Slipknot’s Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan on the Motivation Behind Knotfest

Slipknot recently announced that they are headlining their very own festival called Knotfest, which will take place over two days in Iowa and Wisconsin in August. Now, percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan explains what motivated the band to launch the festival and why they chose those two locations.

He tells the Roadrunner Records website, “It’s been in the works for a long, long time, I’ve been explaining it like this: There’s certain things we’ve been wanting to do since the very beginning … Over the span of our 12 years, we’ve been concentrating on our culture, our fans and ourselves: the music we write, the lyrics Corey [Taylor] writes, the art I make, our stage presence, our performance, our stage.”

He continues, “That’s what it’s about. Our culture, our people, our fans, no matter what the age. And one thing I can tell you about Knotfest is you’re gonna smell it, you’re gonna taste it, you’re gonna hear it, you’re gonna see it, and most importantly you’re gonna feel it.”

As for the locations, including one date in their home state of Iowa, Clown explains, “We wanted to keep it Midwest, keep it what it is that we are and what makes sense … It’s important to remember where we’re from, and where it all started, and more importantly, what did we do when we were young and loved music? What were the sacrifices we made to enjoy what we loved, what I considered God, which is music?”

Knotfest takes place in Pacific Junction, Iowa, and Somerset, Wis., on Aug. 17 and 18, respectively, with Deftones, Lamb of God, Dethklok, Serj Tankian and Prong on board for both dates.