When the RPM Fest celebrates its 10th anniversary this Labor Day weekend (Aug. 31 to Sept. 1) at the Millers Falls Rod and Gun Club in Montague, you can be sure they will live up to their reputation as “the heaviest party of the summer.” The festival, which is presented by Four Phantoms Brewing Company, will host over 40 rock, punk, and metal bands playing on two stages to an expected audience of over 1,000.

Headliners are Prong, Jasta, Misery Index, and Bongzilla. Deceased, Belushi Speed Ball, Castle Rat, Tower, Leather Lung, Thy Will Be Done, Mother Iron Horse, Persekutor, Rig Time, and many others will bring their loud, hard music to Montague.

RPM Fest is about more than music — it is also a celebration of underground culture, so there will also be professional wrestling, burlesque performances, screening of a horror film, heavy metal trivia, and karaoke.

And let’s not forget: free tent camping!

Not bad for a festival that started in a backyard in Greenfield.

The festival came about because of the bands and fans who loved heavy music. This genre has always been popular here in the Valley, but like all types of music, it has endured its ups and downs as venues, promoters and bands come and go.

In the early 2000s, this music enjoyed a powerful boom in popularity as bands like All That Remains, Killswitch Engage, and Shadows Falls achieved national success. Around that time heavy metal drummer Brian Westbrook of Greenfield formed PDP Productions to put on shows and festivals.

The scene slowed down for a while, but in 2011 John Thurlow launched Promoterhead Entertainment. The scene revived as venues like JJ’s Tavern/13th Floor Music Lounge in Florence began booking on a weekly basis.

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“Around the same time that the scene was picking up another backyard camping music fest that we had loved had gone on hiatus,” said Westbrook in an email. “It was just the right opportunity to fill that void and create an event celebrating our scene with all the bands we loved and friends we wanted to throw a big party with.”

So, in August 2014, Westbrook and Thurlow joined forces, and the first RPM fest was held in the backyard of Westbrook’s parents’ home.

From the start, it was more than a music festival. The all-volunteer run event was more of a community gathering of like-minded fans who were committed to the festival — and the spirit continues to this day. The fest continued to grow and thrive, and in 2018 it moved to its current home at the Millers Falls Rod and Gun Club in Montague.

Some of the bands that have performed over the years are Psychostick, Inter Arma, Black Tusk, Byzantine, Whores, King Parrot, and Lich King.

Westbrook is excited about this year’s line-up.

“I’m very psyched to have Prong on the fest this year. They are a legendary New York-based metal band that’s been kicking since 1986, and many of us at RPM are big fans,” Westbrook said.

”Jasta is the solo project of namesake JameyJasta, who is the frontman for equally legendary Connecticut hardcore band Hatebreed, as well as the former host of MTV’s ‘Headbanger’s Ball,’” Westbrook continued.

Rounding out the headliners are Misery Index, a highly regarded death metal band that has been together for over 20 years, and Bongzilla, a stoner metal band from Madison, Wisconsin.

Three local bands are on the lineup: Murder(sword) from Easthampton, Anthropophagus from West Springfield, and Goblet from Pittsfield, who have played the fest every year.

When discussing local bands, we have to mention Rock Shop, a group of students who participated in a summer boot camp at Matt Kim’s Academy of Rock in Greenfield. There, the students learned to play together in a hard rock band and their performance at the RPM Fest on Sunday, as well as a gig at the Franklin County Fair, will allow them to showcase all they’ve learned.

Westbrook first brought Rock Shop to the RPM Fest in 2018 when the festival moved to the Rod and Gun Club.

“Brian and John and all those guys are salt of the earth people,” Kim said, describing his years of experience bringing Rock Shop to the festival. “Unreal, the job they do, the level of commitment, and absolute professionalism.”

As the RPM fest prepares for this 10th anniversary celebration, I had to ask Westbrook if a particular year stood out as most memorable.

“The early years in Greenfield were certainly memorable and a little more unhinged,” he said. “But I think 2018 and 2019, when we moved to Montague and took up residence at the Millers Falls Rod and Gun Club — those first years after the move allowed us to expand and improve the fest on all fronts. 2019, in particular, I think it felt like we had fully transitioned from a backyard event to a true music festival.”

Running a music festival isn’t easy, and Westbrook credits the tight-knit community of musicians, fans, volunteers, and grassroots support from local businesses and vendors for keeping the festival going all these years. It’s best summed up on the fest’s website “RPM Fest succeeds in large part because it is a music festival for all of us, put on by all of us, and we all want to see it grow and thrive.”

For more information, including how to purchase tickets, visit RPMfest.org. Tickets will be sold at the gate. Gates open at 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30 and at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31 and Sunday, Sept. 1.

Off the Common, the summer music series hosted by Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield, will return this Friday, Aug. 30 at 5:30 p.m. This show marks the third installment of the free series which takes place on the last Friday of the month and features music inside Hawks & Reed, vendors, food trucks, games, art, and a DJ right outside their door by the Town Common.

Each show in the series highlights a specific genre of music and this month it is hip-hop.

Tem Blessed and Blessed Energy, a local hip-hop group from Amherst, will perform as will STL GLD, who are a Boston-based, multi award-winning hip hop outfit.

Headlining will be Smif-N-Wessun, a hip-hop duo from Brooklyn consisting of rappers Tekomin “Tek” Williams and Darrell “Steele” Yates. The duo comprise one quarter of the super-group Boot Camp Clik.

And remember, it’s all free. Music runs from 5:30 to 11 p.m.

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at soundslocal@yahoo.com.