Live Review

Live Review: M3 Rock Festival w/ Accept, Warrant, Pearcy and DeMartini, and more @ Merriweather Post Pavilion — 5/2-5/4/25

May 10, 2025

M3 Rock Festival 2025: Three Days of Rain, Riffs, and Nostalgia at Merriweather Post Pavilion
Words and Photos by Michael Sprouse/OddRocker Photography

You can feel it in the parking lot before you even step inside the venue — the Maryland spring air crackling with denim, leather, Aqua Net, and anticipation. For those of us who still blast cassette tapes in the garage and think modern music’s lost its bite, the M3 Rock Festival isn’t just a throwback — it’s church.

From May 2-4, Columbia’s Merriweather Post Pavilion transformed into a time warp of pure, unfiltered rock ’n’ roll excess and Marshall stacks and brother, it did not disappoint. It rocked harder, ran louder, and stuck around a little longer in the bloodstream. You don’t just attend M3 — you survive it, soak it in, and carry it with you till next year.

DAY 1

Fridays at M3 are always wild. But this one? Full throttle. By noon, the lawn was already filling with denim jackets and sunblock. Merch lines were out of control and you could see the beer lines from orbit.

Let’s talk about the opening punch. Friday night belonged to Sebastian Bach, and man, it was rowdy. Like, “1989 L.A. rock club-rowdy.” He hit the stage like a man possessed, kicking off with “What Do I Got to Lose” then “Slave to the Grind” and not letting up.

He still shrieks like a banshee — and yeah, he might talk more between songs than he used to –but the crowd soaked up every minute. The lawn was a sea of devil horns and beer-fueled karaoke. That’s the kind of night it was. Nostalgia dripping off everything like the sweat down our backs.

DAY 2

Day 2? Absolutely stacked. Californians Red Voodoo kicked things off early with their slick mix of youthful energy and vintage Sunset Strip swagger and their set consisted of some real headbangers like “Hourglass,” “KSA,” and “Mystery Girl.” Keep an eye on these kids. They’ve got the look, the hooks, and the attitude to carry this whole thing forward into the rock-n-roll future.

Watch Red Voodoo perform live at The Complex on YouTube:

Childs Play brought it home with that gritty, hometown-Baltimore energy that still resonates. Their set was loud, raw, and real. The kind of show where you don’t care about polish — you just want to feel something, and John Allen and the boys delivered.

Then there was Steven Adler. Seeing him behind the kit again was emotional in all the right ways. He’s not just going through the motions — he’s clearly feeling it. His band crushed “Sweet Child,” “Mr. Brownstone,” and a particularly fiery “Rocket Queen.” If you weren’t fist-pumping, you were probably dehydrated.

Slaughter took it from there, and if you think Mark Slaughter can’t still wail, you clearly haven’t seen them live lately. Even “Fly to the Angels” hit a lot harder than I expected — partly because half the front row was holding up lighters. Not just phones. Actual lighters. My people.

By the time Winger took the stage, the sun was dipping behind the trees, and the crowd was just wild enough to turn “Seventeen” into a full-blown scream-along. Kip Winger has zero business sounding that good in 2025. Kip might be one of the most criminally underrated frontmen in rock, and his band? Tight as ever. Honestly, they were tighter than some headliners I’ve seen in their prime.

Then came Accept, who stole the whole weekend. Every person in that amphitheater knew every word to “Balls to the Wall” but the real surprise was how ferocious their full show was. Accept tore into the evening with a no-nonsense set that ran everybody over like a freight train. “The Reckoning” lit the fuse, and from there, the rockers “Midnight Mover,” “Princess of the Dawn,” and “Fast as a Shark” followed. It was 60 minutes of headbanging fury, from the German rock gods. No-frills metal done exactly the way it’s supposed to be. Highly recommended!

Watch Accept perform “Fast as a Shark” live on YouTube:

Closing out Saturday was David Lee Roth. Yep — that David Lee Roth. Decked out like a Vegas lounge lizard and strutting around like he never left the ’80s. Was his voice perfect? No. Was it glorious anyway? Absolutely. “Panama,” “Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love,” “Jump” — he hit the highlights, and we ate it up.

DAY 3

Cloudy and threatening to rain, Sunday brought the musical heat. You’d think folks would be dragging by Day 3 — but not at M3. It was like everyone came back with a second wind and a fresh beer in hand.

Vixen came in with harmony and heart, and honestly, their set felt like a collective hug from a band that never phones it in. The ladies were one of the welcome surprises of the whole festival. “Cryin,” “How Much Love,” and “Hard 16” sounded fantastic and just to let you know, I think I saw a couple of grown men cry during “Edge of a Broken Heart.” I’m not naming names, but I may of felt it too.

Then came Lita Ford, decked out in red leather and ripping solos like it was 1986. She might’ve singlehandedly inspired half the crowd to reconsider their hair color. “Gotta Let Go” still rocks, as well as “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways and she even covered Elton John’s “The Bitch Is Back”! Her ballad “Close My Eyes Forever” mellowed the crowd out for just a moment, but her set closer “Kiss Me Deadly” brought legit goosebumps.

Watch the official music video for “Kiss Me Deadly” by Lita Ford on YouTube:

Great White followed with a surprisingly sharp set. “Desert Moon,” “Lady Red Light,” and “Mista Bone” were definite highlights. New lead singer Brett Carlisle’s vocals are no joke, and the band leaned into the bluesy end of their catalog just enough to balance the arena-ready stuff. Mark Kendall made his guitar do things physics teachers would argue against. Great White were tight, melodic and just left-of-center enough to feel dangerous. Their song “Rock Me” rolled out slow and sultry before detonating. Once bitten, twice shy indeed!

Warrant was up next, and let me tell you — “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” live is still a whole damn experience. Robert Mason brought the vocal goods, no question. Throughout their set, guitarist Joey Allen pounded on his guitar like it owed him money. It felt more Sunset Strip than Maryland woods for a solid hour. The vibe was loud, sweaty, and honest. You could practically smell the hairspray and regret — and I mean that in the best possible way. And yes, they closed with “Cherry Pie,” and yes, everybody screamed it. Because why wouldn’t they?

And Ace Frehley? Look, if you don’t get chills hearing “Shock Me” live, you might want to get your pulse checked. His guitar tone is still unmistakable — thick, dirty, and straight out of a smoky club in 1975. “New York Groove” rocked especially hard, and the crowd was all in, even if Ace was having a little trouble remembering his bandmates names!

Because the rock gods were clearly smiling on M3 this year, guess who showed up to close the whole thing out — Steven Pearcy with the Warren DeMartini — yeah, you read that right. It wasn’t a Ratt tribute, it was the real deal. “Lay It Down,” “Back for More,” and of course, “Round and Round” — the whole damn lawn was jumping. People who hadn’t pogoed since the Bush administration were suddenly 15 again, fists in the air. They could’ve played for two more hours, and nobody would’ve complained.

Watch the official music video for “Round and Round” by Ratt on YouTube:

Final thoughts (that aren’t actually final because we’re still buzzing): If you’ve never been to M3, it’s hard to explain what makes it different. It’s not just the bands. It’s the fans. The outfits. The lawn chair cities. The group of friends who camp the front rail every year like it’s their job. The guy who air guitars every solo like he’s on stage. The woman who brought her teen daughter and taught her every lyric to Dokken.

You overhear stories everywhere — about road trips to catch Ratt in ’87, or how someone met their spouse at an M3 after party back in 2012. People share sunscreen, snacks, beer, chairs. It’s a weird, beautiful little village built around power chords and shared memories. And by the time Sunday night fades, you don’t want to leave. The parking lot’s a mess. Your ears are ringing. Your voice is shot. And still — you’re already thinking about next year.

M3 2025 didn’t feel like a throwback. It felt alive. It felt present. And yeah, maybe we’ve got a few more gray hairs and knee braces out there, but nobody gave a damn. Because for one weekend, the riffs were loud, the shirts were sleeveless, and the rock-n-roll was absolutely undeniable.

Three days. Sunburn, rain, hoarse voices, beer lines longer than the line for the bathroom — and none of it mattered. This year’s M3 wasn’t just a festival. It was a full-blown revival. And if you’re still clinging to the idea that rock’s dead, do yourself a favor: Come out next year. Bring a cooler, wear your old tour shirt, and prepare to lose your voice.

Because if 2025 proves anything, it’s this: Hair metal’s still got a hell of a lot of life left in it. And so do we.

All pictures below copyright and courtesy of Michael Sprouse/OddRocker Photography!

Here are some photos of Sebastian Bach performing live for M3 Rock Festival on May 2, 2025.