Blindside is a Swedish rock band from the southern suburbs of Stockholm. They formed in Stockholm in 1994 as Underfree. In 1996, they changed their name to Blindside and released the Blindside album in 1997 through Swedish independent record company Day-Glo Records. Another album, A Thought Crushed My Mind, came out in 2000. The group received greater attention in 2001 when they toured with P.O.D., resulting in a contract with Elektra. In 2002 they released the album Silence and in 2003 they toured in support of Hoobastank. A 2004 headlining tour suffered equipment theft but then Blindside released About a Burning Fire. In 2004, Time Warner sold Warner Music to a group of private investors. As a cost-cutting maneuver, the new owners of Warner Music Group merged Atlantic Records with its sister, Elektra Records, to form The Atlantic Records Group. Blindside's label ceased to exist, & the next year they released The Great Depression independently, and they put out the DVD Ten Years Running Blind.

Furnace Fest is an American music festival held over three days at the Sloss Furnaces National Historical Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama. It ran annually each August from 2000 to 2003, and has since resumed each September since 2021. As of 2022, Furnace Fest has been held six times, with its most recent edition taking place from September 23–25, 2022.