MANSFIELD — For the first time in the history of Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival, the 3-day destination event – with a newly expanded footprint – welcomed a record-breaking crowd of 90,000 fans to the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield.
The 2025 edition is the fifth consecutive sold-out year for the festival, which fuses rock, metal and tattoo art, and brings in fans from around the country and world.
In addition to 66 music artists appearing on 3 stages, the onsite tattoo convention, Monster Energy Tattoo X, gave fans the chance to get inked by 100+ tattoo artists including “The Dark Lord of Ink” headliner Paul Booth.
The weekend also offered the chance to tour the award-winning Blood Prison experience inside the historic prison made famous by the film The Shawshank Redemption.
Co-produced by Danny Wimmer Presents and Reinkcarceration LLC, America’s Rock, Metal and Tattoo Festival brought together a packed music lineup featuring Falling In Reverse, Knocked Loose and Beartooth on Friday, July 18; Slipknot, Marilyn Manson and Slaughter To Prevail on Saturday, July 19; and Five Finger Death Punch, Three Days Grace (with Adam Gontier) and Lamb of God on Sunday, July 20.
Some of the special highlights during the weekend included:
- Slipknot playing their only U.S. Date in 2025, adding “Gematria” to the set list for the first time ever in Ohio
- In This Moment debuting their brand-new song “Heretic” live
- Falling In Reverse headlining their first DWP festival and teaming up with Alex Terrible for a performance of “Ronald”
- Reunion sets from Acid Bath, Crossfade, Three Days Grace, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Chiodos, Dry Kill Logic and Snot
- Bilmuri playing a homecoming show in Ohio
Inkcarceration co-founder Dan Janssen said, “The Inkmates are the best fans in the world, and we are already working to improve the site, parking and camping for 2026. Special thanks to the City of Mansfield, local farmers, contractors, Richland County Fairgrounds, Ohio State Reformatory, and city officials who were incredible to work with throughout the weekend. The rain tried, but we tried harder!”
Here’s what media had to say about Inkcarceration 2025:
“Welcoming thousands of fans to the repurposed penitentiary brimming with lore, Inkcarceration has become one of the most celebrated heavy cultural events on the year for its comprehensive line-up of talent and it’s a live music destination that is second to none.” — Knotfest
“Inkcarceration triggers weekend of revelry at the Ohio State Reformatory” — Richland Source
“One of the country’s most distinctive summer festivals” — WFMD-TV
One of America’s most unique events, Inkcarceration draws fans from every state and many countries around the world.
The 2024 event brought in more than $10 million in economic impact to the area, and Inkcarceration’s overall economic impact totals more than $50 million since the festival began in 2018.
Following four consecutive years of sellouts, 2025 marks the biggest year yet for Inkcarceration.
The 2026 festival dates for Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival will be announced soon.
Inkcarceration is co-produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, one of the largest independent producers of destination music festivals in America, and Reinkcarceration, a partnership that formed with the original founders of INK in 2021.
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