The hills of Alberton are alive with the sound of metal, and it’s all thanks to Krank’d UP Music Festival. The annual festival is back for the 7th year in a row with the best local and international acts!
Just before we dive face first into the pit we caught up with Levi Benton, front man to Ohio-based metalcore band Miss May I.
You will be jamming at Krank’d Up Music Festival at the end of September. In fact, it will be your first trip to South Africa, our country!! Will this tour be all business or will you be taking a few days to explore the country?
We have a few days off around the show just for that reason! We are so excited to finally travel to South Africa and explore. The show is going to be insane and we know our adventure will be too. We are hoping to some nature we have seen before.
Krank’d Up is known to be one of South Africa’s best Metal festivals. The line-up always boasts with the best in local talent. Are there any local acts on the line up you are excited to see on the night?
I have been checking out the lineup this past month and like you said they are incredible. Since this trip is so special for us I will be catching all the acts and be attending the festival all day. Getting to play is just the cherry on top for this whole tour.
After Krank’d Up you’ll be diving straight into a, damn busy, USA tour. Tours are rough. Little to no sleep and you are stuck in a small space with the same faces day in day out. How do you guys keep yourself sane?
We honestly are still high school best friends and I think that’s why we stay sane. Tour is our time to let loose and let our creative side have the best of us. On the road we are all jokes and fun and in our spare time we just enjoy each other and explore the places we visit.
When I was a young teen, I would watch the Warp Tour video’s religiously. It was like my private peek-show into the best bands from across the globe. I don’t know what it is about Warp Tour, but Bands have these amazing high energy set that leave a lasting impression.
You’ve graced the Warp Tour stage multiple times since 2011. What has been your most memorable moments?
Oh this one is hard because Warped Tour is such a blast but I can tell you the show for sure. It was in 2012 and we were closing out the whole show on main stage in Hartford, CT. I told the crowd “After this show you have to leave anyway. So you might as well get kicked out.” and then chaos erupted! Tents were flying everywhere, rocks were being thrown, trash cans were being crowd surfed and bras pilling up on stage. It literally felt like I was in Limp Bizkit for a set and it was the best!
You formed back in 2006 while you were still in high school. Excluding starting a befokte (South African slang meaning too fucking good) band, what did you guys do for fun back in high school?
We skateboarded. That’s how we all met. We just started the band because it was too dark to skate and we needed something to do indoors at night and through the winter. That’s how this all started. We don’t skate anymore and I don’t think any of us could even do an ollie but that’s beside the point. We were just kids being little assholes and wondering around town all hours.
If Miss May I was stuck on a raft in the middle of the ocean who’d eat all the supplies?
Oh, that’s a good one. It sadly would be me. I am a garbage disposal when it comes to food and I eat everything in site. Probably doesn’t help that I am so high energy but it’s the truth. I would eat everything and Ryan would call me out and lay down the law haha.
Don’t be caught sleeping! Get your Krank’d Up tickets from computicket right now!