SEMA Fest 2025– The Ultimate Motor Sport & Music Experience
- total magazine
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Review by Brent Landes
Move over, Dom Toretto, there’s a new fast and furious show in town, and it’s called SEMA Fest!! For those who are unfamiliar, SEMA Fest is a festival hosted by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) that celebrates car culture, music, and motorsports. It takes place each November in sunny Las Vegas, immediately following the SEMA trade show, and features live music, drifting, freestyle motocross, and other automotive and entertainment experiences for attendees.
Upon arrival, guests of SEMA Fest are immediately treated to motor sport exhibitions, including the world-famous Globe of Death, which features the Urias family performing death-defying motor bike stunts inside a spherical steel cage. With multiple motorbikes zooming up and down and all around inside the cage at dangerously high speeds, the Urias family left spectators in awe with their daredevilish performance.
The first band to hit the SEMA Fest stage was the Neon Trees. The Neon Trees played all the hits, including their standouts “Animal” & “Everybody Talks.” Their set was electric and amped up the audience while setting the tone for the rest of the festival.
Next, attendees made a pit stop over at the Optima Unleashed exhibition. This supercharged car show featured souped-up vehicles performing jaw-dropping maneuvers, including drifting that even Han Lue would admire. The drivers were burning so much rubber that you could literally taste it in the air. Between the deafening sound of engines revving and the tire smoke that filled the air, guests couldn’t help but feel completely immersed in the moment.
The next band to hit the SEMA Fest stage was the Black Crowes. Their set was captivating, and they played many fan favorite tracks, including “She Talks to Angels” and “Remedy.” You could also feel the crowd ignite when the Black Crowes launched into their cover of Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle.” Overall, the Black Crowes put on a fantastic show, leaving spectators very satisfied.
The anticipation for Queens of the Stone Age was palpable. As the lights finally dimmed and the Queens took the stage at SEMA Fest, the crowd erupted with cheers of excitement. The Queens of the Stone Age kicked off their set in high gear with “You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire.” Immediately, fans reacted in kind, jumping and thrashing all around in the crowd. The Queens’ set was all gas and no breaks and included songs from all over their discography. One song that was especially memorable was “Make It Wit Chu,” as Josh Homme requested the crowd's help in singing the chorus, resulting in a fun moment of thousands of fans singing, “I wanna make it, I wanna make it wit chu,” in their best high-pitched voices. Josh Homme also mesmerized fans with his vocals that have a duality to them of both power and vulnerability, allowing him to more deeply convey the emotion of his lyrics. While watching Homme from the crowd as he shredded on guitar with a cigarette clutched between his lips, I couldn’t help but think that he is just the epitome of cool, and how fortunate all of us in attendance were to witness these modern rock-n-roll legends in action. Sadly, the set eventually came to an end, but not before the Queens of the Stone Age absolutely blew the roof off the place by closing with “Song for the Dead.” In the end, after the music ceased and the smoke cleared, the Queens of the Stone Age had proved once again that in an industry full of imitation, wanna be rock stars, they are the real deal.
In a city filled with endless entertainment, SEMA Fest has truly created a remarkably unique festival where the best of two worlds, motor sports and music, collide to provide an unforgettable, high-octane experience. I definitely had an incredible time and am very much looking forward to next year’s show!
Photos by Brent Landes
Photos by Brent Landes
Photos by Brent Landes
Photo Credit: Courtesy of SEMA Fest
