Long-since sold out, Freak Valley 2020 has made its second lineup announcement, and I know it pretty well because I wrote it. I like putting these things together. I’ve done various other fest writeups for years for different events — Roadburn, Desertfest, Psycho, etc. — but as far as I know, I’m the only one doing Freak Valley Festival lineup announcements, so I kind of feel like I’m responsible in part for creating the voice the fest uses to reach its audience. And since I think the thing is clearly driven by passion and a sense of being fans as well as presenters, I hope these posts convey that. I dig what Freak Valley do, and it will be nothing short of an honor for me to step foot in Siegen and witness it for myself next June.

Here’s the latest:

WITCHCRAFT | PELICAN | CAMERA | THE NEPTUNE POWER FEDERATION | WE HUNT BUFFALO confirmed for Freak Valley Festival 2020

Hails Freaks! It’s time to get down!

We’ve been looking forward to this announcement since, well, pretty much since the first one, but we think you’ll agree things are starting to take shape for Freak Valley Festival 2020.

Before we dive in, we here at FVF want to thank you all so much for the tremendous support and faith you’ve shown in us yet again by snagging tickets less than half an hour after they went on sale, so long before the bands are even done being revealed. It means more than we can say to have your trust year after year, and we promise you, we will never take it for granted and stop working to bring you the best and biggest Freak Valley yet!

That said, let’s do this thing. Five bands this time, and like we do, it’s no fillers, all killers:

Witchcraft

From their earliest days defining the course of vintage-style heavy rock and doom to the later modern clarity they’ve found as they’ve followed the increasingly nuanced and progressive path of Magnus Pelander’s songwriting, Witchcraft come to Freak Valley as utter legends, and not just because they pulled out a record called ‘Legend’ either. They’ve left a mark on the underground like few of their generation, and like even fewer, they still hold as much promise for the future as they do glories of the past. In short, Witchcraft are essential. We welcome them to our stage for the first time as fans as well as those working behind the scenes.

Pelican

If Pelican aren’t already on your must-see list for Freak Valley 2020 after just seeing the word above, take a second right now to make the addition. The Chicago natives are also first-timers at FVF, and we’re proud to host them as they celebrate their latest LP, ‘Nighttime Stories,’ which continues their distinguished progressive arc that has both inspired others in their wake on multiple continents and remained vital, as the record itself proves. This one feels overdue, and we can’t wait.

Camera

When we heard Camera’s 2018 album, ‘Emotional Detox,’ we knew it was only a matter of time before their spacey, krauty, gorgeous melodic psychedelia and progressive rock flourished on the Freak Valley stage. Moving past their ultra-krautrock beginnings to a richer form of prog, their work remains equal parts hypnotic and adventurous, and as it will have been two years since the release by the time they get here, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for some new material as well!

The Neptune Power Federation

It will truly be a valley of the freaks when The Neptune Power Federation come to our humble stage. We’ll be blessed to be in the presence of Screaming Loz Sutch herself as she fronts this Sydney, Australia-based troupe of ultra-weirdo freakout psych rockers. Now signed to Cruz Del Sur Music, they’ll hit Netphen-Deuz in support of 2019’s ‘Memoirs of a Rat Queen,’ and if you’re someone who thinks you’ve heard it all, it won’t be half a minute before this album proves how wrong you are. We mean it. Listen to that record. See this band. It is no coincidence that we’re brought them on board.

We Hunt Buffalo

As to what the mighty buffalo ever did to them, we can’t say, but We Hunt Buffalo are a trio from Canada who’ll celebrate a decade together in 2020. Their 2018 offering, ‘Head Smashed In,’ was way friendlier than its title made it sound — we promise — their fuzz rock remains second to none from the Great White North, as they’re more than happy to demonstrate to anyone fortunate enough to stand in front of the stage to see them. Guess what? We think that should include you. Expect a party with your new best B.C. buds when these Vancouver riffoliths bring their game to Freak Valley.

FREAK VALLEY 2020
No Fillers – Just Killers

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The Neptune Power Federation, Memoirs of a Rat Queen (2019)

Of all the batches of Roadburn 2013 audio that have thus far come to light, this one might be both my favorite and the most comprehensive. From Pallbearer‘s morose doom to Elder‘s heavy psych righteousness, the progressive metal of The Ocean and Spiritual Beggars‘ classic heavy rock, seething black metal from A Forest of Stars, with post-metal from Process of Guilt, blues doom from Witch Mountain and prog from Camera and Astra between — that’s not to mention the genreless freakout of Seremonia — it’s a series as varied as the fest itself.

Please enjoy the Roadburn 2013 streams on the players below and kiss your afternoon goodbye. As you make your way through, don’t forget to check the news below about The Shrine, Papir and Glitter Wizard being added to the Roadburn 2014 lineup, as that continues to impressively take shape.

Thanks as always to Walter and the Roadburn crew:

A Forest of Stars – Live at Roadburn 2013

Astra – Live at Roadburn 2013

Camera

Elder – Live at Roadburn 2013

Pallbearer – Live at Roadburn 2013

Process of Guilt – Live at Roadburn 2013

Seremonia – Live at Roadburn 2013

Spiritual Beggars – Live at Roadburn 2013

The Ocean – Live at Roadburn 2013

The Ruins of Beverast – Live at Roadburn 2013

Witch Mountain – Live at Roadburn 2013

As noted above, Roadburn 2014 has continued this week to add bands to its already considerable lineup. Here’s the latest, courtesy of the fest:

LA’s The Shrine To Bring Some Heavy, Psychedelic, Riff Based Rock n’ Roll To Roadburn Festival 2014

Grab a six pack! It’s time for some high energy, rock ‘n roll action when Los Angeles’ The Shrine hits the stage on Thursday, April 10 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands. We’re feeling inspired… should we put up a skate ramp at Roadburn 2014?

No, let’s empty some pools, and conquer these concrete bowls! Right here, right now, as the hairy dudes in The Shrine could easily have been part of the 1970s Zephyr skateboard team. Or at least, they would have put up their big ass amps (draped with an American flag, of course) next to the pools, and crank some drug addled, SoCal primitive blast to get it all going, pure and simple!

Denmark’s Papir To Transcend Heavy Psych Territory at Roadburn Festival 2014

We here at Roadburn are on our own path and we ensure that when booking the festival it encompasses everything we like – from krautrock through post rock to heavy psych.

Papir, hailing from the suburbs of Copenhagen, are definitely kindred spirits, as this fascinating instrumental three piece have created their own extraordinary type of semi-improvised psychedelic rock by transcending the usual labels – something we immensely admire. Thus we simply can’t wait to dive headfirst into the band’s richly textured sound on Saturday, April 12 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Take A Trip Way Back Into The Future With Glitter Wizard at Roadburn 2014

In our ongoing quest to exhume every artifact of 60s and 70s proto metal, we recently stumbled up on San Francisco’s Glitter Wizard. For a moment, it seemed that we unearthed a forgotten gem, as Hunting Gatherers, the band’s sophomore album, could be easily mistaken for a long lost album from the early 70s.

In our hazy minds’ imagination, the band shared the stage with Steppenwolf, Bloodrock, Black Widow, The Stooges or Iron Butterfly, but Glitter Wizard‘s trippy, swinging sound — replete with catchy riffs, amusing lyrics and space-age keyboards, sax and flutes — isn’t some kind of Nuggets discovery, they are here and now.

Don’t get behind the times when the devil worships Glitter Wizard at Roadburn 2014 on Saturday, April 12 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands. They will take you into future through a doorway hidden in the past.