Apocalypse Fest

It was time for the annual Motionless in White show, Apocalypse Fest. This year the date landed on November 13th, 2025. The supporting acts for this show included, OVTLIER, Holding Absence, and Black Veil Brides. Personally I was extremely excited to see the announcement of the openers. The show took place at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Last year, Apocalypse fest spanned over two days (including Halloween) where they played Reincarnate in Full. This year, the band will play Infamous in full.

My experience start to finish for Apocalypse Fest was chaotic but worth it. My planning started initially when tickets went presale, and I got pit. I didn't start actually planning until about two weeks to the event date. I convinced my dad to drive the four and a half hours to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. I then started planning with an online friend on how early to line up. We landed at about 4:30am. 

That was the plan we stuck to. At 4:30am, I was awake and in line outside of the arena. It was freezing outside, so we dressed in layers. We had blankets to sit on, as well as to keep us warm. I made sure to bring enough hot hands for everyone. I managed to fall asleep sitting up for almost two hours while waiting. We watched the sunrise, with about ten other people in front of us. Behind us, the line continuously grew until it was down the sidewalk. We sat outside in the rain, and a few moments of hail. 

Close to door time they opened up the line, and I'm telling you it was chaos. Everyone ran and tried their hardest to be one of the first people in line. I overheard members of staff saying “Everyone is trying to get barricade” and they were right. I managed to sneak up in the line with one of my friends. Oh yeah, camping out with me since 4:30am, I had two of my friends. One of which was an online friend for what had to be a few years at this point. The wait in this line was short, because soon, doors opened. Multiple lines accumulated at the doors, waiting to be let in. The anxiety was hitting in full swing now. I was scared I wouldn't have a good spot, despite waiting over thirteen hours for this show. 

We were let in, and it was mad. People were full sprinting down the stairs to make their way into the pit. Unlike me, who had the slowest person applying my pit wristband. Eventually I made it down and it took me a second to find my friends. They were against the barricade and I took my spot behind them. The second row isn't terrible. My friends freaked out as they had fully accomplished their goal for the day. I was a little butthurt to not be on the rail with them, but one of my (very sweet) friends agreed to let me on the barricade for black veil brides. 

The show started and OVTLIER came on. I had honestly never heard of this band before but they gave such a performance. I spent time on my phone taking pictures of how good of a spot I had. Holding Absence was the same. I listened to both bands and enjoyed their stage presence. 

OVTLIER full setlist:

-Dead Man Running

-Living Dead

-Spineless

-Creature of the Night

-Buried Me Alive

-Warriors

Holding Absence full setlist:

-Gravity

-Like a Shadow

-Aching Longing

-A Crooked Melody

-Afterlife

-Wilt

Now it was finally time for Black Veil Brides. I was super ecstatic to see them on the lineup announcement. This was my fifth time seeing them and I was lucky enough that my friend was going to let me stand on the railing for it. I took my place and waited for the boys to come out.  They played their usual setlist with the addition of their newest song, “Hallelujah.” I am always obsessed with seeing Andy Biersack. The rest of the band puts on an amazing show. They truly are one of my favorite bands to see live.

Black Veil Brides full setlist:

-Knives and Pens

-Bleeders

-Hallelujah

-Faithless

-Coffin

-Devil

-The Legacy

-Perfect Weapon

-In The End

After their set I switched spots back with my friend. We all waiting (im)patiently for Motionless in White to come on. This was my sixth motionless show in a fifth different state. To say they are my favorite band is an understatement. I have a song reference to “Burning at Both Ends” tattooed on my arm along with all of the boys' signatures from the last  time I met them. I've traveled a lot and did some crazy things for this band. I didn't know exactly what to expect as this was my first apocalypse fest. My friends and I noticed the floor dropped, like Chris would rise from the floor. That assumption was correct as Chris Motionless (Cerulli) rose from the floor, opening up the night with “Fatal”. The crowd was feral, and if you know Motionless’ fanbase, you know that's accurate. 

In between almost every song, Chris took the time to talk to us, claiming it's because all the songs off of “infamous” are difficult to play. Next they went into “Devils Night” which I've heard live before. The perk of Apocalypse versus a typical Motionless headliner is you get to hear songs they rarely play live. Anytime I'm seeing Motionless in White, is the time of my life and this was no exception. I screamed my heart out as they played infamous in full, along with a few added songs. 

Motionless in White full setlist:

-Fatal

-Devils Night

-Burned at Both Ends

-The Divine Infection

-Black Damask

-America

-Puppets 2

-Sign of Life

-Hatefuck

-Underdog

-Sinematic

-Neccessary Evil

-If its Dead, We’ll Kill It

-Synthetic Love

-Nothing Ever After

-Sick From the Melt

-Another Life

-Infamous

Want to catch a Motionless in White show? Luckily they're touring with Bring Me the Horizon in the spring! You can catch them at,

Apr 28th - Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena

Apr 29th - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre

May 1st - Worcester, MA @ DCU Center
May 2nd - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden

May 4th - Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena

May 5th - Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena

May 7th - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena

May 9th - Daytona, FL @ Welcome to Rockville Festival

May 11th - St Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center

May 12th - Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center

May 13th - St. Paul, MN @ Grand Casino Arena 

May 15th - Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena

May 16th - Columbus, OH @ Sonic Temple Festival

By Leah Feder

@leahjazminee

From the Grave Magazine