The 2022 Welcome to Rockville festival ran from May 18 to May 22 and there were a few problems along the way. Due to weather issues, many sets had to be shortened and cancellations had to be made. Some performances were also ixnayed.
Guns N’ Roses were also set to perform at the festival on May 20 and 21. Their performance was also canceled.
The CEO of Dammy Wimmer Presents, Danny Hayes, held a Town Hall discussion on Wednesday, May 25, where he discussed these issues and explained why the cancellations had to take place.
Hayes noted that the forecast they were presented with showed the bad weather in the area was going to miss the festival grounds, meaning that it would not affect the event.
When Shinedown began their performance after a delay, they had to shut it down as the updated forecast revealed that the storm was actually approaching the Rockville grounds.
Since the cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in the area require 30 minutes of clearance before any performances can take place, the timer kept resetting every time lightning struck in the area.
The weather did not improve, unfortunately, and Guns N’ Roses were unable to play at the festival.
Hayes said that they were heartbroken about the band not being able to play and they would love to get them back next year. He also applauded them for sticking through the delay as Guns N’ Roses were present until the last second. They only left when they were told that there was no chance of the festival continuing.