It hasn’t been that long since the last announcement from the 2026 Freak Valley Festival, which brought the likes of Messa, Child, Longdistancecalling, Howling Giant, Upupayāma and more to join Tranquonauts, Coltaine, Kylesa, Stoned Jesus and Uncle Acid, among others, from the first round. But the message here, clearly delivered, is that Goat stand on their own.

And that’s always kind of been the story for the Swedish cult-psych ritualists. So much the better for them to headline. Their Afrobeat-informed, lysergic, at times vividly funky grooves have always stood them out from the heavy underground enough to enjoy crossover appeal to arthouse indie and the arbiters of cool more broadly speaking, but it’s been well over a decade since their debut album, World Music, and Goat have never really stopped being awesome. Their latest release is a remix of their 2024 self-titled LP done in collaboration with producer The Human Language, and earlier this year they also had a split out with fellow Swedes and Freak Valley veterans, Graveyard.

No coincidence that Goat were added to the bill just as online tickets went on sale over this past weekend. I don’t know that the fest is sold out yet, but usually it’s not too long after the onsale that tickets are gone, and with Goat as added impetus, it’s hard to imagine that not being the case this year too.

From social media:

HEADLINER ANNOUNCEMENT @goatworldmusic live at @freakvalleyfestival 2026

After many, many years of trying… it finally happened:

GOAT will headline FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2026!

The legendary Swedish collective, known for their mind-bending mix of psychedelic rock, tribal grooves & hypnotic rituals, are coming to Freak Valley for the very first time!

We’re beyond proud and still can’t believe it. This one’s truly special.

Online Tickets go on sale this Sunday, 02.11. at 17:00 cet at fvf.ticket.io — don’t sleep on it!

http://www.freakvalley.de/
http://www.rockfreaks.de/
https://www.instagram.com/freakvalleyfestival/
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley

Goat, Goat (2024)

A lot of good news in the second lineup announcement from Freak Valley Festival. Beyond the always-significant presence of Messa, who I’m pretty sure will be making their first appearance at the fest (pardon me if I’m wrong on that), and the implication of European returns next summer for both Nashville’s Howling Giant and Australian blues rockers Child — who along with Brown Spirits here and the previously-announced Tranquonauts make it three Aussie/part-Aussie acts on the bill; if there’s a quota, I don’t know about it, so they may not be the last — it’s awesome to see Freak Valley dig deep and bring Italian psych conjurers Upupayāma to the proceedings, while Long Distance Calling highlight the meditative instrumental progressivism that’s long been a staple of the festival’s presentation. It’s a killer batch of names, is I guess the point I’m making, even before you get to Zerre or J-psych rockers Super Jet Kinoko.

I’ve been lucky enough to attend Freak Valley for the last four editions. If that luck holds and I get to be there for number five, there are a few here who’ll be among my most anticipated of the hopefully-sunny June weekend.

The following was posted on socials (hence the atsigns) like half an hour ago:

⚡️2nd Band Wave Announcement🫵🏼

Freaks, the next wave is here and it’s a heavy one! Get ready for a wild mix of doom, psych, and trash metal at Freak Valley Festival 2026!

@messa_band bring their dark, soulful take on doom metal, full of atmosphere and emotion!

@longdistancecalling will take you on a powerful instrumental journey through epic soundscapes and dynamic melodies.

@childtheband from Australia deliver pure heavy blues rock, raw, soulful, and full of fuzzy groove.

@howlinggiant blast off with their cosmic stoner rock — big riffs, big energy, and a lot of heart.

@zerre.thrash hit hard with raw noise and distortion, channeling pure intensity straight to the gut.

@upupayama create dreamy, folk-inspired psych sounds that feel like a trip through the Italian mountains.

@brownspirits bring hypnotic krautrock grooves and vintage tones straight out of Melbourne’s underground scene.

@super_jet_kinoko invite you to explore deep, colorful layers of Japanese psychedelic rock.

And don’t forget: tomorrow night at @vortex_surfer_musikclub, @gyasitheband & @iahbanda &@transonic.science will be playing live. At the show, you’ll also be able to buy up to two Freak Valley 2026 tickets per person!

Design: @branca_studio

http://www.freakvalley.de/
http://www.rockfreaks.de/
https://www.instagram.com/freakvalleyfestival/
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley

Upupayāma, Mount Elephant (2024)

Howling Giant, “Beholder I: Downfall” official video

Child, Soul Murder (2023)

Hard not to get excited at the prospect of covering Freak Valley again next year. I’ve been four times now, and at the risk of honesty, I’ll tell you it’s beginning to feel a bit like a home away therefrom. A first lineup announcement for 2026 brings Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Kylesa, Tranquonauts (that’s Seedy Jeezus with Tony Reed and Isaiah Mitchell), Stoned Jesus, Coltaine, Håndgemeng, The Neptune Power Federation, Ratsalad and BB Blackdog, and if that’s not enough to get you to mark your calendar, it probably should be. If nothing else, Freak Valley has become a regular quick-sellout, so if you’re hemming and hawing, probably best you don’t.

They’ve got local ticket sales starting this weekend and online sales to follow. I could sit here and recommend the experience (which I do, heartily), but if you want to check out the coverage of this year’s Freak Valley, that’s here as well. The following was posted on socials just a bit ago:

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2026 – FIRST BAND ANNOUNCEMENT!

It’s that time again, Freaks – the first wave of bands for @freakvalleyfestival 2026 is here, and it’s already looking massive!

Leading the charge:

@uncleacidband – the masters of vintage doom and twisted psychedelia are finally coming to Freak Valley! Expect pure darkness, fuzzed-out riffs, and that unmistakable cult vibe.

@kylesa_band – sludge, groove, and heavy energy straight from Savannah! Their return to the stage is something we’ve all been waiting for.

Tranqonauts – a true supergroup featuring @tony_reed2112 , @isaiahmitchellsounds (@earthlessrips ), and members of @seedyjeezus ! You know what that means: cosmic jams, heavy riffs, and deep space energy.

Also joining the Freak Valley family in 2026:
@stonedjesusband , @theneptunepowerfederation , @coltaine , @handgemeng , @we_are_ratsalad & BB Blackdog!

Get ready for another wild ride through the worlds of heavy psych, stoner, doom, and everything in between. 🤘

🎟️ TICKET INFO:

This Sunday at the @vortex_surfer_musikclub in Siegen, everyone attending the @fomiesband show can buy up to 2 Freak Valley 2026 tickets before the online sale starts! So if you’ve got a ticket for Sunday, you’ve got early access – no waiting, no stress. 🤝🏻

See you in the valley, Freaks!

Design: @branca_studio

http://www.freakvalley.de/
http://www.rockfreaks.de/
https://www.instagram.com/freakvalleyfestival/
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Live in San Francisco, CA, 02.21.25

Newark Airport, Terminal C, Gate 126. Waiting for the flight.

As I will, I got to the airport early. But even by my standards, exceptionally so. To wit, 4PM for an 8PM flight. I would call that early.

Freak Valley Festival 2025 is the destination, and while I’ll confess that I had my weeks all wrong for June and thought until last week that the return call to FVF was happening next week, at least I know that in the end I got here in plenty of time for the flight I’m supposed to be on. There are thunderstorms in the forecast. The sun’s out now, but I’ll be here long enough for the weather pattern to shift.

The reasons for getting here early were likewise complex and mundane. The Patient Mrs. had a meeting. The kid is in a hates-being-in-the-car mode, so this (somewhat) avoided us getting yelled at in the car on the way to drop me off. Today’s her first day of summer. She spent most of it building a rube goldberg machine, continuing her current interest in engineering. She watches James Bruton and Mark Rober on YouTube, and this week I made the unfortunate error of introducing her to Battlebots, which of course she’s on board with because it’s fighting robots shooting fire at each other and she’s seven and very much into that kind of thing.

I’m glad school’s over though. I don’t remember who, but I definitely told somebody at the school yesterday I felt like I’d just finished first grade, and her being done means I won’t miss her last days (her class had half-days till Friday; we made the last full day her last day yesterday) for being gone. Further to the interest of honesty, I’m heading to Freak Valley 2025 with redemption in mind. This is my fourth time traveling to Netphen, near the small city of Siegen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, if that helps. I have been every year since 2022, and the reason I’m calling it a comeback was the headspace I was in last year was so off. My mother had had knee surgery the day I flew out. I left from the hospital after they wheeled her to the back to go get on the plane. It was weird, and it felt not-great to be leaving my family at a time when maybe I might be able to help them out in some way after that surgery.

I had a great time at Freak Valley last year, and I have the coverage to prove it, but as in-the-moment as I might’ve been, I was also distracted, and again, off. I don’t have another word for it.

This year, I feel like I’m carrying less figurative baggage — to be sure, I brought like eight shirts and 75 chargers; I’m not short on the literal kind — and will accordingly be all the more able to be present while I can. Because the thing I know about Freak Valley after being there four times is that the moments I’m about to experience over the next four days are precious and fleeting, and my time in the Valley comes but once a year. The weather’s supposed to be killer the next few days, and I know when I get there I’ll see friends old and new and I’ll even finally get to catch Bill fronting Bushfire this year on the small stage on Saturday, and that’ll be my blowout. Tomorrow I’ll see My Sleeping Karma for the first time after 20 years of being a fan. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous for it. Goes like that sometimes.

So the whole mission — the only mission — is to enjoy myself this weekend, to find restoration in the music while I obliterate myself writing and taking pictures as much as I possibly can. I may or may not be the most uptight dude at Freak Valley, but everybody there is very kind and patient with me. I’ve been looking forward to getting back, and the plan is to take in as much as I can, to internalize all those mellow vibes that will be pervading the AWO grounds in the bright German sunshine that always seems to hold on just until the headliner goes on. Of course the writing is part of the experience for me, and I don’t know that I even could just stand there at this point and not start putting together sentences in my head — nor will I try to; I love the work even if I look like a jerk on my phone all the time — but it’s the whole experience I’m there for, from dousing my head with water in the AWO building to traipsing around the back walking path from one side of the field to the other for whatever reason. Freak Valley excels at having places for you to go and just be. I look forward to being in one of them.

But I probably shouldn’t get ahead of myself. First is boarding, which is still two hours off, and then the flight. But the process has started, and being at Freak Valley 2025 is that much more real in my mind for that.

Thanks in advance if you keep up reading at all over the next few days heading into the weekend. I have premieres slated tomorrow and Friday because, well, remember that part about having the wrong week? Well I wasn’t kidding. Those will happen as well as the fest coverage into and over the weekend. I forgot to bring a hat and may have to buy one as a result, but even so, my expectations are high. I did remember sunglasses. And, you know, underwear and toothpaste and all that stuff.

That’s it for Freak Valley 2025 as regards lineup adds — a special moment in the cycle of any annual festival, as the complete shape of the thing is revealed for the first time to the people who’ll be attending — though the Germany-based festival set for June 19-21 on the gorgeous AWO grounds in Netphen apparently couldn’t resist sneaking a few names in under the wire. Seeing Bushfire added brought a smile to my face, as they’re something of a house band at Freak Valley that, in the now-several years I’ve been lucky enough to attend the festival, haven’t played. So much the better as they’ll do so with the occasion of a new album.

The Ocean are the last headliner to be announced Freak Valley‘s long-since-sold-out 2025 edition, and they join Motorpsycho and the reunited The Sword at the head of a significant bill bolstered by the classic boogie of Sacri Monti and London punkers Jools. I’ve never seen The Ocean, though I know Pelagic Records does a lot of killer, important work, so that will be an interesting first-time experience, and taking in the full bill from the poster below, it looks like it’s going ot be a wild couple days out in that field. Fingers crossed for good weather.

From social media:

Freaks, it’s time!

Our sold-out Freak Valley Festival 2025 is adding the last pieces to the puzzle, and it’s gonna be MASSIVE!

🔥 THE OCEAN – will be headlining Freak Valley Festival! Prepare for an epic sonic journey through crushing heaviness and deep atmospheres!

🔥 SACRI MONTI – Heavy-psych riff madness straight from California!

🔥 JOOLS – The UK punk collective bringing raw energy and rebellion! This one’s gonna be wild!

🔥 BUSHFIRE – Our longtime friends are bringing the heat to Freak Valley Festival with a Record Release Show!

Heavy, soulful, and packed with pure, unfiltered energy – their new album is ready to shake the valley, and you’ll be the first to experience it live!

The Valley is calling, and you’ve answered! Let’s make this one for the books.

See you in the pit! 🔥

https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://www.instagram.com/freakvalleyfestival/
http://www.rockfreaks.de/
http://www.freakvalley.de/

The Ocean, Holocene (2025)

I’ll admit it’s been a minute, but if you remember circa 2008/’09, Danish heavy rockers Highway Child released two banger records through Elektrohasch. I need to revisit, and will sometime in the next few Fridays, but a reunion adds to the appeal of the already badass and already long-since sold out Freak Valley 2025, which will also feature a stop from The Sword as they celebrate their reunion likely with a European summer tour, and new additions Battlesnake, Häxer and DZ Deathrays, who’ll bring some of that Australian punk energy last year have highlighted in Amyl and the Sniffers and C.O.F.F.I.N. — it’s a kick in the ass but one you need.

It’s a strong lineup, though, with Motorpsycho, Windhand, Dead Meadow, The Devil and the Almighty Blues, Early Moods, Kombynat Robotron, Travo and so on. Hell, Wedge are going to be there, as I also very much hope to be. I don’t have my flight booked yet, and I never call it 100 percent until I’m on the plane, but this is one I’m looking forward to seeing, and as always, thanks to Jens Heide and the Freak Valley crew for having me, as well as for once again having The Obelisk logo on the poster. Being in the company of Rockpalast and Rock Hard magazine there continues to be humbling.

Here’s the latest:

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2025 – BAND ANNOUNCEMENT!

Get ready, Freaks! This year’s lineup is bringing the heat with an exclusive Germany show from none other than THE SWORD – heavy riff lords returning to melt faces!

But that’s not all – Danish psych-rockers HIGHWAY CHILD reunite for an exclusive Germany show, a rare chance to witness their magic live!

Also joining the madness: the serpentine shredlords BATTLESNAKE, occult doom sorcerers HÄXER, and the high-voltage energy of Aussie punk-rockers DZ DEATHRAYS.

This one’s gonna be legendary. See you in the Valley!

https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://www.instagram.com/freakvalleyfestival/
http://www.rockfreaks.de/
http://www.freakvalley.de/

Highway Child, “Just Like You” live in Denmark, 2011

In the interest of honesty, I’ll admit to tearing up a bit when I saw My Sleeping Karma would be playing Freak Valley in 2025. That’s a band I’ve listened to for 20 years, whom I’ve never seen, and who will be making their return to the stage this weekend as they play their first show since the passing of drummer Steffen Weigand in June 2023. Already I had very much hoped to be at Freak Valley next year — it would be my fourth in a row and it is a continual honor to be invited — but I think this pushes it to what social media might classify as a ‘life event.’ To think I might in a mere matter of months be ‘marked safe’ from never having seen My Sleeping Karma. If you need me, I’ll be daydreaming about standing in that photo pit when the music starts.

That’s not to discount Dead Meadow or Motorpsycho, certainly, or Sarkh, The Polvos! or The Thing — the latter are new to me as of this writeup, despite relative geographic proximity — just excited on a personal level. Fingers crossed I get to be there — as a policy, I never believe it all the way until I’m on the plane — for all of it. I did write the short announcement below (emojis and final line added later) and it went up last week, but I’m behind on stuff with the holiday, so forgive. The fest is sold out, as usual.

Here’s the latest:

Freaks,

From the bottoms of our freaky hearts, thank you for once again making Freak Valley Festival completely sold out. 💯

We haven’t finished with 2025 yet, though. Today brings six new additions to the lineup:

⚡Motorpsycho⚡
⚡Dead Meadow⚡
⚡My Sleeping Karma⚡
⚡The Thing⚡
⚡The Polvos!⚡
⚡Sarkh⚡

Of course, Norway’s heavy prog legends MOTORPSYCHO need no introduction. They’ll probably have three or four new albums out by June.

DEAD MEADOW will be touring on their upcoming album ‘Voyager to Voyager,’ making an emotional return to the stage.

We consider MY SLEEPING KARMA family, and their return to Freak Valley is a rightly anticipated reason to celebrate. It is an honor to host them as they also return to the stage in 2025 for a busy and emotional time. ❤️

We also welcome hard-driving New York garage rockers THE THING, Chilean cosmic fuzzlaunchers THE POLVOS!, and atmospheric progressive metal instrumentalists SARKH to the lineup for next June.

We look forward to welcoming you too. More to come early in the New Year.

We wish you a Heavy Christmas and a Fuzzy New Year

https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://www.instagram.com/freakvalleyfestival/
http://www.rockfreaks.de/
http://www.freakvalley.de/

Dead Meadow, “The Space Between”

First names are out for Freak Valley 2025, and though I wouldn’t take the invitation for granted, it does warm my heart to think of The Devil and the Almighty Blues bringing their heavy preach to the AWO grounds in Netphen, standing on that stage, introduced by the esteemed Volker Fröhmer with a hearty “viel spaß!” or seeing the horn-laced shenanigans of Pendejo, the classic doom metal roll of Early Moods or the cosmic futurism of Kombynat Robotron, Travo who I never thought I’d ever see, ever, but whose record I very much dug, and Zig Zags, Wedge, Lurch and Scott Hepple and the Sun Band.

Richmond, Virginia’s Windhand — who just released a demo collection on Creep Purple called Songs From the Satan House and whose bassist, Parker Chandler (also Cough), quit the band about a week ago with some less than complimentary things to say about his experience — are the top name thus far on the bill, and aside from their needing new low end representation, it seems likely they’ll be at Freak Valley as part of a tour. Could Early Moods or Zig Zags join? It’s possible but not definite. Seems likely The Devil and the Almighty Blues will be on the road as well from their home in Norway, as they’ve also been confirmed for Desertfest London and Desertfest Berlin 2025, as well as Sonic Whip 2025, after playing Desertfest Oslo and others this year.

If they end up filling the dates between fests with club shows, that’s a fair amount of touring without a new record, so maybe Spring will bring news of a new The Devil and the Almighty Blues as well, or maybe those guys have just hit the point where they can show up for whatever reason and there’s a slot for them. If you’ve ever seen them live, that’s wholly justified.

Either way, a lot to like here in the variety, in the names themselves, and in the thought of taking in another wonderful weekend standing in the grass at Freak Valley, which is starting to feel an awful lot like a home when I get back each year. Hopefully that includes 2025 as well. Here’s the announcement, which I would usually have written, but I whiffed on because of the Quarterly Review. I’ll try and catch the next one if they’ll let me. Text and poster hit socials on Friday:

🌵 Get ready, Freaks! 🌵

The countdown to Freak Valley Festival 2025 has officially begun, and we’re beyond stoked to announce the first wave of bands set to blow your minds and melt your faces!

Brace yourselves for the crushing doom of Windhand, the blues-drenched heaviness of The Devil and the Almighty Blues, and the psychedelic thunder of Wucan! If that wasn’t enough, we’re cranking up the intensity with the raw power of. ¡Pendejo! , the crushing riffs of Early Moods, and the punk/metal chaos of Zig Zags.

But that’s just the beginning! Prepare to lose yourself in the cosmic grooves of Kombynat Robotron, get wild with the retro rock of Wedge, and let Travo, Lurch, and Scott Hepple and The Sun Band take you on mind-bending sonic journeys.

This is just the start, so get ready for more epic announcements soon. Mark your calendars, tune your ears, and prepare for the freakiest weekend of the year. Freak Valley 2025 is coming… and it’s going to be legendary!

See you in the valley! 🤘

Regular Tickets will first be available 14.October at Die Tintenpatrone in Siegen-Weidenau

15. October 18:00 / 6pm CET at online @ https://fvf.ticket.io/

Your Rock Freaks

https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://www.instagram.com/freakvalleyfestival/
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
http://www.rockfreaks.de/
http://www.freakvalley.de/

Wucan, Live at Deutschlandfunk (2023)