I mean, it’s not like the 2024 lineup for Desertfest Antwerp — aka Desertfest Belgium — wasn’t already stunning, but go ahead and throw Conan, Causa Sui, Ruff Majik, Birds in Row, Valley of the Sun, Delving, Daevar, Coilguns, and the others below into the mix and that definitely doesn’t hurt. The headliners speak for themselves — Monster Magnet are a call to show up, Fu Manchu will be supporting their new record, which is out this month, and Russian Circles are Russian Circles — but as you dig into each line of the poster below, you can see there isn’t really a point where the hits stop coming. I won’t claim to be familiar with the likes of Tangled Horns, Giac Taylor, Throatsnapper or Divided, who are also newly tacked onto the bill, but as they join the likes of Spaceslug, Stoned Jesus, Messa, Child, and others on my personal hope-I-see-before-I-die list, it’s striking both how broad and how rad this lineup is on the whole.

And yes, that’s the extent of the insight. This looks killer. I’ve only been through Belgium once, and it was to change trains. I was there just long enough to try and fail at ordering coffee in French, but if there ever was a reason to want to head back and give that another shot likely to the same result, this would likely be it. Rezn and Seedy Jeezus and Mondo Drag? In the parlance of our times: “let’s go.”

Ticket link and the relatively brief final announcement from the fest follow here, emojis intact, as seen on social media:

Hold fast for the 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐩 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 lineup is complete! ⚡ Forged in blood and sweat, we present you with the final additions to the bill:

Conan / Birds in Row / Causa Sui / Valley of the Sun / Coilguns / delving / Ruff Majik / Red Scalp / Tangled Horns / Divided / Throatsnapper / Giac Taylor / Daevar

Now with that sweet cherry on top there’s no reason not to get a ticket 🍒: https://www.desertfest.be/antwerp/information/ticketing/

Spread the word, share the post and see you later in Antwerp!

http://www.desertfest.be/
https://www.facebook.com/desertfestbelgium/
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_belgium/

Ruff Majik, “Swine Tooth Grin” live in Nürnberg, Germany, 05.29.24

Set for the weekend of Oct. 18-20 and (I think?) celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first Desertfest Belgium, which was held in 2014, the 2024 edition of the Antwerp-based Desertfest has made its first lineup announcement, anchored by Fu Manchu and Russian Circles and featuring a host of others ranging in both geography and style. From the fluid textures of REZN and classic melodic prog rock of Mondo Drag to the reunited Scorpion Child, Bongzilla‘s singularly stoned crust and the expansive riffery of Stoned Jesus, whose Mother Dark complement to early-2023’s Father Light (review here) is awaited, it’s a well-rounded bill even before you account for heavy psych rockers Seedy Jeezus and bluesy ’70s traditionalists Child making the trip from Australia, the latter on the heels of Heavy Psych Sounds reissuing their catalog, the expansive sounds of Messa, and so on.

That it looks like a cool time isn’t really a surprise. Desertfest Belgium has developed a character of its own as the flagship Fall Desertfest in Europe, and while I’ve never been, I always look forward to seeing what it brings to the seasonal cohort of heavy festivals. Already we know REZN will be on tour with Russian Circles, as that was announced last week too, but it’s likely more tours will come from Mondo Drag, Ritual King and others below that haven’t been revealed yet if they’re even at this point finalized. In addition to the usual daydreaming-about-travel, I find thinking about these things and imagining tours and who might have new records out by the time October gets here to be a particular kind of nerdy joy.

The announcement, as per social media:

It’s that time of year again! It’s with great pride and excitement that we announce the first names for DF24! 👁️

Confirmed for Desertfest ANTWERP are:
Fu Manchu Russian Circles Stoned Jesus Bongzilla Scorpion Child MESSA Wolvennest Mondo Drag Seedy Jeezus CHILD REZN Ritual King The Abbey Lethvm RRRags Crouch Kara Delik

Three days of delirium and heavy delight are surely awaiting us all in Antwerp!

https://www.desertfest.be/antwerp/information/ticketing/

We’ll be back with more names very soon…🤘

http://www.desertfest.be/
https://www.facebook.com/desertfestbelgium/
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_belgium/

Mondo Drag, Through the Hourglass (2023)