The Deftones took the stage Friday night at the Aftershock music festival in Discovery Park in front of thousands enthusiastic fans, including many who had staked out spots on the rail as many as nine hours before to see their hometown band.
Those fans included Sacramentans Judith Baker, celebrating her 18th birthday, and her friend Jayden Lee, 17, who said they had arrived at noon and hadn’t left their spot. Across the central aisle was Kaylin Snider, with “Deftones” painted across her forehead and elsewhere on her body.
Other highlights on Friday included English singer Bruce Dickinson, the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, performing a stop on his solo tour. Also performing exceptionally energetic sets were heavy metal Lamb of God, Swedish-American guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen and Dallas thrash band Power Trip.
The festival returned to Sacramento on Thursday with pop-punk band Blink-182 headlining in Sacramento’s Discovery Park.
The four-day festival features more than 115 rock, punk and metal bands, and its organizers bill it as the largest such event on the West Coast. The festival welcomed 160,000 fans in 2024.
The Deftones in Sacramento
Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
The Deftones perform during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Deftones bassist Fred Sablan performs with the band during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
On the stages Friday at Aftershock
The fingers of Swedish-American heavy metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen are reflected in his sunglasses as he performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Swedish-American heavy metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen tosses a pick to the audience during his performance at the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
The Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Dimitri Minakakis performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
English singer Bruce Dickinson, who is the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, performs on his solo tour during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Bassist Tanya O'Callaghan performs with Bruce Dickinson during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Bryan Garris of Kentucky hardcore punk band Knocked Loose sings during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Deftones fan Kaylin Snider of Sacramento readies herself for the band during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Makenzy Gilbert of Sacramento, decked out in beaded bracelets, enjoys a performance during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Where’s Waldo? He’s crowdsurfing during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Birthday girl Judith Baker, 18, and her friend Jayden Lee, 17, wait for the next performance during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. The locals arrived around noon to claim their spot at the front. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
A crowd surfer smiles as he videos his travels during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Texas buddies Parker Reeves and Leo Vargas waive their American flag between performances during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe performs for the heavy metal band during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe performs for the heavy metal band during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Sacramento muralists Daniel Pedersen, left, Mindy Galloway and Brandt Rock pose with an inflatable bear that they painted during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Turnstile bassist Franz Lyons performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Turnstile vocalist Brendan Yates performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Turnstile bassist Franz Lyons performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
A Perfect Circle performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
A Perfect Circle performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Power Trip bassist Chris Whetzel performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Dallas thrash band Power Trip, led by vocalist Riley Gale, left, performs during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie performs for the metal band during the Aftershock festival on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Discovery Park in Sacramento. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
This story was originally published October 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
Bee visuals editor Nathaniel Levine joined the staff in 2003. His work has received awards from the Society of News Design, the Best of the West journalism competition and the California News Publishers Association, among others. A native Californian, Levine grew up in Grass Valley and attended UC Davis.
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