Some light shuffling in the final lineup of Grim Reefer Fest 2024 — which is set for April 27 at The Ottobar in Baltimore, Maryland — as Yatra step out and Weed Coughin step in alongside new adds Telekinetic Yeti and Left Lane Cruiser, who’ll head out together a couple weeks later on tour supporting John Garcia (info here), but the final shape of the bill is massive one way or the other. Weedeater are at the top, in the megastoned headliner position that Bongzilla filled last year (review here), and from the crushing grim realities of Foehammer through Black Lung‘s atmospheric progressivism, Telekinetic Yeti‘s dense riffy counterpoint, Leather Lung‘s party sludge and house-band Haze Mage, you can get sense of some of how the day might flow. With High Leaf, Weed Coughin, Left Lane Cruiser and Bleak Shore completing the 10-band roster, it is absolutely packed.

But so was last year, and you know, I had time to drive south from NJ for the three-plus hours to Baltimore and still get to The Ottobar before the bands started at 3PM, and after crashing out for the night with local friends, I headed home early the next morning before any likely traffic. Easy peasy. The all-dayer — a single-day festival — isn’t something you see all the time in the US, but with a ticket at $40 you’re literally paying $4 per band you’ll get to see and when it’s done, you still have a weekend day to get yourself back to wherever you need to be. The vibe at Grim Reefer Fest was casual as one would hope, and if it sounds like I’m trying to figure a way to make the trip again even though I’ll have just gotten back from other travels earlier that same week, you’re absolutely right, I am.

With good reason, as you can see:

The full lineup for GRF 2024 is here! Join us as we return to the legendary Ottobar in Baltimore Maryland with some of the best heavy bands around including Weedeater, Telekinetic Yeti, BLACK LUNG, Left Lane Cruiser, Haze Mage, and more!

Once again, the amazing Golden Grillz food truck will be parked outside all day and night to take care of all of your munchie needs!

Tickets are now available here: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/62386586

Poster by John DeCampos aka @ghost_bat_

Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/4LgCZ1iCo

https://www.facebook.com/GrimReeferFest
https://www.instagram.com/grimreeferfest/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3BL9lkMWbIC2qaqWZ4LH8g
https://www.grimreeferfest.com/

Weed Coughin, Other Worldly (2022)

I was lucky enough to attend the April 2023 edition of the Baltimorean all-dayer Grim Reefer Fest (review here), which featured Bongzilla as headliners and the likes of Sun Voyager and Holy Fingers, among others. Returning from last year’s bill for 2024 are Haze Mage, who are involved in organizing the fest — fair’s fair — and that’s it so far, though there are still two bands TBA, which tells me there’s probably a tour waiting to be announced or something like that. Sometimes it’s logistics as much as teasing with these lineup reveals.

But with the undebatable Weedeater in the top spot for 2024 backed by the atmospheric heavy rock of Black Lung, Yatra‘s we’re-the-death-metal-band-the-heavyheads-like extremity and Leather Lung‘s sludge metal party, along with High Leaf coming down from Philly, Foehammer up from VA and Bleak Shore, who just played their first show this past December, the day seems pretty packed even before you get to the two TBAs. It’ll be a fun one if you’re in the neighborhood on April 27, which you might consider being.

The announcement came down the PR wire thusly:

This April we return to the legendary Ottobar in Baltimore on Saturday April 27th for our 5th annual fest, bringing a very full day of the dankest & heaviest riffs around!

This year’s lineup includes:
Weedeater
Black Lung
Haze Mage
Yatra
Leather Lung
High Leaf
Foehammer
Bleak Shore

Plus we’ve got a couple more to still announce! Stay tuned!

Once again, the amazing Golden Grillz food truck will be parked outside all day and night to take care of all of your munchie needs!

Tickets are now available here: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/62386586

Early birds get your tickets now! Prices for tickets go up after March 1st!
More details at GrimReeferFest.com

Poster by John DeCampos aka @ghost_bat_

Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/4LgCZ1iCo

https://www.facebook.com/GrimReeferFest
https://www.instagram.com/grimreeferfest/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3BL9lkMWbIC2qaqWZ4LH8g
https://www.grimreeferfest.com/

Sun Voyager, Live at Grim Reefer Fest 2023