Warm Up Festival

ℹ️ Festival currently on hold — last documented edition: April 18-20, 2014. This page presents the history of the Warm Up Festival, a metal and rock event organized in Vernouillet between 2011 and 2014. No edition has been identified since 2014, and specialized databases indicate that this festival no longer exists. If a new edition were to be organized, this page will be updated.

Warm Up Festival: Four Metal Editions in Vernouillet

Between 2011 and 2014, the Warm Up Festival established itself as a rock and metal music event in the Dreux urban area. Organized by the Esprit Rock association, it offered a three-day concert format, alternating between spring (April) and autumn (October-November) editions. The festival was held at the Complexe sportif de l'Amandier in Vernouillet and successfully attracted an audience of extreme music enthusiasts from across the region.

A Line-up of International Headliners and the French Scene

The strength of the Warm Up Festival lay in its ability to offer an ambitious line-up combining international metal headliners and emerging bands from the French scene. Over the editions, the festival hosted renowned names such as Napalm Death (British death metal, 2013 edition), Sidilarsen, Trepalium, and Treponem Pal in 2013, Loudblast, Bran Barr, Dreadful Silence, and Livarkahil in 2011, or Aqme, Benighted, Black Bomb A, Debauchery, Eths, and The Arrs in 2012. The genres represented covered a wide spectrum of extreme music: death metal, thrash metal, black metal, punk rock, hardcore, in the spirit of human-sized festivals.

The Esprit Rock Association Behind the Project

The Warm Up Festival was driven by the Esprit Rock association, a collective of volunteers passionate about rock and metal music. The association was involved in Vernouillet's community life via the municipal directory and organized events around amplified music, with Warm Up as its flagship project. This associative foundation gave the festival an authenticity and conviviality recognized by festival-goers.

The Complexe sportif de l'Amandier: A Setting for Metal

The festival was held at the Complexe sportif de l'Amandier in Vernouillet. The venue allowed for powerful sound and proximity to the artists, characteristic of human-sized indoor festivals. The atmosphere was warm and fraternal, true to the spirit of the metal community.

Four Editions Between 2011 and 2014, Then the Halt

The festival had its first edition in October 2011 (at La Scène, Vernouillet), followed by three editions at the Complexe sportif de l'Amandier: April 2012, November 2012, October 2013, and April 2014. The last publicly documented edition took place on April 18, 19, and 20, 2014. Since then, no trace of an edition has been found. Specialized metal and festival databases (Infoconcert, Route des Festivals, Concerts-Metal) now classify the event as "a festival that no longer exists."