It's one of the first big tours of the year and the Carnival Of Madness has come to town! Headlined by Kentucky rockers BLACK STONE CHERRY who are stronger than ever and supported by HALESTORM & SHINEDOWN who get the crowds pumped up every night. Birmingham Arena is a special place for BLACK STONE CHERRY, in 2014 they released their DVD, ''Thankyou: Livin Live'' of their sold out show and it shows that the fans here tonight haven't forgotten about that spectacular performance.

Halestorm pounce on stage with their new track ''Apocalyptic'' with Lzzy Hale shredding on guitar, most of the audience haven't heard the new style of the band but they seem to enjoy it and they're super excited when ''Love Bites'' is played next which has every one singing along.
 

Drummer Arejay Hale is as insane as ever, performing tricks with his sticks and performing one hell of a mind blowing solo, he is easily one of the best drummers in rock music right now. The setlist is comprised off singles from their new album ''Into The Wild Life'' such as ''Amen'' and ''Mayhem'' but with tracks like ''I Miss The Misery'' and ''Freak Like Me'' getting the older fans singing to every word Lzzy sings.
 

HALESTORM are on top form and hopefully we can expect a headline tour soon so we get a full mindblowing show than a short set.

Setlist:
1. Apocalyptic
2. Love Bites
3. Amen
4. Scream
5. I Am The Fire
6. Mayhem
7. Freak Like Me
8. I Miss The Misery

Next is SHINEDOWN who have a super dedicated fan base lining the barrier and screaming for the band. The set had fans screaming and cheering every time someone spoke. The band began with ''Black Cadillac'' followed by ''Diamond Eyes'' what got the packed out arena jumping from it's feet. Charismatic vocalist Brent Smith ran around the stage getting the fans hyped up and bassist Eric Bass joined in running everywhere.
 

It seemed as most of the audience was there for SHINEDOWN and they did not disappoint. The band played a phenomenal cover of LYNYRD SKYNRD's ''Simple Man'' which had the crowd holding phone torches & lighters up, it was one of the best covers ever played live by far. The band ended on ''Sound Of Madness'' which had the crowd cheering till they left the stage.

Setlist:
1. Black Cadillac
2. Diamond Eyes
3. Second Chance
4. Cut The Cord
5. Enemies
6. Unity
7. State of My Head
8. Simple Man
9. Sound Of Madness

Last on this evening is the band we've all been waiting for BLACK STONE CHERRY hailing from Kentucky. With the curtain falling to ''Me & Mary Jane'' and the crowd going mental it's no surprise the band are doing so well, the band is absolutely electric. Vocalist Chris Robertson wails out in ''Rain Wizard'' and the crowd headbanging with guitarist  Ben Wells running everywhere, he simply is one of the most energetic guitarists in heavy metal today.
 

The setlist is full of hits from their first record and their newest which comes out soon ''Kentucky'' which fans love the sound of with songs played such as ''In Our Dreams''. ''Things My Father Said'' was a touching and emotional performance, something that is so much better live than on CD, it certainly touched hearts of fans.
 

The band ended with ''White Trash Millionaire'', ''Blame It On The Boom Boom'' and ''Lonely Train'' which had the arena singing along to every word and a lot of air guitar from people too but the band had one extra surprise for the crowd with a cover of ''Ace Of Spades''.

Setlist:
1. Me & Mary Jane
2. Rain Wizard
3. Blind Man
4. In My Blood
5. Yeah Man
6. Holding On To Letting Go
7. Rollin' On
8. Soulcreek
9. In Our Dreams
10. Things My Father Said
11. The Rambler
12. Peace Is Free
13. White Trash Millionaire
14. Blame It On The Boom Boom
15. Lonely Train
16. Ace Of Spades