The SnoCore Tour, occasionally typeset as Sno-Core, was an annual festival tour of the United States. It featured performances by some of the most popular groups largely of the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

spectrum. The event took place every year since its inception in December 1995 until 2015 (with the exception of 2008). SnoCore was marketed towards the winter sports culture.

History

John Boyle, Eric Lochtefeld and Rick Bonde established SnoCore as an entertainment opportunity for fans during the year's slow point in live music, the winter season. Originally began as a mini tour in December 1995 headlined by Sublime, it would also serve as an excuse for bands to perform for

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

mountain resort towns and go snowboarding. SnoCore originally focused predominantly on

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

groups and routed through ski communities. But as it became a national tour, SnoCore aimed toward hard rock and heavy metal and engaged larger, more traditional concert venues. In late 1997,

ARTISTdirect Artistdirect (stylized as ARTISTdirect) is an American online digital media entertainment company. Overview Founded in 1996, it owns several websites, including artistdirect.com and artistdirectinterviews.com. These websites are a group of affi ...

principals Marc Geiger and Don Muller, the former having also co-founded

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

, purchased the tour from Boyle. They still make a point to schedule dates in a number of resort towns despite having strayed somewhat from its original concept. Corresponding with its name, SnoCore features large video screens playing footage of freestyle snowboarding and skiing between performances. Local shops have set up at concerts and local resorts have tied in with them. However, SnoCore does not feature

sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. They historically featured human oddity exhibits (so-called “Freak show, freak shows”), pr ...

s as showcased at the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...

and remains strictly a musical festival. The tour commonly hosts a sponsor; examples include Airwalk in 1997,

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. ( ) is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's ( ) brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, ...

in 1999, and

Winterfresh Winterfresh is a wintergreen flavored variety of chewing gum made by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. Introduced in the United States in 1994 as an alternative to their Big Red brand (for the winter season market), it has had two packaging designs ...

in 2005. On March 10, 1998, Foil Records released the ''

Sno-Core Compilation ''Sno-Core Compilation'' is a compilation album by Foil Records released on March 10, 1998. Billboard's Overview for Sno-Core Compilation/ref> Inspired by the eponymous tour, this album includes popular names such as the Sublime, Blink 182, and ...

'' which features various bands that have partaken in the festival. In 2001, SnoCore split into two tours: the

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

jam Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...

based SnoCore Icicle Ball and the hard rock/heavy metal based SnoCore Rock. This carried on once more the following year. During the 2006 tour,

stomach flu Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydration may al ...

ran its course through all participating bands. Most severely affected was

Seether Seether are a South African Rock music, rock band founded in 1999 in Pretoria, Gauteng. The band originally performed under the name Saron Gas until 2002, when they moved to the United States and changed it to Seether to avoid confusion with ...

frontman

Shaun Morgan Shaun Morgan Welgemoed (, born 21 December 1978) is a South African musician. He is the lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Seether. Early life Morgan spent most of his early life in South Africa.Bottomley, CSeeth ...

who, rather than cancel altogether, opted to perform acoustic sets for their last few shows. This alternative met with high approval from fans and influenced the group to release their first acoustic album, ''

One Cold Night ''One Cold Night'' is a live album by South African rock band Seether. It was released on 11 July 2006 and features twelve acoustic tracks, plus bonus DVD footage, recorded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Grape Street Club, on 22 February ...

''.

Saliva Saliva (commonly referred as spit or drool) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which ...

was scheduled to co-headline the 2009 tour but frontman

Josey Scott Joseph Scott Sappington (born May 3, 1972) is an American musician, best known as the former lead vocalist of the rock band Saliva. In addition to Saliva, Scott co-wrote and performed "Hero" (which was used as one of the theme songs to the 200 ...

needed more time to recover from a recent

ulcer An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughin ...

surgery. As a result, the band intended to cancel the first two weeks and substitute Scott with Walt Lafty of

Silvertide Silvertide is an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History Originally named Vertigo, Silvertide was formed in January 2001 in Northeast Philadelphia. At first, the band was signed by J Records, and they released their first EP ...

beginning April 17. Ultimately, they decided in the interest of the fans to drop out entirely. This made the 2009 band lineup the leanest in SnoCore history.

Jägermeister ( , ) is a German digestif made with 56 herbs and spices. Developed in 1934 by Wilhelm and Curt Mast, it has an alcohol by volume of 35% ( 61 degrees proof, or US 70 proof). The recipe has not changed since its creation, and the drink contin ...

sponsored the first Canadian SnoCore tour in 2010. The schedule ran just under two weeks and included cities such as

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Tour lineups

1995

* Sublime *

Guttermouth Guttermouth is an American punk rock band formed in 1989 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released nine full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour. They are ...

Skankin' Pickle Skankin' Pickle was an American ska punk band formed in San Jose, California that was active from 1989 to 1997. Biography Skankin' Pickle first formed in December 1988, made up of students from Westmont High School and Los Gatos High School. ...

*Rhythm Collision *Safe To Face

1996

* Sublime *

*Assorted Jelly Beans *

Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Buddy Schaub (trombone), Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxophone) and Matt Yonker ...

*theLINE

1997

* Face to Face *

The Pharcyde The Pharcyde is an American hip hop group, formed in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles in 1989. The original four members of the group are Imani (rapper), Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown (Romye Robinson ...

Voodoo Glow Skulls Voodoo Glow Skulls are an American ska punk band formed in 1988 in Riverside, California, by brothers Frank, Eddie, and Jorge Casillas and their longtime friend Jerry O'Neill. Voodoo Glow Skulls first played at backyard parties and later at Spa ...

Powerman 5000 Powerman 5000 (also known as PM5K) is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1991. The group has released eleven studio albums, gaining its highest level of commercial success with 1999's ''Tonight the Stars Revolt!'', which reached number ...

(select dates) *

(select dates) * Orange 9mm (select dates) *Salmon (select dates)

1998

* Primus *

Blink-182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...

* Long Beach Dub Allstars (Feb 7 – Feb 21) *

The Aquabats The Aquabats are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1994. Throughout many fluctuations in the group's line-up, singer Christian Jacobs, the MC Bat Commander and bassist Chad Larson, Crash McLarson have ...

Tha Alkaholiks Tha Alkaholiks, also known as Tha Liks, is an American hip hop trio from Los Angeles. Since the early 1990s they have produced party music with a hardcore hip hop edge, powered by the beats of DJ and producer E-Swift (he was born Eric Brooks ...

(Feb 28 – Mar 16) *

Mephiskapheles Mephiskapheles is a ska band based in New York City. Their name is a portmanteau of "ska" and "Mephistopheles", of the Faust legend. As their name suggests, their lyrics are often playfully Satanism, satanic in nature. Career 1989–1994: Forma ...

1999

* Everclear *

Soul Coughing Soul Coughing is an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty (also known as M. Doughty), keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. They developed a devout fa ...

* Redman (first half of tour) *

The Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

(second half of tour) *

DJ Spooky Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American Electronic music, electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". ...

2000

* System of a Down *

Incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...

Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California, in 1985. The band is known for its eclecticism, cycling through several musical genres, often within the course of a single song, including heavy metal, avant-garde ...

* Puya * Boy Hits Car (select dates)

2001

Rock *

Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial met ...

Kittie Kittie is a Canadian heavy metal music, heavy metal band from London, Ontario. The band was formed in 1996 by guitarist Fallon Bowman and drummer Mercedes Lander, with guitarist and vocalist Morgan Lander and bassist Tanya Candler joining the ...

* Union Underground * Slaves on Dope * Boy Hits Car Icicle Ball *

Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade (also known as The Les Claypool Frog Brigade) is a musical project with rotating personnel, led by American singer/bassist Les Claypool. The Frog Brigade was formed during a hiatus from Claypool ...

Galactic Galactic is an American funk band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Origins and background Formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a ...

Lake Trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater Salvelinus, char living mainly in lakes in Northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, laker, and grey trout. In Lake Sup ...

* Drums & Tuba

2002

Rock *

Alien Ant Farm Alien Ant Farm is an American rock band that formed in Riverside, California in 1996. They have released six studio albums and sold over 5 million units worldwide. The band's cover of Michael Jackson's " Smooth Criminal" topped the ''Billboard ...

Adema Adema () is an American rock band from Bakersfield, California. The band formed in 2000 with members vocalist Mark Chavez, guitarist Tim Fluckey, guitarist Mike Ransom, bassist Dave DeRoo, and drummer Kris Kohls. After their first two albums ...

Glassjaw Glassjaw is an American post-hardcore band from Hempstead, New York. It was formed in 1993 by vocalist Daryl Palumbo and guitarist Justin Beck. The band is known for their intense live shows, as well as their frequent line-up changes. Despite ...

Earshot Earshot is an American alternative metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1999. The band's lineup has changed several times during their existence, with vocalist Wil Martin being the band's sole constant member. After signing to Warner Bros. Reco ...

* The Apex Theory (

Fenix*TX Fenix TX (styled as Fenix*TX) is an American pop punk band. The band originally formed as Riverfenix in 1995 in Houston, Texas. Under that name, they Independent record label, independently released an Extended play, EP, ''G.B.O.H.'', and an al ...

was originally announced for the tour but they dropped out a week before tour starts) Icicle Ball *

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe Karl Denson (born December 27, 1956) is an American funk and jazz saxophonist, flutist and Singing, vocalist from Santa Ana, California. He plays with The Rolling Stones, and leads his own group, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe (KDTU). He co-founded ...

* Spearhead *

Nikka Costa Domenica "Nikka" Costa (born June 4, 1972) is an American singer whose music combines elements of pop, soul, and blues. She also had a career as a child singer starting in the early 1980s. She is the daughter of music producer Don Costa. Ear ...

Ozomatli Ozomatli is an American rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and incorporating a wide array of musical styles – including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, hip hop, and others. The group ...

Blackalicious Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful pr ...

Sector 9 Sector 9 The company was started in La Jolla, California in 1993 by cofounders Steve Lake, Dave Klimkiewicz, Dennis Telfer, and Tal O'Farrell.Debra Phillips, G. David Doran, Elaine W. Teague, and Laura Tiffany, FindArticles.com Business Library"Y ...

Saul Williams Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film ''Slam ( ...

2003

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

Hot Water Music Hot Water Music is an American punk rock band formed in October 1994 and based in Gainesville, Florida. Since their formation, the group has consisted of Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard on shared lead vocals and guitars, bass guitarist Jason B ...

Dredg Dredg (stylized as dredg) is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Los Gatos, California. The band's lineup consists of vocalist Gavin Hayes, guitarist Mark Engles, bassist Drew Roulette and drummer and pianist Dino Campanella. Originally sta ...

2004

Trapt Trapt is an American rock band formed in Los Gatos, California. Nine studio albums have been recorded to date: ''Amalgamation'' (1999), '' Trapt'' (2002), '' Someone in Control'' (2005), '' Only Through the Pain'' (2008), '' No Apologies'' (2 ...

Smile Empty Soul Smile Empty Soul is an American Rock music, rock band, originally from Santa Clarita, California, Santa Clarita, California, United States. It was started in 1998 by Sean Danielsen (vocals and guitar), Ryan Martin (bass), and Derek Gledhill (dru ...

Finger Eleven Finger Eleven is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 1990. They have released seven studio albums (six as Finger Eleven and one as Rainbow Butt Monkeys), with their album ''The Greyest of Blue Skies'' bringing th ...

Strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...

2005

* Chevelle *

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

* Crossfade * Future Leaders of the World *

2006

Shinedown Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of his previous band, Dreve. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original ...

* Flyleaf *

Halestorm Halestorm is an American Rock music, rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale, drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith. Siblings Lzzy and Arejay founded the band in ...

2007

Army of Anyone Army of Anyone was an American rock supergroup formed by Filter frontman Richard Patrick with two members of rock band Stone Temple Pilots. In addition to Patrick on vocals, the band featured brothers Dean DeLeo and Robert DeLeo (on guitar a ...

* Dropping Daylight *

Hurt Hurt may refer to: * Suffering * Pain * Injury Film and television * ''Hurt'' (2003 film), a Canadian drama film * ''Hurt'' (2009 film), an American horror film * ''Hurt'' (2015 film), a Canadian documentary film * ''Hurt'' (2018 film), an ...

* Neurosonic

2009

Static-X Static-X is an American industrial metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. The line-up has fluctuated over the years, but was long-held constant with band founder, frontman, vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wayne Static until his d ...

Burn Halo Burn Halo is an American hard rock band originating from Orange County, California and Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was formed by James Hart, lead singer of Orange County metalcore band Eighteen Visions although he left in 2016 and rejoined Eighteen Vi ...

*The Flood

was originally scheduled to co-headline but canceled due to

's prolonged recovery from

surgery.

2010

Protest the Hero Protest the Hero is a Canadian progressive metal band from Whitby, Ontario. Originally named Happy Go Lucky, the band changed their name to Protest the Hero, then released their debut EP, '' Search for the Truth'', in 2002. In 2005, the band re ...

*Theset *Elias * Abandon All Ships (select dates) *Doll (select dates)

Hawthorne Heights Hawthorne Heights is an American rock band formed in Dayton, Ohio in 2001. Originally called A Day in the Life, their lineup currently consists of JT Woodruff (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Matt Ridenour (bass, backing vocals) and Mark McMillon ...

was scheduled to take part in the tour, but were forced to drop off due to immigration paperwork issues.

2014 (cancelled)

The Pretty Reckless The Pretty Reckless is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2009. The band consists of Taylor Momsen (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ben Phillips (lead guitar, backing vocals), Mark Damon (bass), and Jamie Perkins (drums). In Augus ...

Heaven's Basement Heaven's Basement was an English rock band formed in 2008 and signed with Red Bull Records. Band members included Aaron Buchanan (vocals), Sid Glover (guitar, vocals), Rob Ellershaw (bass, backing vocals), and Chris Rivers (drums). The band s ...

The Letter Black The Letter Black, formerly known as Breaking the Silence, is an American Christian rock band that was formed in 2006 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The band consists of lead vocalist Sarah Anthony; her husband, lead guitarist and vocalist Mark Ant ...

* Crobot

2015

* Flyleaf *

Adelitas Way Adelitas Way is an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2006. The band's debut single " Invincible", broke them into the mainstream scene after the song made numerous television appearances in commercials and live sporting events. The ban ...

Framing Hanley Framing Hanley is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2005. They released their first studio album in August 2007, titled ''The Moment''. History Formation and ''The Moment'' (2005–2009) Lead singer & songwriter Kenn ...

* Fit for Rivals *Romantic Rebel (select dates) *Lullwater (select dates)

References

{{reflist Concert tours Heavy metal festivals in the United States Rock festivals in the United States Recurring events established in 1996 Winter festivals