Overview Inkcarceration is a three-day rock and metal festival on the grounds of the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, the prison where The Shawshank Redemption was filmed, and while the bands play outside, more than 100 tattoo artists work inside its walls. Every pass includes a self-guided tour of the cell blocks. Danny Wimmer Presents produces it, as it does Louder Than Life, Sonic Temple, Welcome to Rockville and Aftershock. The reformatory was built between 1886 and 1910 to a Romanesque Revival design by Levi T. Scofield, held prisoners from 1896 until a federal court order closed it in 1990, and reopened as a museum. Its East Cell Block is billed as the largest free-standing steel cell block in the world. On site In 2026 the music ran on three stages, The Yard Stage, the Redemption Stage and the Infirmary Stage, with doors at 11 in the morning. Tattoo X is the convention inside the reformatory: appointments are booked directly with the artists, only for people 18 and over, and the tattoo expo is one of the few places on the grounds that takes cash. Everywhere else runs on cards, RFID wristbands and phone wallets. The cell blocks open for self-guided tours from about 11 to 4, with an audio wand, and Blood Prison, a haunted house, runs within the same walls. VIP passes add an air-conditioned lounge, raised stage viewing, separate bars and their own entrance through the reformatory. Campers arrive on Thursday for a pre-party and a set of tattoo artists booked for them alone. Day passes carry no re-entry. Audience Mansfield sits about an hour from Cleveland, Columbus and Akron-Canton. The gate is all ages, but the festival warns parents about the language and the behavior. Lighters, cigarettes and earplugs are on the allowed list; chains, umbrellas and GoPros are not. Sober Ink Mates holds three recovery meetings a day on site. Talent and Influencers In 2025 Slipknot and Marilyn Manson played the Saturday, on a bill with The Dillinger Escape Plan, Acid Bath and Slaughter to Prevail, and Five Finger Death Punch closed the Sunday after Lamb of God and Three Days Grace, with Kittie and Taproot earlier in the day. In 2026 Limp Bizkit closed the Sunday on The Yard Stage after A Day to Remember, Motionless in White, Ice Nine Kills and Lorna Shore. The festival billed Disturbed, Bad Omens and Limp Bizkit as its 2026 headliners, with Gojira, Papa Roach and Cypress Hill on the same weekend. Korn, Pantera, Shinedown and Godsmack are among its past headliners. Track record Inkcarceration launched independently in 2018 as an offshoot of an earlier festival, Ink in the Clink. Rise Against, Bush and Black Label Society headlined that first year, and more than 18,000 fans came. Danny Wimmer Presents came in as a partner in 2021. Brand presence The festival's 2026 partner page ran a separate row for impact partners alongside its commercial ones. Take Me Home, an animal rescue charity, sells exclusive merchandise and memorabilia signed by the festival's bands, and the money pays for shelter, medical care and placing animals in homes. The Living The Dream Foundation helps terminally ill fans get to the festival.