Posted in Whathaveyou on December 27th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Belgian festival Down the Hill has begun to unveil its lineup for Aug. 30-31, 2024, with Rotor at the top of a bill that, as the fill-in-the-blank-style poster (which I dig) underscores the point there’s more to come. Not that Rotor couldn’t headline, but yeah. They’re joined in this announcement by Full Earth, the Kanaan offshoot who don’t have a record yet but are popping up on bills up, down, here and there, Fuzzy Grass, Briqueville, Vandal X, Kozmotron and Cuberdon, which is less than half of the total number of acts who will play. There are 17 TBAs on the poster below. Yes, I counted before I saw the number in the festival’s post.
I’ve been writing about Down the Hill for a few years now, and I’ve never been or anything like that, but all accounts I’ve seen and heard tell me that it’s a laid back, vibe-centered time, and in theory and practice I think that’s a thing worth supporting. August is a while off, so I don’t know when the next reveal will be made, but tickets are on sale as of Dec. 27, which might be today by the time this gets posted — it’s 4AM Xmas Eve as I write; I have no answer for why I’m awake but at least I’m getting shit done — and if you’d like to keep up also, the fest’s Facebook and site are linked below.
To wit:
Down the Hill 2024
Here they are, the first small load of bands for Down The Hill 2024
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 29th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Holy shit, Roadburn. Where the hell are you putting all these bands?
I knew there were a few more adds to come from Roadburn 2015, but to get another 20-plus in a single shot is something of a surprise. Take it as a reminder of the scale of this thing and of the beast that Roadburn 2015 has become and how, with five stages across three venues, it seems ever more on the march to consume the whole town center of Tilburg in the Netherlands. To call it astounding feels like underselling it.
Today, in addition to posting this massive round of adds to Roadburn 2015, I’m happy to announce that I’ll be covering the festival for the seventh time and, for the second year in a row, serving as editor of the in-fest ‘zine, the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch, working with The Sleeping Shaman’s Lee Edwards as in 2014 to bring a daily publication to life for each day of the fest. I’m thrilled to be involved in the Roadburn crew in this small way again and can’t wait to get to work again with Lee and a host of writers way more talented than myself at putting this thing together. In fact, I think I’ll get started now.
While I do that, here’s the latest from Roadburn. If you’re wondering why I grabbed the Moaning Cities Bandcamp stream for the bottom of the post out of all the bands added today — Abrahma, BardSpec, Death Penalty, Robert Hampson of Loop, the entire nation of Belgium, etc. — it’s because every year there’s one band at Roadburn that I wind up kicking myself in the ass for missing, and going by what I’ve checked out so far of Moaning Cities‘ Pathways through the Sail, I don’t want it to be them. Call it a reminder to myself.
Okay, here’s that info:
New additions announced including ‘Roadburn Festival Introduces’ act, and artists for curated event
Roadburn Festival is pleased to announce new additions to the 20th edition of the festival. The festival will take place April 9th-12th in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Both day tickets and weekend tickets are currently on sale.
More details confirmed for curated event
Roadburn 2015’s curators Wardruna’s Einar “Kvitrafn” Selvik and Enslaved’s Ivar Bjørnson have almost completed the line up for their event on Friday April 10. Loop main man, Robert Hampson and Swedish psych heroes, Agusa will both perform alongside Focus, Death Hawks, Sólstafir and others. BardSpec – the Ambient project/band from Enslaved composer/guitarist Ivar – will also perform at the event. Einar will present a workshop which will delve into his approach to music and the extensive creative concept behind Wardruna´s ongoing ‘Runaljod’ trilogy as well as his approach and study of the runes and other Norse esoteric arts. He will demonstrate a selection of the oldest Nordic instruments, play fully accoustic Wardruna music and there will also be time for questions from the audience.
For information on Robert Hampson,CLICK HERE For information on Agusa,CLICK HERE For information on BardSpec,CLICK HERE For information on Einar Selvik,CLICK HERE
‘Roadburn Festival Introduces’ & Belgium focus
This year, ‘Roadburn Festival Introduces’ will focus on Belgium. Over the years, Belgium has become a hotbed of musical creativity, ranging from indie to garage rock, and virtually everything in between. Whether it’s a dark, psychedelic slant, an insatiable need to worship thee riff, or even developing a cult of their own, only to lure us into their spiraling-netherworld… there’s something about these bands that embodies the spirit of Roadburn. The mysterious and yet bizarre Belgian band, Briqueville, will connect with the Roadburn community at the 013 on Saturday, April 11th.
In keeping with the Belgian theme, Brussels-based Moaning Cities, will bring their fuzzed-out, and sitar-driven psychedelia to Stage01 on Thursday, April 9th. In collaboration with one of Belgium’s foremost bookings agencies, RuffStuffMusic, we offer Your Highness, King Hiss, Tangled Horns, Ashtoreth, and Miava an outlet in front of the receptive and open-minded Roadburn crowd on Saturday, April 11th at Cul de Sac. These up and coming talents richly deserve their place in the Roadburn line up and we’re thrilled to host such exciting, cutting edge bands as these alongside Roadburn’s established acts.
For more information on Briqueville,CLICK HERE For more information on Moaning Cities,CLICK HERE For more information on RuffStuffMusic: Your Highness, King Hiss, Tangled Horns, Ashtoreth, and Miava,CLICK HERE
New Additions to Line Up
The lineup for for Cul de Sac, the intimate music cafe, and Roadburn’s official fifth stage, located across from the 013 venue, is shaping up very nicely. We’re aiming to present four to five bands on each of the four days, Thursday through Sunday.
It is with enormous pride that Roadburn gets to announce a truly unique performance as Gnaw Their Tongues will bring their groundbreaking noise/doom/black metal assault to the festival on Sunday April 12th. Joining them will be torchbearers of French heavy rock, Paris-based Abrahma, Tilburg’s very own IZAH, and high octane Swedish rockers, Hypnos.
Today, we’re also excited to report that Verbum Verus, the Dutch black metal band, known for their intense live performances, will shroud Roadburn Festival in darkness with their hymns of praise on Thursday, April 9. We’re very pleased to announce that Big Naturals, Salope, City of Ships and Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell will complete the Friday lineup at Cul de Sac. And, given how fond we are of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, we’ve invited them to do two performances; they will also play the Green Room on Sunday, April 12.
Back over at the 013, we will have the riff-heavy Death Penalty playing on Saturday, April 11th – featuring ex-members of Cathedral and Serpentcult, this is going to be one show you don’t want to miss.
For more information on Gnaw Their Tongues,CLICK HERE For more information on Abrahma, IZAH & Hypnos,CLICK HERE For more information on Verbum Verus,CLICK HERE For more information on City of Ships, Big Naturals etc,CLICK HERE For more information on Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell,CLICK HERE For more information on Death Penalty,CLICK HERE
