Planet Desert Rock Weekend VII Adds New Names to Lineup
This second lineup announcement for Planet Desert Rock Weekend VII, which is set to take place January in Las Vegas, is emblematic of what I appreciate so much about the four-day festival to start with. To wit, it’s five bands and each of them counts double for what they bring to the lineup. Child, from Australia, offer some of the most dug-in heavy blues in the world, while Carson and Black Rainbows and the returning Droids Attack are each heavy rock bands taking that designation on from their own angle, and Steak are sometime this year (I’m pretty sure) set to release their follow-up to 2022’s Acute Mania (review here), which I’m very curous to hear.
But look at it. Carson or Black Rainbows might also have a record coming, but they might not, and Droids Attack are amazing, but likely not them either. It hasn’t even been that long since Child‘s 2023 LP, Soul Murder (review here), but they’re here too, which brings me to the point that it’s not about who’s coming through on tour, but about hand-selecting bands from the worldwide heavy underground and bringing them over for a gig.
Some will make tours out of it, which I’d expect Steak, Carson, Child and Black Rainbows to do, and maybe Droids Attack as well — I only didn’t list them because they haven’t been super-active, but of course it’s possible they’ll do other shows; their last record was 2016’s brilliant Sci-Fi or Die (review here) — but Planet Desert Rock Weekend becomes an epicenter for seeing things you’ve never seen before, offering something distinct from other festivals and showcases while telling the story of itself as each band moves into the next. I’ve been lucky enough to go twice now, and barring disaster, I wouldn’t want to miss it in 2027 either.
From the PR wire:
Planet Desert Rock Weekend VII – Second Lineup Announcement
Vegas Rock Revolution is excited to present the next batch of bands for Planet Desert Rock Weekend VII 2027 with five unique groups for five countries. We are happy to bring back 2 PDRW alumni and 2 bands that have not played in the USA yet. This collection ranges from stoner rock to bluesy rock to stoner thrash to heavy rock and more. Our goal Is to always deliver music from bands to highlight our great heavy underground scene to our fans who love to discover and support. It means a ton to us that your feedback has been amazing when talking about our curation and vibe of our weekender. Is it too early to get excited about next January? LOL!
We have nearly sold out of presale tickets so …. go for it and save a few bucks. Artist extraordinaire Joey Rudell is back to provide us with cool art for PDRW!
Black Rainbows / Italy
Longtime stoner rock stalwarts Black Rainbows have been steadily popping out fuzzy new tunes since early 2010s. This power trio will be returning for the 1st time to the USA since 2017 when they played Desert Generator at Pappy & Harriet’s! Frontman Gabriele Fiori is a massive figure in the scene as he is the head honcho of Heavy Psych Sounds Records. He has built an amazing label and is involved with not only tour support but festivals all around the world. Their is no doubt their set will be high octane fueled and get people moving! Honored to have this killer band come out for PDRW!
Steak / London
You can never go wrong with British rockers Steak! Steak played Planet Desert Rock Weekend v3 at Count’s Vamp’d as direct support for desert legend John Garcia who did a rare unplugged set. This Ripple Music band is set to have a new release in 2026 and we can’t wait to hear what they have in store for us. Their creativity keeps us on our toes as their last release “Acute Mania” saw them creating some more depth to their songs and the addition of a 2nd guitarist who also helped with vocals some. 5 albums deep and driven by strong vocals and the guitar prowess of Reece Tee who is the man behind Desertfest which has been a massive part of the heavy underground with their always choice lineups and spread out all across Europe giving fans a chance to see so many cool bands in one place! Steak was just announced to be tourmates with All Them Witches and Slift for a European run. What a lineup!
Droids Attack / Wisconsin
It was just a matter of time that we would bring Droids Attack back to Planet Desert Rock Weekend. This “stoner thrash” power trio lit up the stage at PDRW v2 back in 2019 at the old Bunkhouse (R.I.P.). Frontman Brad Van and gang haven’t put out new material since their amazing “Sci-Fi Or Die” release. Yes PDRW loves to mix in the heavy in the weekend and who better than this riff and groove band that rarely plays nowadays. If you aren’t moving when you listen to “Brahma Astra” then you might be dead. Brad’s guitar tone paired with syncopated drums is unique. We are excited to have our friends back to Sin City!
Child / Australia
We have made no secret that blues rock is an important part to Planet Desert Rock Weekend. We never imagined that one of the most killer bluesy rock bands around from Australia would join the party. This Melbourne based band has 4 releases and all of them provide sultry psychedelic tinged goodness that promises to translate to a live set that will leave people saying “well damn that was good” . This will be their 1st time to the USA for this Heavy Psych Sounds band who in recently years has made the trek to Europe to do runs of shows. Frontman Mathias Northway’s vocals and songwriting really elevates this band to upper tier in the scene.
Carson / Switzerland
Planet Desert Rock Weekend loves to hand pick very good European bands that deserve far more ears than they currently get. Carson is a band with some momentum as they have knocked out two stellar heavy rock albums in a 3 year span that has grabbed some attention for sure. Truth be told we have been watching them since hearing the song “Drown the Witness” back in 2017. The band’s sound is a mesh of stoner, grunge and some psych as well and features male/female vocal blend on many of their tracks. Carson landed on The Doom Charts in 2022 in April at #4 and in September 2025 at #7 as well as ended on the End of Year list as well. Also to note that landed very high on Vegas Rock Revolution’s End of Year lists as well. Want good catchy hard rocking songs? Dig in.
Tickets available now: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planet-desert-rock-weekend-vii-january-28-31-2027-tickets-1983056894554?aff=oddtdtcreator
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