Sevendust's performance. It was full throttle energy the entire show that culminated with the fan favourite ‘Face to Face’.

THEORY OF A DEADMAN and Oklahoma City-based ARANDA rounded out the main stage schedule for the final day at Rocklahoma. Funky, soulful, bluesy, rocking and passionate are all words that describe an Aranda show. With two lead singers trading off throughout the show, their mixed bag of hard rock is very fun to watch and listen to. And their version of ZEPPELIN’S ‘Dazed and Confused’ was outstanding. Theory of a Deadman put on a very “safe” performance and vocalist, Tyler Connolly, struggled throughout the show. After touring for most of two years, it might be time for TOAD to get off the road for a few months and recoup.

Rocklahoma has proven that it can survive by changing up the format to include multiple generations and crossing over rock’s boundaries. It will be interesting to see which path Rocklahoma takes for 2011. Changing the dates to earlier in the year paid off also as the weather was perfect for Oklahoma, sunny and 90 everyday compared to temperatures that soared into the triple digits last year. All in all, the fest was a great success. The facility is top notch and the event is very well ran. With a bit more time and work on the line-up, Rocklahoma can become one of the premiere festivals in North America.

(Photos courtesy of Russell Frick)