09/04/2026
Hello Friends & Hellions! Now that we've had some time to recover from this year’s festival, we want to talk about how it went and our plans for the future.
To start with, the GOOD: Friends from all over the United States and Canada came out to party for a long weekend in Seattle with us! Some of our favorite bands came together to play for you, and everything ran extraordinarily smoothly, a few minor bumps to be expected with any show big or small, but all in all each day stayed on track and everyone was in good spirits. 2 days, 2 stages, a preparty and an after show is no small feat!
The BAD: Unfortunately, Sacred Blade had to drop off the festival due to visa issues, though we got lucky that Heir Apparent was willing to step in on extremely short notice, and Blood Star played a second secret set to provide a double dose of metal to make us feel a bit better about it.
The UGLY: The stone cold, transparent truth is that we lost a good amount of money this year. Organizing festivals and other events are more expensive than ever, and despite our best efforts, we did not break even. We expanded the festival this year, booking more bands, booking higher caliber bands, and though we did draw a substantially larger crowd than we did in 2025, we did it at a cost. We dropped the price of Single Day and Weekend Pass tickets significantly compared to last year. (The exception being the die hard presale VIP package that included a bunch of extra swag for your early support) However, it was not a surprise at the end of the day. We all know the economy is struggling right now. Our experience is consistent with what every single festival we're friends with in the US has told us, but it's still disappointing, frustrating, and financially difficult.
So: WHAT’S NEXT? We've put a lot of thought into this, and maybe we’re just maniacs, but we’ve decided...TO KEEP THE FESTIVAL GOING! Why? There aren't a lot of old school heavy metal festivals left in the United States, let alone in the PNW. It's extremely important to us to provide the opportunity to play a festival that reaches a wider audience, for both the community and to the bands who rely on having a festival to tour around. We are happy to say we will continue to partner with Substation in a greater capacity to provide the best experience for bands and fans both from the PNW and elsewhere.
We will announce next year’s dates in the coming days, and you can expect our first band announcement sometime early next year. Keep an eye on this space, Soldiers of Steel WILL return!
A lot of people have asked how they can help, and the most obvious answer is to buy your tickets in advance and tell all your friends about it! This year, fully 2/3 of ticket sales came in the last two or three weeks before the festival, which is extremely stressful for us but that’s the state of things. If you’re able, buy in advance! Other ways to help? Sharing and posting about the fest, the bands you want to see, the bands you enjoyed the most, tagging and liking photos, videos and reels, it all helps to fuel the fire and keep it burning bright!
- We also have a limited run reprint of the festival t-shirt on pre-order right now! If you'd like to contribute to next year's planning, those funds will help us immensely. That link expires MONDAY. We'll include it in the comments, but you can head straight to the Nameless Grave Records Bandcamp and purchase directly there.
In closing - Thank you for helping make this year SO special. Thank you to our totally kick ass crew of friends and volunteers who contributed both time and money to seeing this through. Our DJs kept the rock, our vendors kicked ass. Substation staff and crew are top tier. We don't want to diminish the success of this year with the financial talk, we knew we’d be taking risks, but we also got a really great crowd of heavy metal maniacs into the Substation and we had a wonderful time. We will cherish the memories of Soldiers of Steel's second volume for the rest of our lives, and we can't wait to see you next year!
Stay Strong!💪⚔Brandon & Amy
Photos by Diane Webb Photography
