Keep it Low 2018 — AKA Keep it Low #6 — continues to add to its formidable lineup with New Orleans sludge forebears Crowbar and Italian psych-proggers Ananda Mida joining the bill. I like how even down to the lineup announcements, Keep it Low plays it a little more mellow than most other fests. It’s a Sound of Liberation product — see also Up in Smoke, the Desertfests in Berlin and Belgium, and any number of other tours and whatnots — so it’s not like they don’t know how to position it, but still, especially this year, the lineup announcements have come through more like a communique from one friend to another rather than a festival talking to its audience. How you frame these things matters. Not just as a part of branding, but as part of defining the experience of the fest itself.

To wit, as they add Crowbar and Ananda Mida — one band legendary and another band an upstart — the announcement makes the simple assumption that the person reading it knows who both bands are. It says quickly who the bands are and then moves on to plug the ticket link. This helps distinguish Keep it Low from other fests because it speaks more directly to the specific audience it’s working to capture. It’s a different way of saying “we’re fans too” than coming right out and saying it, and while I won’t take away from any other method a festival might choose to employ, it’s nonetheless an effective means of communicating that idea. And frankly, I believe it.

The update follows here, courtesy of the festival’s social media:

Keepers!

We are stoked to tell you today that New Orleans’ sludge metal veterans Crowbar join the Keep It Low Festival 2018 line-up (on Saturday) along with Italian stoner/psych collective ANANDA MIDA (on Friday)!

Our line-up now features 19 bands split over the 2 days! 2-day passes are long gone, but you can still grab day tickets right here: www.keepitlow.de/tickets-keep-it-low!

Do not wait for too long, Keep It Low is sold out evey year!

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Crowbar, “Existence is Punishment” official video

Ananda Mida, Live Dec. 27, 2017

The lineup for Keep it Low 2018, which already feels like a birthday present with the likes of Colour Haze, Acid King, Elder, Lowrider, Wo Fat, Sasquatch and Child on the bill — among others — continues to get even richer. Two more bands have been newly added between German aggro sludge metallers High Fighter and Norwegian heavy blues purveyors The Devil and the Almighty Blues, and as distinct as the two acts’ sounds are, they each have a foothold in the capital-H ‘Heavy’ that unites them with each other and with the rest of Keep it Low‘s lineup, which might be the strongest I’ve yet seen from the festival in its six incarnations. And I don’t think they’re done adding bands, either.

High Fighter recently announced a string of UK dates for August supporting their visceral 2016 Svart Records debut, Scars and Crosses (review here), while The Devil and the Almighty Blues issued their second album, II (review here), last year via Blues for the Red Sun Records. I’m not sure if either appearance at Keep it Low 2018 will be part of larger touring plans, but it certainly isn’t out of the realm of possibility for either act.

Keep it Low 2018 is presented by Sound of Liberation and is set for Oct. 19 and 20. The latest announcement follows:

Keepers,

As promised, here are 2 new bands confirmed for Keep It Low Festival 2018: Heavy-Blues Rockers The Devil And The Almighty Blues that we are thrilled to have back in Munich on Oct. 19th after the incredible show they played at Feierwerk in May; and the ferocious High Fighter to fuel your appetite with mean and dirty Blues, Stoner, Doom & Sludgy riffs on Oct. 20th!

Tickets are selling fast (2-day passes already gone), so do not wait too long to grab yours !
https://www.keepitlow.de/tickets-keep-it-low

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https://www.facebook.com/events/300578407135232/
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https://www.soundofliberation.com/news

High Fighter, “Darkest Days” official video

I have said on multiple occasions over the years that of all the European autumntime festivals that have emerged, Keep it Low in Munich is the one I’d most care to attend. Not a year passes that the lineup isn’t stellar and digging right to the heart of heavy rock and doom — plus Colour Haze is there pretty much annually — and not a year goes by that I don’t imagine myself hopping on a plane to Germany for a kickass weekend among awesome bands and awesome people. They call them “Keepers,” which is pretty clever if you think about it.

The lineup this year? Already excellent, with Wo Fat, the aforementioned Colour Haze, Acid King, Sasquatch, Child and so on, but certainly tossing Elder into that mix doesn’t hurt either. They’re the latest adds along with Texan riffmarchers The Well and Munich’s own Dune Pilot, who, if it needs to be said, play desert rock.

Sound of Liberation, which presents the fest, announced them as follows:

Keepers!

We are glad to unveil 3 more bands for Keep It Low Festival 2018 (the fantastic Elder, the entoxicating The Well & the vigorous DUNE PILOT) as well as the daysplit! More bands will be announced later, but as our 2-day passes are sold-out, we wanted to release the day tickets as soon as possible, and give you the infos to make your choice :)

Hard-Tickets & e-tickets for Friday & Saturday are available right here: www.keepitlow.de/tickets-keep-it-low!

—-

Elder is the definition of a work in progress, as the group continues to meld the familiar sounds of Sleep‘s colossal riffage with their ever-evolving vision of soaring melodies and sonic soundscapes. Listeners will find themselves locked into the trio’s lengthy epics, which toe the line between the chasms of classic stoner metal and mindblowing psychedelia.

Austin-based power trio The Well redefine heavy rock by merging massive riffs with sophisticated melodies. Their progressive sound stems from a nostalgic desire to blend different musical styles as diversified as Joy Division to Blue Cheer. At a time when rock music is fading among the masses, The Well inject an intoxicating dose of raw adrenaline into a fatigued genre. Their nostalgic reverence, simple structure and modern expression put them at the forefront of today’s heavy rock.

The Munich based band DUNE PILOT is celebrating desert rock just like the founding fathers of this genre would have imagined it. Certainly with beards, fuzz and plenty of low tones but also with groove, riffs and a sound that would bring tears of joy to the eyes of Josh Homme or Dave Wyndorf. However, they did not earn their reputation of being one of the most authentic German stoner bands through just their recordings. On stage, they are also one of the most vigorous stoner-bulldozers.

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Elder, Reflections of a Floating World (2017)

Three bands, three different continents. Wo Fat, from Texas (a continent unto itself), Supersoul from Athens, and Child from Melbourne. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat, and that’s pretty much where I am as regards the latest round of adds to Keep it Low 2018. The festival, set for Oct. 19 and 20 in Munich, Germany, features familiar faces like Colour Haze and Acid King, and has its annual skatepark and biergarten going for it, but I think a pretty clear message is being sent here about scope as well. Like I said, three bands, three continents. That’s an impressive amount of reach.

I’ll be curious to see if Wo Fat announce a Fall 2018 European tour and, if they do, if it coincides with a new album release. They’re about due for a next record, and while I’d believe they might just fly over for one show, if they’re doing an entire European run, it might be to mark the occasion of a new LP. I’m not saying I know that, because I don’t, but it’s just something that makes sense to me.

Speaking of new material, Child have a new EP out. And I know nothing about Supersoul beyond the fact that they’re named after a badass Dozer song, but according to the fest, their first record came out in Sept. 2017.

Get yourself informed:

We’re thrilled to unveil three more band confirmed Keep It Low – Festival 2018 today: Dallas swampadelic fuzz monsters Wo Fat, Melbourne heavy blues rockers CHILD (who release their new EP “I” 2 weeks ago) and Athens rock’n’roll trio SuperSoul (whose debut album “Faith Bender” came out last September)!

Once again, Keep It Low – Festival is going to be rad, and tickets are selling faster than ever, so better be quick and get yours while you still can!

KEEP IT LOW FESTIVAL 2018

2 days of Heavy Rock, Stoner, Doom, Psych fest featuring about 20 bands on 3 stages + Beergarden, Outdoor skate park, Rock Art Exhibit… So, all you Riffers, Rockers and friends of the low tunes, don´t miss Munich`s best Heavy Rock Fest! October 19th & 20th 2018!

KEEP IT LOW #6 (2018) COLOUR HAZE – ACID KING – WO FAT – THE PICTUREBOOKS – SASQUATCH – CHILD – THE GREAT MACHINE – SUPERSOUL – SUNDOG

Hard Tickets & Print-at-home Tickets available on:
www.keepitlow.de/tickets-keep-it-low

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Wo Fat, Midnight Cometh (2016)

If I can be completely honest for a moment, of all the European festivals that happen each Fall, none of them sets me to daydreaming quite like Keep it Low. Is it the fact that a headlining set from Colour Haze is pretty much guaranteed at this point? Well, that certainly doesn’t hurt. But in addition to that, it’s the vibe of the thing. Every year, fests start spewing out their lineups and try to outdo each other, and I have no doubt that 2018 won’t be any different. It’s a lot of fun, but Keep it Low tends to sidestep the hype in favor of a more laid back approach, and to me that speaks to the kind of vibe I’d like to check out on a cool October weekend in Munich. Acid King, Colour Haze and Sasquatch playing Keep it Low 2018? Pardon me while my mind wanders…

What follows here are actually the first two announcements from the festival via social medias. I put them together as one thing because, like with Up in Smoke the other day, I wasn’t getting Sound of Liberation‘s updates. Once again, that problem has hopefully been fixed at this point, so I should be able to keep up from here on out.

Emphasis on “should.”

Here’s the latest, anyhow:

Keep it Low #6 – Oct. 19 & 20, 2018

The first three bands confirmed for Keep It Low – Festival 2018: Acid King, Sasquatch & The Great Machine! Regular Tickets are also now available! Grab yours quick (remember that Early Birds were gone in only 1 day!)

Acid King – Bathed in distortion and baptized in a plume of smoke, the Bay Area trio fronted by talented Lori S. is rocking the heavy scene for more than 2 decades and we are just thrilled to host them for our sixth edition of the festival.

Sasquatch – Californian Dudes are riffrockers to the core: mixing elements of 70s rock, metal and psychedelia…we’re all in for a hell of a party !

The Great Machine – Three piece heavy rock machine from Tel Aviv, Israel, known for their intense and straight forward live performances. Check them out, you won’t regret it!

Today, we’re thrilled to tell you that Colour Haze will be playing their yearly & exclusive Munich show at Keep It Low – Festival! The band has recently added a fourth bandmember (piano/organ/keys) and as usual you can expect an outstanding live set. We’re also stoked to welcome the amazing alternative-blues-rock duo The Picturebooks, and Munich-based heavy-blues outfit Sundog (who by the way will release their new EP “Where My Bones Lie” on March 17th at Feierwerk, you should check them)!

Last bunch of Keep It Low Hard Tickets: http://woolheads.com/shop-2/festivalmerchandise/keep-it-low-2-fays-festival-ticket-2018-early-bird

Keep It Low E-Tickets:
https://www.sol-tickets.com/produkte/24-tickets-keep-it-low-festival-feierwerk-area-muenchen-am-19-10-2018
http://www.eventim.de/tickets.html?affiliate=EVE&doc=artistPages%2Ftickets&fun=artist&action=tickets&erid=2131092&includeOnlybookable=true&xtmc=keep_it_low&xtnp=1&xtcr=1

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https://www.facebook.com/events/300578407135232/
https://www.facebook.com/Soundofliberation/
https://www.soundofliberation.com/news

Colour Haze, Live at Keep it Low 2017