Live Review: Freak Valley Festival 2026 – Day 1
Posted in Reviews on June 5th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
I slept a bit at the airport, I’m glad to say. I was in the international arrivals area, outside baggage claim, with my head on my luggage and the hoodie I brought as a pillow. Not what you’d call ideal, but better than the plane. I was off and on from about 8AM to noon, then up from then till 2PM, waiting with Tony Reed until Isaiah Mitchell came and said the rest of Seedy Jeezus had already gone to the Vortex Surfer club where they were going to rehearse as Tranquonauts for the first time ahead of their set on Saturday. So, time to go.
Unclear on the way as to whether or not I would make it for the start of the fest, with Sunnata, but I did. Stowed my luggage in back, no time to hit the hotel beforehand. Here’s how the day went from there:
Sunnata
I got to the AWO grounds where the fest is held with about 10 minutes to spare, so didn’t even grab a coffee before Poland’s Sunnata went on to kick the thing off. They’re kind of a darker sound for Freak Valley, meditative and post-metallic as they are, but the weather cooperated — it was raining; I’d bought a raincoat about an hour before going to the airport and had my luggage on hand, so was ready for it — and there was a really good early crowd, so between that and Sunnata’s dual-vocal interplay of loud/quiet trades and righteously heavy ritualizing, the early going had no lack of vibe. I downed a bottle of water that I’d soon refill and watched from the front for a bit before adjourning to the back by the swings, where kids were already playing. They’ve put out two records since the last time I saw them at Høstsabbat 2019 (review here), so while I had a clue of what to expect, they were still a surprise with more complex songs and fluid brooding passages, crying to and from the void to lead into the next explosion.
Child
Rockpalast started filming early, and with good reason. This was my first time seeing Child, and it was among the sets I’d most been looking forward to. I can’t think of many other bands who embody Freak Valley’s love of heavy blues than the Aussie power trio led by gold-mic vocalist/guitarist Matthias Northway. They have a new record out later this month called Rebirth that’s following on from 2023’s Soul Murder (review here), and that’s a thing to celebrate, so they did, but it’s a different kind of party in the pouring rain and quickly it occurred to me that the water falling from the sky and my too-nice-for-my-ass-anyhow camera probably didn’t mix, so I headed for shelter, but even undercover, the richness of Child’s fuzz, the soul in Northway’s vocals and the sleek, slow grooves of their riffs came through. They’re ’70s-rooted, jam-rooted and blues-rooted, and those balances were malleable across the set, but cohesive throughout; as clear a case of band-guides-crowd as you could hope to encounter. Not the last blues of the weekend by any means, but a display of obviously special chemistry. By the time they finished, the sky was turning blue again.
Brown Spirits
Two Australian acts in a row felt — and was — luxurious, especially as Brown Spirits picked up the mantle of jazzy heavy psych and space rock and ran with it straight into a cloud of ether. Rhythmic momentum built up to push forward melodic textures from the guitar and keys, and though there were some shades of Earthless in that gallop, the dimensionality of it and the feeling of improv beneath made them all the more immersive. People danced, people whistled as the band cosmic-shimmied out another post-airlock bassline, and if you caught the theremin sounds from the keyboard as part of the thing, so much the better. They didn’t come across as performative in their progressivism, but that was a factor just the same and I found myself wanting a(nother) coffee just to try to keep up. So I did that, merrily bobbing my way to the back to get some, and then the downpour started, so I figured maybe I’d hang out a minute rather than get soaked with so much night still to go. I was glad to have heard the bounce I did in Brown Spirits though, and for knowing basically nothing about them going in, I feel like getting an early-weekend-takeaway band is a pretty solid outcome.
Ratsalad
Three in a row? Freak Valley was clearly just showing off. Three non-headlining Australian bands back-to-back-to-back, as John Sterling might say, and on the first day of the thing, was remarkable, and it’s not like having bands from Oz is new here. Ratsalad had an energy distinct from Brown Spirits or Child, but if you were inclined, you could make a thread from one to the next based on more than geography. The torrent ended quickly — that cloud passed — but a steady rain continued, and I slammed one of the three pouches of almond butter I brought with me ahead of Ratsalad starting, and that was the right idea. Fortification. All my favorite foods are ingredients. Anyways, I took all of maybe-one photo, as conditions seemed to permit, but the rain lessened over the time they played and my understanding was that was the worst and perhaps last of it, but the band were hitting it from the start, and the heavy punk rock reminded of past Freak Valley editions without being overly derivative. The “can I get a fucking hell yeah?” was met with due uproar. People were ready to let loose, weather be damned, and Ratsalad allowed for just that, and didn’t miss a chance to engage the crowd along the way.
Stoned Jesus
I was dragging copious ass, namely my own, but it would be difficult not to appreciate a band who write such memorable songs as Stoned Jesus do, or maybe I just really dug the last record? Either way, they were a kick in the pants that I very much needed, and hearing them echo around the hillside made it feel all the more like I’d arrived at Freak Valley Festival, though that isn’t to take away from the day to that point. They had the Rockpalast feed going on the two side screens and the back one with colors changing out overlaid; it looked cool and it wasn’t raining anymore, so all the better. They played “Low” from last year’s Songs to Sun (review here) and guitarist/vocalist Igor Sydorenko teased the due-in-October follow-up, Songs to Moon, with a new song called “Under the Skin” that they apparently hadn’t played live before, Sydorenko sharing vocals with bassist Andrew Rodin, whose harsher screams added to the metal emerging in their sound. The US still hasn’t caught on to Stoned Jesus, but this was my second time seeing them and the professionalism of their delivery made them a standout. I will look forward to that record, not that I wasn’t anyhow. One of the cameras shooting popped up with a message on the screen behind them that said it had a low battery and it was time to change it, and I related so hard to it that I’ll say I was emotionally moved, but then they hit into “See You on the Road,” and brought me back to life again. Again. Of course they did “I’m the Mountain,” their signature piece. They knew it was coming, the crowd knew it was coming. It was inevitable and still glorious, and the ability to do that is what makes Stoned Jesus a great band. Everyone in the pit seemed to be having a good time, including when Igor jumped out and crowdsurfed.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
When I saw the UK psychbangers at Bear Stone 2024 (review here), I said I’d never again abbreviate their name, but write it in full every time as a sign of respect. They were similarly inspiring in the headliner role for the first night at Freak Valley, taking immediate and absolute ownership of the stage. They didn’t have an easy act to follow — people were into Stoned Jesus for sure — but cosmic bombast is a house specialty for Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, and the onslaught was not long in arriving. With tempo behind them, they’re all the more of a force sound-wise, but I also think they were just plain louder than everybody who played earlier, so that was a factor even in the slower parts. Bass to swallow planets, and a kick drum you could feel in your chest standing near the front; this is normative stuff for Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, but it’s not something I run into every day and they are their fair share of jawdropping, very much in the manner of something to see if you never have, or, frankly if you have as well. Destroy destroy destroy. Shake the plugs right out of your ears.
Coltaine
Mystique born of their sound as much as the rampant fog. Coltaine were among my most anticipated sets of the whole weekend, which In hope tells you I think they’re a band you should check out. Fitting that this was my first time seeing them and it’s Freak Valley, since this is where I found out about them in the first place. They’re less accessible than some bands who might be considered of their slow-churning post-metal ilk, but as far as I’m concerned that only makes them less predictable and better overall, and if you didn’t catch 2025’s Brandung (review here), the songs from it are worlds to lose yourself in. On the big stage, with the lights, the aforementioned fog, the huge sound, their dark scope felt like a bookend to the day with Sunnata way back in the rainy afternoon, but they are their own beast and they’re growing. I’m glad I could see them play Brandung material before their next record outdoes it, and I’m twice as grateful to have seen them in the context I did, after the day I’d had, that sense of intermittent cathartic release was fortifying. You know how some bands have potential and you know exactly for what the potential is, how it will manifest? I don’t have a clue where Coltaine’s against-genre-grain journey will take them, but I’m happy to be on board to find out. Call me a fan.
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The cab driver told me no at first when I said the name of the hotel. I guess it wasn’t far enough? I don’t know. When my head dropped and I went “ah man,” he said, “fine, get in,” and took off with all good speed to drop my ass. Then I didn’t have cash and that was my next fuckup. I do my best, people. About 20 minutes later, I was asleep. On purpose.
First day was a lot, but a lot of awesome. Day two starts with yoga, thank goodness, unless you want to count sorting photos at breakfast, which was the right choice. More to come, and pics after the jump in the meantime. Thanks for reading.
