If the significance of the evening wasn’t already apparent, the collective anticipation of 30,000 fans waiting with bated breath in the middle of a corn field offered a lasting visual emphasis of just how magical shit was about to get.

In 2021, after an unprecedented pandemic and a complete halt to live music and mass gatherings of all kinds, Slipknot once again returned home and nearly doubled the draw of 2019. Such was the case two years ago when the band set an attendance record at the Iowa State Fair – when nearly 18,000 fans turned up. With AC/DC’s “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” blaring over the PA, there was a growing sense that whatever was going to happen next, would likely add a new chapter in the veer-evolving narrative of Slipknot. Under a wash of Iowan moonlight, some 30,000 devoted maggots filed onto the Balloon field at Indianola just a short drive outside of Slipknot’s native Des Moines, IA for a homecoming celebration that would not only exceed the hype, it would make history.

The band performed a blistering, near two-hour career-spanning set to more than 30,000 maggots just outside of their native Des Moines.Įven after a complete festival day that included performances from giants of the genre spanning from Megadeth, Lamb of God, Gojira, and Trivium to the next generation of trailblazers in $uicideboy$, Fever 333, Turnstile and Knocked Loose – the anticipation in the late hours of Knotfest Iowa grew palpably thick as the evening’s finale drew near. Ramon Gonzales in Culture on September 27, 2021

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