If you’re looking for insight into the Psycho Las Vegas 2021 lineup, I have precious little to offer. What started out being accused of being an American answer to Roadburn has become a spectacle unto itself, operating at a scale that’s more in competition with the likes of a heavy metal Riot Fest or Coachella, and has likewise developed a community of its own. As for what catches my eye here, Cephalic Carnage for sure, as well as a few carryovers from what would’ve been 2020, and the likes of The Sword, who I guess are back together now? Fair enough. Oh, and the GZA, for good measure. Katatonia and Mercyful Fate and Elder and a couple others aren’t making the trip, but there’s certainly plenty here to occupy your weekend. If the Vegas-in-August heat don’t melt your brains, the riffs surely will.

What’s a guy gotta do to get invited to do a DJ set at Psycho Las Vegas? I’m gonna send Nate Carson an email and see if he’s got any tips.

Ty Segall next to Satyricon. Fatso Jetson and Profanatica. Immolation and Dengue Fever. The Flaming Lips and Cannibal Corpse. If you’re asking for it to make sense, you’re doing Psycho wrong. This is an event that defines its own parameters.

Approach thusly:

PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2021 Lineup

America’s rock n’ roll bacchanal returns to Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino August 20th through August 22nd, with another resort-wide casino takeover unlike any of its kind.

Now approaching its fifth year in the swirling neon decadence of Las Vegas, PSYCHO will feature over seventy artists across four stages including the world-class Events Center, the iconic House Of Blues, Mandalay Bay Beach, and the vintage Vegas-style Rhythm & Riffs Lounge in the center of the casino floor.

PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2021 will continue to redefine America’s conception of what a festival can be.

Psycho Swim “The Official Psycho Las Vegas Pre-Party”
Old Man Gloom, Bongzilla, Death Valley Girls, Polyrhythmics, The Skull, Blackwater Holylight, Here Lies Man, DJ Scott Seltzer

PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2021 Lineup:
Emperor, GZA, Mayhem, Obituary, Ty Segall, Satyricon, Watain, Paul Cauthen, The Sword, Cephalic Carnage, Health, The Bridge City Sinners, MGLA, Intronaut, Exhorder, Pinback, King Dude, Khemmis, Mothership, Toke, Lord Buffalo, Psychlona, Claude Fontaine, Hippie Death Cult, Foie Gras, ALMS, Mother Mercury, DJ Ethan MCCarthy, DJ Scott Seltzer, DJ Nate Carson, DJ Painkiller, Danzig, The Flaming Lips, Thievery Corporation, Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Red Fang, Cursive, Pig Destroyer, Poison the Well, Eyehategod, Primitive Man, Death by Stereo, Curl Up & Die, Boysetsfire, Fatso Jetson, Profanatica, Adamantium, Silvertomb, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Withered, Flavor Crystal, Highlands, Vaelmyst, Black Sabbitch, The Tim Dillon Comedy Hour, Down, Exodus, High on Fire, Osees, Amigo the Devil, Drab Majesty, Crippled Black Phoenix, Weedeater, Full of Hell, Midnight, Repulsion, Cult of Fire, Zola Jesus, Tsol, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Guantanamo Baywatch, Immolation, Dengue Fever, Creeping Death, Kanga, Warish, Glacial Tomb, Relaxer, Vitriol, DJ Scott Seltzer, “Ask Doc” Q&A with Doc Mcghee

https://www.facebook.com/events/2513255765662644/
http://www.vivapsycho.com
http://www.facebook.com/psychoLasVegas
http://www.instagram.com/psycholasvegas

Psycho Las Vegas 2019 aftermovie

Here’s the deal — last week or somewhere thereabouts, someone on Twitter was bitching about rock music being dead and blah blah the usual good music doesn’t come to me in the ways it did when I was 12 and therefore I think it’s irrelevant. The usual. Gimme Metal was mentioned as an outlet delivering good heavy to those who care enough to invest the minimal effort of clicking ‘listen.’ Dude was all “well if they played Trouble I’d listen” and Gimme rightly responded with a list of DJs who might be on board for such a thing. I was one of them.

Brought into the conversation I said hell yes I’d play Trouble. And as it happens I’ve gone ahead to play them twice, at the start of the show, and then follow it up with a bunch of other killer doom, old, newer and newer still, before circling back on the mother of them all, Black Fucking Sabbath, because when my name is brought into a random Twitter conversation and a challenge is issued, you bet your ass I’m going overboard. So pretty much the first hour of the show is doomed as all get-out. Trouble even through The Quill, who I thought were a good match for Dehumanizer-era Sabbath with that track from their new record.

Sometimes you gotta step up. Or something. I don’t know. I was just happen to have something to talk about in the voice breaks other than my kid or “thanks for listening.”

By the way, thanks for listening and/or reading. As always, I hope you enjoy.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at http://gimmemetal.com

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 04.16.21

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is April 30 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Metal website

The Obelisk on Thee Facebooks

Portland, Oregon’s Hippie Death Cult will release their second album, Circle of Days, May 21 through Heavy Psych Sounds. Comprised of five songs, it runs a tidy 37 minutes and uses its time to unfold a melting pot of an aesthetic, bringing together ideas born of classic heavy rock and roll, psychedelia, cult rock and outlying elements like post-rock drift (in the bass of the title-track, of all places) and organic-ized Ministry-style gallop/echo vocals — quick but there — on “Hornet Party” (premiering below), and a creeping Americana paranoia in closer “Eye in the Sky.” After the four-piece’s impressive 2019 debut, 111 (review here), they push past genre lines and are more atmospheric, dynamic and, from the opening organ-style keys of “Red Meat Tricks,” able to pursue dramatic ideas and vibes without falling into a trap of sounding like a silly put-on. Guitarist Eddie Brnabic, vocalist/keyboardist Ben Jackson (also Hundred Eyes, ex-Sioux), bassist Laura Phillips and drummer Ryan Moore (ex-Nether Regions), riding solid grooves into esoteric territories varied of spirit but unified by the fullness of the underlying performance. These songs still sound like there are humans playing them, in other words.

What comes through clearest, however, is that the humans in question are pushing themselves on the level of craft. “Red Meat Tricks,” “Hornet Party” and “Walk Within” are the first half of the LP, and the latter seems to hint toward Annie Lennox‘s “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” in its opening guitar line but follows its own course led by piano and a duel vocal from Jackson and Phillips. Despite the clearly intentional breaking of Circle of Days into vinyl-ready form, putting the just-under-10-minute title-track and closer “Eye in the Sky” together in semi-monolithic fashion on side B, “Walk Within” makes a telling centerpiece in terms of the band’s priority toward melody and a move past some of the more pointedly grunge-derived aspects of their debut. In literal terms of the tracklisting, they are putting their progression at the center of the record for all to behold, following the assuring fuzzy roll of “Red Meat Tricks” and the outbound melding and toying with tempo of “Hornet Party” — not to mention the shred later — with something that pushes them to places in sound they haven’t yet been while also setting up the final pair of songs with its soft lead-out.

“Circle of Days” starts out relatively straightforward, but at 9:55 there’s plenty of room to flesh out and it takes advantage. Patient in its execution and solid in its construction, the immediate impression is that Hippie Death Cult have a plan, and they do. A scream and some muted crashes lead toward a pre-chorus making subtle use of janga-janga-janga stoner riffing before the title-line is finally delivered, giving the album its signature hook before rolling back to the verse. After cycling through again, they slow it down to back a guitar solo with organ flourish, and that’s how they end it, with the guitar reaching past the song and cutting before the fade-in ambience of “Eye in the Sky.” Like “Hornet Party,” the feel in its lyrics is a chronicle of our times, and as heavy rock overcomes its stigma against social critique — or at least acknowledgement in more than monster-laced metaphor — Jackson‘s vocals are a worthy method of delivery for the band’s ideas. “Eye in the Sky” is less readily verse/chorus than the song before it, but complements “Walk Within” in its atmosphere — even with drums — and in its build over most of its first half, it helps draw the diverse notions on which the album is based into a unified focus. Riffs are still there, and might be the foundation from which the song is based, but like the bulk of Circle of Days, “Eye in the Sky” spreads out in multiple directions, capping with matched-note leads from the keys and guitar and the residual echoes of a final crash.

Among its accomplishments of songwriting and style, Circle of Days establishes Hippie Death Cult as a more complex band on the whole. The melodic breadth they demonstrate, the periodic intensity of rhythm and the manner in which that’s offset by the overarching flow of the pieces that make up the entirety of the album speaks to their engaging with their material at its conceptual heart, thinking not only about what they’re saying in the bigger picture, but the instrumental and verbal language alike with which they’re saying it. For anyone who dug 111 or who might be encountering them for the first time with these tracks, this is invariably good news. They have added to, rather than subtracted from, their approach.

Circle of Days is up for preorder now ahead of the already-noted May 21 release. You’ll find those links under the player below, where you can hear “Hornet Party” premiering, and read some comment from Brnabic about the song.

Please enjoy:

Hippie Death Cult, “Hornet Party” official track premiere

Eddie Brnabic on “Hornet Party”:

“Choosing singles to premiere for this new album has been a bit of a challenge for us. Each song (as well as each song on the Doom Sessions split) feels really unique from one another and its tough to say that one really defines the album more than another. I kind of view us as more of an album band rather than a singles band. That being said, “Hornet Party” is the second song on the record following “Red Meat Tricks” so we are going chronologically for this one. I think it might be the shortest song on the album and it’s a total rager both musically and lyrically. It’s probably the most physically demanding song for each of us to perform on the album, but it’s our way of kind of holding up some sort of artistic mirror to the current climate that we live in. Extreme times call for extreme art, so…”

HORNET PARTY is the second single taken from the Hippie Death Cult brand new album Circle Of Days. The release will see the light May 21st via Heavy Psych Sounds.

GRAB YOUR COPY HERE:
https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS170?

USA SHOP:
https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop-usa.htm

HIPPIE DEATH CULT is
Ryan Moore – Drums
Ben Jackson – Vocals/Keys
Eddie Brnabic – Guitar
Laura Phillips – Bass

Hippie Death Cult, Circle of Days (2021)

Hippie Death Cult on Bandcamp

Hippie Death Cult on Instagram

Hippie Death Cult on Thee Facebooks

Hippie Death Cult on Soundcloud

Hippie Death Cult website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds on Instagram

Heavy Psych Sounds on Thee Facebooks

I was putting the show together the other day — like everything else in the last two weeks, I had to push off doing so owing to family stuff — and when I was picking tracks, it just kind of occurred to me that I might as well do a whole show of Heavy Psych Sounds stuff. It was like, “Oh, I’ll play Bongzilla and those new Hippie Death Cult and Acid’s Trip tracks,” and then it was “Well I haven’t played any of the new Sonic Flower yet and that’s Tatsu from Church of Misery so that’s cool,” and then from there filling out an entire two hours’ worth of Heavy Psych Sounds stuff was shockingly easy.

New 16, 1782, Cosmic Reaper, Acid Mammoth, on and on, and some other awesome stuff that’s come out in the last couple years, and two hours later, it still only barely scratches the surface of what the Italian label has done. To wit, the catalog reissues from Doze and Nebula and Brant Bjork go unrepresented here. As does the last Yawning Man or the upcoming Yawning Sons, both of which I’ve played recently on the show. But yeah, there’s so much stuff to go through, I simply didn’t have room for it all, especially knowing that I wanted to end with the 19-minute track from Orgöne because that record is so weird and out there even in comparison to other stuff the label does.

I talk a bit here, mostly just to be like, “Duh that was awesome” about one song or another. Despite my verbal bumbling and constant “uh”-ness, I hope you enjoy the show.

Thanks for listening and/or reading.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at http://gimmemetal.com

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 03.19.21

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is April 2 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Metal website

The Obelisk on Thee Facebooks

Okay. So what we know from this is that chances are that tomorrow, which is Thursday, we’re going to get new audio and preorders from Acid’s Trip, who’ll be making their debut on Heavy Psych Sounds sometime this Spring — maybe May? I don’t know. But that’ll happen, and cool for the Swedish new-ish-comers, who feature in their ranks former Honeymoon Disease guitarist Acid. I guess it’s her trip. Fair enough.

Next week will bring new audio from Hippie Death Cult too, and album preorders as well. The Oregonians are due a follow-up for their 2019 debut, 111 (review here), and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that record was going to be reissued as well. Cursed Tongue went through multiple pressings and I can’t imagine Heavy Psych Sounds wouldn’t do likewise.

So there you go.

You notice lately how it’s A LOT of Heavy Psych Sounds and Ripple Music? That’s not coincidence. That’s top Euro and US provider, right there.

More to come. From the PR wire:

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS – Hippie Death Cult & Acid’s Trip

Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking is really proud to present TWO NEW BANDs signing HIPPIE DEATH CULT & ACID’S TRIP

*** HIPPIE DEATH CULT ***

We’re incredibly stoked and honored to announce that US heavy rockerz HIPPIE DEATH CULT are now members of the HPS family !!

NEW ALBUM PRESALE + FIRST TRACK PREMIERE and more surprises STARTS: MARCH 9th

SAYS THE BAND: “We have a lot of respect for what Gabe and HPS have accomplished over the years and are excited and honored to be collaborating on these releases with them. We feel pretty confident that this partnership will propel us both to new heights.”

BIOGRAPHY

Hippie Death Cult has proven to be one of the more exciting hard rock bands to surface in recent years, They have earned a stellar reputation both for live performance and recorded material from fans and critics alike. The Portland, Oregon based quartet consists of members – Eddie Brnabic, Ben Jackson, Ryan Moore and Laura Phillips. They began writing and performing in early 2018, but the roots of HDC go much deeper. A stream of musical consciousness swept over guitarist Eddie Brnabic inspiring him to create the band. It would take a few lineup attempts and a little luck to bring the right members together. Laura Phillips was the first to help solidify the vision. A veteran of the Portland music scene she not only had the skills necessary to compliment Eddie’s sound but she also brought with her drummer Ryan Moore. Ben Jackson was added to the trio and brought to the music his rich voice, textured keyboards and deep lyricism. With a solid lineup in place, they set out with fierce dedication to rehearse, record and perform a string of successful live shows securing a deal with Cursed Tongue Records, who released their debut album “111” in 2019.

Hippie Death Cult is a hard rock band. Shades of Black Sabbath, The Alice Cooper Band, Blizzard Of Ozz, Megadeth, and Soundgarden among others can be traced through their music. At their core they are true to these roots while being driven to push new ideas. The vibe is both timeless and immediately fresh.

2020 was a productive year for HDC. They completed material for Magnetic Eye Records – “Best Of Black Sabbath Compilation”, music for the independent film “All Gone Wrong”, and signed a new record deal with Heavy Psych Sounds Records

HIPPIE DEATH CULT is
Ryan Moore – Drums
Ben Jackson – Vocals/Keys
Eddie Brnabic – Guitar
Laura Phillips – Bass

*** ACID’S TRIP ***

And here we go with another band signing. The swedish rocknrollerz ACID’S TRIP !!!

NEW ALBUM PRESALE + FIRST TRACK PREMIERE STARTS: MARCH 4th

SAYS THE BAND: “Acid’s Trip is heavily psyched to sign a record deal with HPS. We believe we will create great things together. Let the hard rockin’ commence!”

BIOGRAPHY

Acid’s Trip from Gothenburg was formed in late 2018 by Acid, former guitarist of Honeymoon Disease, with a clear vision of performing high speed rock’n’roll. With blasting guitar riffs, punchy melodies and a shitload of attitude the band delivers full tilt boogie action on vinyl & live on stage!

With two shreddin’ guitarists in the front and a dynamite rhythm section, this power house is running over the garage rock scene – with rapid electric guitars, groovy riffs and chopper culture! The music is best described as a hard rock action mix of the speedy Mc5, a touch of Thin Lizzy and Lynyrd Skynyrd soul. The quartet has already proven themselves on tour in Europe and the band blew the roof at the legendary “Flanders Chopper Bash” while the success became a fact.

The bands 12″ vinyl “Rock’n’Roll Speedball” sold out quickly and the awaited debut album “Strings of Soul” will be released soon on Heavy Psych Sounds Records! The tracks come with the raw power of furious motor engines and Gothenburg groove. With a growing fanbase all around Europe and the states Acid’s Trip is now hittin’ the charts to reclaim the rockin’ vibes and fill your heads with groovy rock’n’roll!

ACID’S TRIP is:
Acid – Guitar/Vocals
Mike – Guitar/Vocals
Rockard – Drums
Lucas – Bass

https://hippiedeathcult.bandcamp.com/
https://instagram.com/hippiedeathcultband/
https://www.facebook.com/hippiedeathcultband/
https://soundcloud.com/hippie-death-cult
https://www.hippiedeathcultband.com/

https://www.facebook.com/acidstripband/
https://www.instagram.com/acidstrip_official/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC92xnulnrA_t1E_zQGPifFg
https://acidstrip.com/

heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/

Hippie Death Cult, 111 (2019)

Acid’s Trip, “Trippin’ Balls” official video

Plenty of this lineup looks familiar from what Psycho Las Vegas would’ve been in 2020, and duh, that’s the idea. You’ve still got Danzig doing Lucifuge, still got At the Gates and Katatonia and Emperor and Mercyful Fate. Still got the possibility that if I go, I can hang out after Pinback‘s set and bother Rob Crow about how badly he needs to do another Goblin Cock record. Wino, Fatso Jetson, Elder and Blackwater Holylight playing the pool party, six or seven curveball emo bands — all that fun stuff. Spectacle unmatched in heavy music, set in the Planet Earth’s official home for damned souls. It’s as perfect as it is incongruous.

Makes me wonder what Crowbar have going on next August.

But what you probably want to know is whether your ticket if you had one for 2020 is still good for 2021. Yes.

Behold:

Psycho Entertainment presents Psycho Las Vegas 2021

Psycho Las Vegas has been rescheduled to August 20th – 22nd, 2021. Psycho Swim has been rescheduled to August 19th, 2021. If you already purchased a pass for either event and want to attend in 2021, there is nothing you need to do – your passes will automatically be valid for the new dates.

80 of the 83 bands originally booked on the lineup are returning in 2021. The bands who are not joining us next year are Ty Segall, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Crowbar.

Danzig, Mercyful Fate, Emperor, The Flaming Lips, Blue Oyster Cult, Down, Mayhem, Satyricon, Obituary, Warpaint, Blonde Redhead, HEALTH, Watain, Ulver, Katatonia, At the Gates, Poison The Well, Paul Cauthen, Amigo The Devil, Exhorder, Wolves in the Throne Room, Thursday, Pinback, Zola Jesus, Drab Majesty, Boris, Eyehategood, Repulsion, Immolation, Midnight, MGLA, Windhand, Cursive, Tsol, King Dude, Pig Destroyer, Brutus, Profanatica, Lower Dens, Cult of Fire, Intronaut, boysetsfire, Death by Stereo, Curl Up and Die, Adamantium, This Will Destroy You, Khemmis, Mothership, Guantanamo Baywatch, Dengue Fever, Kaelan Mikla, Black Joe Lewis, Fatso Jetson, Wino, Creeping Death, Mephistofeles, Frankie and The Witch Fingers, Toke, Foie Gras, Flavor Crystals, Silvertomb, Lord Buffalo, Warish, Alms, Bombers, Glacial Tomb, Relaxer, Black Sabbitch, Hippie Death Cult, Vaelmyst, Mother Mercury, Two Minutes to Late Night

America’s rock n’ roll bacchanal returns to Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino August 20th through August 22th, with another resort-wide casino takeover unlike any of its kind. Now approaching its fifth year in the swirling neon decadence of Las Vegas, PSYCHO will feature over seventy artists across four stages including the world-class Events Center, the iconic House Of Blues, Mandalay Bay Beach, and the vintage Vegas-style Rhythm & Riffs Lounge in the center of the casino floor. PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2021 will continue to redefine America’s conception of what a festival can be.

Psycho Entertainment presents Psycho Swim “The Official Psycho Las Vegas Pre-Party”

Old Man Gloom, Elder, Polyrhythmics, Death Valley Girls, The Skull, Blackwater Holylight, Here Lies Man, DJ Scott Seltzer

America’s rock n’ roll pool party returns to DAYLIGHT Beach Club on August 19th for the second annual PSYCHO SWIM. This official all-day pre-party celebrates the best of previous PSYCHO LAS VEGAS lineups with performances from a host of festival alumni as well as new PSYCHO additions.

DAYLIGHT Beach Club is nestled next to the Mandalay Bay Resort And Casino and features a 4400-square-foot main pool, daybeds, cabanas, and bungalows, with an elevated stage offering unobstructed, up-close-and-personal views of artist performances.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2513255765662644/
http://www.vivapsycho.com
http://www.facebook.com/psychoLasVegas
http://www.instagram.com/psycholasvegas

A Message from Psycho Las Vegas

Heading out from their home base in Portland, Oregon, heavy rockers Hippie Death Cult will do a weekender this month headed into Washington for a couple dates that will serve as a precursor to broader ranging as Spring takes hold. They’re booked on consecutive April nights at Electric Highway Fest and Rocky Mountain Riff Fest in Calgary and Montana, respectively, and they’ll continue to peruse the West Coast later in May en route to Stoned and Dusted in Joshua Tree while they and the rest of the universe await the advent of 2020’s Psycho Las Vegas, which is sure to be the endtimes madness you and I and everyone we know have been craving all along. Certainly nice to seeing them do more than twiddle their thumbs until that arrives, however, as their Cursed Tongue Records-issued debut, 111 (review here), was both well received and a cause worthy of supporting.

So get out there, you crazy kids, and do that rock and roll thing. I think it’s gonna be big. Like Hula-Hoops big.

PR wire me ASAP:

Portland Oregon’s heavy Rock N’ Roll outfit Hippie Death Cult have announced upcoming tour dates in western US and Canada for this spring and summer in support of their debut record “111” (Cursed Tongue Records).

As part of the trek, the band will be appearing at Calgary, Alberta’s The Electric Highway Festival, The Rocky Mountain Riff Fest in Kalispell, Montana, Stoned And Dusted in the Mojave Desert and Psycho Las Vegas 2020 this summer. The band will be joined by an array of local and touring bands city to city. More information regarding each line up will surface in the coming weeks and months.

Though there is no official release information at this time, the group has confirmed that they will be entering the studio intermittently between these dates to record a follow up to “111”. They have also confirmed that they will be peppering in new material during their live sets throughout the tour.

Guitarist Eddie Brnabic comments on the new music:

“We are extremely excited about this new material. Some of it is heavier and faster, some of it is more mellow and trippy … it’s definitely us, but it doesn’t sound like anything on “111”. I hope everyone else will dig it as much as we do. There’s certainly a lot of love and passion going into it and I personally couldn’t be happier with how the band is maturing and evolving together”

3.19 Chehalis, WA @ McFiler’s
3.20 Seattle WA @ Substation
3.21 Portland, OR @ High Water Mark
3.22 Eugene, OR @ Sessions
4.5 Portland, OR @ Lola’s Room w/King Buffalo
4.15 Spokane, WA @ Big Dipper
4.16 Missoula, MT @ The Badlander
4.17 Calgary, AB @ Royal Canadian Legion Branch 1 (Electric Highway Fest)
4.18 Kalispell, MT @ Eagles 234 (Rocky Mountain Riff Fest)
4.30 Seattle, WA @ El Corazón
5.1 Vancouver, BC @ East Van Live
5.2 Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
5.8 Reno, NV @ Jub Jub’s
5.9 Oakland, CA @ Elbo Room w/ Psychic Hit
5.10 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
5.21 Las Vegas, NV @ Count’s Vamp’d
5.22 Anaheim, CA @ Doll Hut
5.23 San Diego, CA @ Pour House
5.24 Joshua Tree, CA @ Stoned & Dusted Fest
8.7 Portland, OR @ Star Theater w/ Elder
8.14 Las Vegas, NV @ Psycho Las Vegas 2020

Poster art by Eddie Brnabic
Photo Credit : Mick Olorsky

Hippie Death Cult is:
Eddie Brnabic – Guitar
Laura Phillips – Bass
Ryan Moore – Drums
Ben Jackson – Vocals & Keys

https://hippiedeathcult.bandcamp.com/
https://instagram.com/hippiedeathcultband/
https://www.facebook.com/hippiedeathcultband/
https://soundcloud.com/hippie-death-cult
https://www.hippiedeathcultband.com/
http://cursedtonguerecords.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CursedTongueRecords
https://www.instagram.com/cursedtonguerecords

Hippie Death Cult, “Treehugger” official video

Last time, when The Electric Highway 2020 called out its preliminary lineup, I decided to roll with calling it the inaugural-ish edition of the Calgary-based festival, as it’s grown out of the 420 Music & Arts Festival of years prior, but still, there’s no question they’re doing it up for the occasion of the new name and presentation. Poster art by none other than David Paul Seymour has been unveiled, Mothership have joined on with Sasquatch, Wo Fat and Duel near the top of a Texas-dominant lineup — Sasquatch being the outlier geographically — and a pre-show has been announced with Seattle’s Year of the Cobra crossing the border to headline. These updates would seem to complete the proceedings as they’ll proceed, but of course April’s still a couple months out and you know, subject to change and all that. Still, it looks like a pretty badass time if you can make it.

Info came down the PR wire:

Festival Line-Up Announced! All Roads Lead To The Electric Highway In Calgary, AB, Canada!

Buckle up for The Electric Highway Festival, two days of killer bands, rad artists and fuzzy vibes April 17 & 18, 2020 at the historic Royal Canadian Legion #1 in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The Electric Highway Festival has completed its lineup with the addition of the mighty Mothership from Dallas, Texas. The Supersonic Intergalactic Heavy Rock trio’s goal from the beginning has been to carry on the tradition of the classic rock style of the ’70s, updated and amped up for the modern-day. Mothership have created a unique sound that satisfies like a steaming hot stew of UFO and Iron Maiden, blended with the southern swagger of Molly Hatchet and ZZ Top, paired with a deadly chalice of Black Sabbath. Do not miss this chance to hop on board and join Mothership as they tear across the Universal Cosmos!

The Electric Highway Festival has also added Vancouver’s Empress to the lineup. Both Mothership and Empress will be performing at the festival on Saturday, April 18, 2020. That brings the total number of bands performing during the festival to 22.

The Electric Highway Festival is excited to release its official artwork created by the renowned dark surreal artist David Paul Seymour. David Paul Seymour is an internationally known illustrator based in Minneapolis, MN who has created artwork for Municipal Waste, Conan, Mastodon as well as Shadow Weaver and Wo Fat who are both performing at The Electric Highway Festival in 2020. David Paul Seymour is also a driving force behind The Planet of Doom, an Animated Tale of Metal and Art and the creator of the Kumasan comic series.

The rest of the 2020 lineup brings an electric offering of North American bands featuring headliners Sasquatch and Wo Fat laying down their brand of fuzzy, kick-ass Desert Rock & Heavy Psych. Duel from Austin, Texas will be playing Canada for the 1st time at The Electric Highway Festival along with Hippie Death Cult & LáGoon both from Portland, Oregon. Festival favorites La Chinga return from Vancouver for their 4th appearance and Calgary’s Gone Cosmic & Buzzard from Victoria, BC are just a few more of the wicked bands that will be playing on two stages over the two days of The Electric Highway Festival, the full lineup below.

The Electric Highway Official Lineup:
Sasquatch (Los Angeles, CA)
Wo Fat (Dallas, TX)
Mothership (Dallas, TX)
Duel (Austin, TX)
La Chinga (Vancouver, BC)
Gone Cosmic (Calgary, AB)
Hippie Death Cult (Portland, OR)
LáGoon (Portland, OR)
Buzzard (Victoria, BC)
Chunkasaurus (Victoria, BC)
Bazaraba (Calgary, AB)
Shadow Weaver (Calgary, AB)
Father Moon (Calgary, AB)
Set & Stoned (Crossfield, AB)
Row of Giants (Calgary, AB)
Hemptress (Kamloops, BC)
Pink Cocoon (Montreal, QC)
The Sleeping Legion (Winnipeg, MB)
The Basement Paintings (Saskatoon, SK)
Empress (Vancouver, BC)
Locutus (Calgary, AB)
The Worst (Calgary, AB)

The Electric Highway Festival is also getting the whole thing started with a Kick-Off Party on Thursday, April 16th, 2020 at The Palomino Smokehouse & Social Club. This killer line up features Seattle powerhouse psychedelic doom duo Year of the Cobra as they return to Calgary. They will be joined by Calgary’s Bloated Pig, Outlaws of Ravenhurst, and newcomers Falcotron along with Red Deer’s Smoothsayer.

2 Day Festival Pass holders can pick up their wristbands a day early at The Electric Highway Festival Kick-Off Party. This event will be free for festival pass holders or $13 at the door for non-pass holders. (Space is limited so make sure to get their early!) Pre-order merch sales will also be available for pick up at this event too. Beat the lineup and come for some bands, beer & BBQ at the Pal!

The Electric Highway 2020 —> www.facebook.com/events/1346173098884903/
The Electric Highway Kickoff Party—> www.facebook.com/events/809469542830729/
The Electric Highway Pinball Tournament —> www.facebook.com/events/2408742202725992/
The Electric Highway Arts Expo & Market —> www.facebook.com/events/476224713238363/

“All Roads Lead to the Electric Highway”

www.facebook.com/ElectricHighwayFestival/
www.instagram.com/TheElectricHighway
www.TheElectricHighway.ca