RockFest

When a radio station recruits bands outside its usual rotation to a festival, reactions fall into two camps: Grateful fans salute the station's role in bringing a high-quality group to town, regardless of its regular programming practices, and music purists rant about the station's hypocritical stab at hipness. Shadows Fall, the coolest act at KQRC 98.9's RockFest, plays metalcore, a sporadically melodic hardcore hybrid that the station largely ignores. Taking the main stage at 3:50 p.m., Shadows Fall will draw from its just-released Fallout From the War, which combines stuttered dual-guitar riffs, clarion solos, double-kick drumbeats and aggressive yet decipherable shouted-sung vocals. Other highlights include local high-octane rock outfit Federation of Horsepower, which storms the second stage at 1 p.m., and Staind, the 9:30 p.m. concert-cappers whose Fester-esque frontman, Aaron Lewis, charms crowds with his ringing baritone and scared-child stage presence. The rest of the lineup ranges from recent one-hit wonders (Three Days Grace, Trapt) to acts (Candlebox, Buckcherry) that are as retro as the event's soda-company sponsors (Sunkist, RC, Diet Rite).