'My therapy': At Daytona's Rockville, Jacksonville widow keeps husband's memory alive

ORANGE PARK — Michelle Mealey has been head-banging to heavy-metal bands most of her life, but that hasn’t prepared her for the intensity of emotions that she expects to be unleashed at this year’s Welcome to Rockville music festival at Daytona International Speedway.

“The music means so much to me, just being around other people that love music,” said Mealey, 46, staring into the distance as she contemplates an unimaginable turn of events that now means she will be attending Welcome to Rockville for the first time without her husband of 23 years, Jason.

A lifelong music fan and TV news producer in Jacksonville, Jason Mealey died suddenly of a heart attack on April 10 while mowing the couple’s lawn. He was 48.

“It was out of the blue,” his widow said of the afternoon that her husband called her when she was out on a few quick errands. “He called and said, ‘I’m not feeling well. You’d better come home.’”

She raced to see him, but by the time she arrived, it was too late.

“I missed him by two minutes,” she said.

At Rockville, ‘strangers become friends really quickly’

Fans of Welcome to Rockville since its days at Metropolitan Park in Jacksonville, the Mealeys had continued to patronize the festival each year since its 2021 debut at Daytona International Speedway.

They already had their tickets in hand for the 2024 edition that will showcase at least 150 bands on five stages across the mammoth Speedway infield May 9-12 in Daytona Beach. On their YouTube channel, Sunshine Spectator, they had posted a video of their top bands to see at the event.

After her husband died, Michelle knew that the best way to honor his memory was to head to the festival on her own.

“My husband passed away suddenly yesterday,” she posted on Welcome to Rockville – RockVillains, a Facebook page with nearly 50,000 members. “I am still attending in his memory.”

That post generated more than 350 reactions, including nearly 100 comments offering condolences, support and practical advice for facing the future. The response reflects a community mindset that is a big part of the festival’s appeal, Mealey said.

“Even though we’re strangers, we’re all there for the same thing, the love of the music,” she said. “It’s about caring, about taking care of each other. Strangers become friends really quickly there.”

Rockville bands are ‘the soundtrack of our life’

For the Mealeys, that vibe became evident during the couple’s first time at Rockville in 2018 in Jacksonville, when they dipped their toes into the water with a single-day admission.

“We fell in love with it,” Michelle said. “One day turned into two, and then the rest is history.”

See the full Rockville schedule: Rockville 2024 lineup: Daily schedule stage by stage. Who's playing when, where?

Like-minded musical tastes formed the foundation of the couple’s relationship when they met as students at Villa Julie College, a liberal arts school in Owings Mills, Maryland.

He pursued a degree in media management as she studied computer information systems. He played drums in the school’s band; she sang in the chorus.

“We were both into rock music, mostly 1980s, some 1990s, but definitely metal,” said Michelle, who works as a massage therapist. “It’s just the soundtrack of our life.”

Jason, who never lost his passion for the drums, prided himself on being able to play along flawlessly with legendary Rush drummer Neil Peart on the 20-plus minutes of the title track of the band’s 1976 studio album “2112.”

Tracks such as Journey’s “Faithfully,” the couple’s wedding song, accompanied them through half a dozen stops as Jason built a TV news career in South Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia, Maryland and Florida.

They established roots nearly 15 years ago outside of Jacksonville after a stint in West Palm Beach.

For grieving widow, ‘music has always been my therapy’

In South Florida, TV news reporter Jessica Lauren became friends with the couple, establishing a connection that has transcended jobs and geography. Lauren has started a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $1,500 toward a $15,000 goal to assist with funeral and other expenses.

“Both of them are such wonderful people, good-hearted,” Lauren said. “They care about others.”

It’s fitting that Michelle continues to find solace in music that the couple loved, Lauren said.

“She wants his life and his legacy to continue and that can be through his passion,” she said. “The music was a way they connected, going to those concerts. He’s still with us by her enjoying the things that they did together. That includes the connection they had in loving that music.”

A homecoming for Palm Coast band: For Palm Coast's Rain City Drive, Welcome to Rockville show is 'bucket-list experience'

In grieving her husband, Michelle finds emotional release in the clamorous hard-driving music of Rockville acts ranging from Judas Priest and Disturbed to Bad Omens, Lacuna Coil and Evanescence.

As a warm-up for Rockville, she also ventured to the recent Earth Day Birthday show at the Central Florida Fairgrounds, another event that she and her husband had planned to attend.

“I didn’t stay for Staind, because that would’ve been too emotional for me,” said Michelle, who will be meeting Daytona Beach-area friends at Rockville. “That was one of our favorite bands, but I knew I’d better get back home.”

Being jammed elbow-to-elbow with sweaty fans along the barricades in front of beloved bands has become therapeutic, she said.

“If you’re a rock person, you fight through the things in life that are bad for you. To scream and yell is cathartic. Music has always been my therapy.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: At Daytona's Welcome to Rockville, widow honors her husband's memory