Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival 2023 has come to a roaring and triumphant end, bringing together 75,000 music fans for three action-packed days of music, body art and horror-themed attractions at the site of the historic Ohio State Reformatory (made famous by the movie The Shawshank Redemption) in Mansfield, Ohio. This is the third consecutive year that the popular destination has been sold out.
Danny Wimmer Presents’ co-producer Danny Wimmer. Also, the producer of Inkcarceration 5 held their fifth annual festival from July 14-16. They invited fans from 15 countries and all 50 states to join them in continuing “The Biggest Year In Rock”.
The show’s highlights included headlining performances by some of the most popular bands in metal and rock, including Slipknot.
Pantera’s set included special guest vocalists for the classic track “Walk”, including Brandon Mendenhall from the emerging rock band The Mendenhall Experiment, and the feature documentary film “Mind Over Matter”, whose group played on the campground stage earlier that day.
Inkcarceration featured the second performance of Coal Chamber, a reunited band since 2015. Additionally, the fest inspired Chelsea Grin’s Tom Barber to propose to his now-fiancée onstage during the band’s performance.
Silly Goose returned to the festival, winning over Danny Wimmer Presents fans and staff with their memorable, impromptu performance in a parking lot last year. The band was also given a slot on the campground lineup for 2023. They also repeated their DIY surprise on their flatbed truck outside the festival gates.
Inkcarceration, which took place over three days and featured 70 musical performances, brought summer to full swing for legions of rock fans. Inked Magazine presented a tattoo convention on-site, allowing fans to get tattooed.
Ticket holders could book daily appointments with over 65 tattoo artists onsite and enjoy nightly tattoo competitions hosted by Big Brother alum Jenncity. Caleb Neff, Brian Adamson, and Mat Helton were on the panel of judges. Warden Jose Mangin hosted the festival’s entire weekend. He is SiriusXM’s “Metal Ambassador.”
Inkcarceration takes pride in giving back. The festival’s charitable partners Take Me Home (F Cancer), Save22.vet, and To Write Love on her arms raised money onsite. One lucky fan also had the opportunity to have a “Haunted Hang”, a rare chance to spend time with Corey Taylor. The Slipknot frontman gave a private tour of the historic Ohio State Reformatory, among other things, as a part of The Taylor Foundation’s efforts.
Inkcarceration teamed up with Living The Dream Foundation to provide a dream weekend festival for a young fan fighting a life-threatening disease. The lucky recipient received the opportunity to attend artist meet-and-greets, side-stage viewing access, and front-row seats for all of the performances over the weekend.
According to Destination Mansfield’s President Lee Tasseff, it’s estimated that up to 10 million dollars were invested in the local economy of Ohio Richland County. More than 40% of the festival-goers came from outside of Ohio.
Inkcarceration 2024 dates and early bird sales will be announced this summer. Fans can choose from a variety of affordable payment plans.
Photo by Nathan Zucker
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