Three-Day "Heavy Rebel Weekender" Revs Up For 18th Year

For nearly two decades, throwback sights and sounds have defined the Heavy Rebel Weekender event.

The festival features music ranging from country, honky-tonk, and rockabilly, to garage, punk, and even some heavy metal.

The Pabst-fueled celebration has about 50 bands from across the country playing on four stages at The Millennium Center - a venue that is more known for black-tie affairs. There's also sideshow and burlesque performers, and a classic and custom car show featuring over 400 vehicles.

Organizer Courtney Southern says all the cars are pre-1972, reflecting a time when some people expressed themselves through their ride. She notes that some older members of the community bring their grandchildren to the car show for a little bit of hands-on history.

"[They] show them a little bit of a piece of the past, where people worked with their hands and created something themselves and had the ability to customize their cars and show them off to their friends,” Southern says

The Heavy Rebel Weekender is a ticketed event, but the car show is open to the public and takes place Saturday on Trade Street in Winston-Salem.