Every year, the famous Sunset Strip in Hollywood, CA is shut down for a day and more than 40 bands perform on two main outdoor stages, at the Whiskey A Go Go, Cat Club, the Roxy Theater, Viper Room and the Key Club. This year’s headliners included 80s legends Motley Crue, Public Enemy along with Bush, Black Veil Brides, She Wants Revenge and Cobra Starship.

The first band we watched was Youngblood Hawke, a fairly new band comprised of two members of Iglu and Hartly, who performed at the Key Club promptly at 1:30pm. A handful of people showed up to catch their performance, which consisted of two of our favorite songs, "Forever," and "Glacier." Upon watching the band onstage, you can tell they were having fun and it transcended to the audience. The band was in sync, and the extra drums onstage made their performance even stronger.

If you're a fan of feel-good music, then you'll love Youngblood Hawke as they deliver the perfect soundtrack to any sunny summer outdoor activity. Make sure to check out our interview with the band. Also, check out our live footage of Youngblood Hawke to see what their like on stage below:

Sam Martin

Youngblood Hawke

Alice Tomerlin Beretta

Next up was Hollywood’s own Black Veil Brides. Dressed in full makeup and black attire, the band performed to a large crowd under the summer sun in front of the Key Club. Front man Andy Biersack told the audience to put their middle fingers in the air and yelled, “Next time someone fucks with you and makes fun of the clothes you wear or the music you listen to, shove your middle finger in their face and say, fuck you motherfucker!” With fists and middle fingers raised, the band started a chant, “Fuck you, motherfucker,” which was crowd repeated in call-and-response fashion.

The band performed, "All Your Hate," "God Bless You," and "Knives and Pens," among others.


Standing in the hot sun, we decided to take a break and headed over to the “Lobsta Truck” for some $12 lobsta rolls. We walked alongside fans of all ages and saw teens with their tattooed parents. Finally, we arrived at the truck hungry, thirsty and feeling out of shape from walking from back and forth between the east and west stages. Anyway, while delicious, the "Lobsta Truck" portions were not as big as we’d liked them to be. After scarfing down the sandwiches, we headed to the east outdoor stage to catch Cobra Starship.

Back to the music. Performing poppy synth beats, Cobra Starship played in front of the Hustler store. Festival-goers danced to songs "Hot Mess," "Good Girls Go Bad," and among others.



Since we were on the other end of the strip, we missed out on She Wants Revenge. However, we caught Bush performing all our favorite 90's MTV jam's, which definitely took us down memory lane. Bush performed, "Machinehead," "Everything Zen," and "Comedown," among others. Check out live footage courtesy of LV515009:

Finally, Motley Crue took the stage and one of the main highlights was Tommy Lee performing two songs while his drum set turned upside down via the rollercoaster mechanism onstage. What we didn't expect was a cameo and performance with Deadmau5. Unfortunately, we weren't approved to snap photos of Motley Crue, so we've scoured the net for live footage and came across a video from: vintagerockdotcom





In 2010, we saw the Smashing Pumpkins, Common and Kid Kudi. Check out our live review here.


In 2009, we saw Ozzy Osbourne, Korn, Kottonmouth Kings and Schwayze. Make sure to check it out here. 

If you attended previous years of The Sunset Strip Music Festival, then you’ve noticed the festival has consistently topped its previous year with big name bands, beer gardens and food trucks. We definitely recommend checking out the next one.

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About the Author


Formerly an editor and writer at Citysearch, The Examiner, LA Youth Newspaper and proofreader at The Los Angeles Daily News, Christy Buena decided to start Disarray Magazine because she missed writing what she wanted. From hiring writers, to contacting publicists and making assignments, Christy is responsible for the editorial strategy of Disarray Magazine.

Questions, comments or suggestions? Contact Christy@disarraymagazine.com

Twitter.com/ChristyBuena