Well, having Howling Giant sure makes sense if you’re a heavyfest of any sort taking place anywhere at anytime, anyhow, in 2026, considering they just put out one of 2025’s best records in their third album, Crucible & Ruin (review here). It doesn’t seem unreasonable given their proclivity for touring to think they’ll spend much of the year on the road, but if you’re going to see them — and hopefully you are for your own sake, let alone their merch sales — there’s a lot to be said for Mojave Experience as a context. In addition to adding Howling Giant and Arthur Seay and the Riff Killers, the festival has begun to discuss some of the desert-based visual artists it’s bringing on board to add to the experience — you know, vibes — and thereby giving an even fuller picture of what to expect for March 20-21 next year.

From the word ‘go,’ I haven’t seen anything come down the wire from Mojave Experience that’s made me think it’ll be anything other than rad. Bringing in Arthur Seay and the Riff Killers — which with Collyn McCoy on bass and Mike Cancino on drums is three-quarters of the modern Unida lineup, plus vocalist Michael Keith where Mark Sunshine might otherwise be — is another in the steady line of acts from the Californian desert and representing it stylistically as well as geographically. Should it become an annual thing, I don’t know that that’s something they’ll be able to do every year, or you’d end up with the same bands/players all the time (maybe that’s okay too, to some degree?), but for a first time out, it feels appropriate. One wouldn’t doubt it with Patrick Brink (Volume) handling the curation, but clearly Mojave Experience has an idea of what they’re trying to build.

From social media:

HOWLING GIANT

From the heart of Nashville’s underground, Howling Giant conjures the kind of sound that feels born in the space between galaxies and desert dunes. Their shows are an eruption of heavy psychedelia and cosmic groove — riffs that roll like thunder across alien horizons, harmonies that shimmer like heat over asphalt. It’s music for the seekers and the stargazers, anchored in raw musicianship and lifted by an unmistakable sense of adventure.

Onstage, Howling Giant transforms volume into vision. Each performance is a living storm: swirling dual guitars, layered vocals that drift and collide through the mix, and rhythmic waves that pull the crowd into orbit. The energy feels almost magnetic — a shared current between band and audience, surging higher with every groove. You don’t just hear the band; you enter their world, a heady fusion of precision, power, and pure joy.

In the Mojave, their sound finds a natural home. Like the desert itself, Howling Giant is vast, unpredictable, and alive with contrast — light and shadow, gravity and flight. They channel the same elemental pulse that has always fueled desert art and sound: a search for meaning in the endless expanse, and a refusal to settle for the ordinary.

ARTHUR SEAY & THE RIFF KILLERS

Born straight from the dust and distortion of the desert, Arthur Seay & The Riff Killers hit like a sandstorm — heavy, unfiltered, and impossible to ignore. Led by Arthur Seay, the guitar-slinging architect behind Unida and House of Broken Promises, the band delivers the kind of riff-driven power that defines desert rock at its core. Every note is raw voltage, every groove a reflection of the land that shaped it — fierce, wide-open, and full of fire.

When the Riff Killers take the stage, it’s less a performance than a transmission from the desert itself — molten groove and sonic heat radiating from every chord. Seay’s guitar cuts through like sunlight on steel, Mike Cancino’s drumming lands with canyon-sized impact, and Collyn McCoy’s bass work ties it all together — technically sharp yet endlessly grooving, like machinery built from sand and sweat. At the mic, Michael Keith brings soul and grit in equal measure, grounding the chaos in something human and alive. Together, they turn the stage into a storm front — where heaviness meets clarity, and the desert’s pulse beats through every note.

This is desert rock in its most vital form — not nostalgia, but a living pulse that still burns hotter than ever. Arthur Seay & The Riff Killers carry the spirit of the pioneers who built this scene, but with an urgency that feels completely now. They don’t chase trends. They chase the moment — loud, unapologetic, and alive under the desert sky.

Come ready. Come raw. The Mojave Experience isn’t here to entertain you — it’s here to change you.

See you March 20 & 21.

Next Ticket Bundle, Sun Chaser, goes on sale Friday at 8am. Quantities are limited and they won’t last. mojaveexperience.net

https://www.mojaveexperience.net
https://instagram.com/mojave_experience_festival
https://www.facebook.com/mojave.experience.festival/

Howling Giant, Crucible & Ruin (2025)

House of Broken Promises, “Fear Me”

So, with confirmed sets from Yawning Man, Mario Lalli, John Garcia, Acid King and Dead Meadow, it’s safe to say Mojave Experience has ‘the desert’ as part of its mission statement. Certainly this week’s pair of confirmations for Nick Oliveri and The Freeks further beat that out as well. My only question at this point is, with Garcia and Oliveri already on the bill, if Brant Bjork might be added for a set too. Not thinking Vista Chino reunion or anything so grand, but it would be cool to have those guys all in one space over a weekend.

Not that I know anything, understand. Because I don’t. Oliveri‘s always-active solo tenure has seen him back and forth to Europe for the last few years, while The Freeks have situated themselves as the desert’s favorite weirdo blues band. There are far worse roles to play.

I’d go to this in a hot second. Just saying. From socials:

Nick Oliveri

Nick Oliveri’s Death Acoustic strips desert rock down to its bare, blistered core — forged in dust, driven by sound. Known for his wild lineage through Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, The Dwarves, and Mondo Generator, Oliveri brings that same feral voltage to the acoustic realm. It’s not a mellow detour — it’s a sandblasted sermon, raw and unfiltered, carrying the spirit of the desert in every note.

On stage, Oliveri turns vulnerability into voltage. His Death Acoustic sets swing between cracked-open confession and explosive release — one moment haunted and intimate, the next howling and untamed. His voice cuts with grit and conviction, shifting from haunted melodies to throat-shredding fury in a heartbeat. There’s no filter, no barrier — just an unguarded current of energy that electrifies the space around him. It’s the Mojave spirit distilled: raw honesty meeting sonic chaos beneath the desert sky.

Death Acoustic isn’t about volume — it’s about truth. It’s Oliveri at his rawest and most alive, channeling the same reckless soul that built the desert rock legacy he helped create.

The Freeks

The Freeks are a raw, psychedelically fuzzed surge of electric rock’n’roll — the sound of California heat meeting cosmic chaos. Emerging from the union of two SoCal counties, this crew of rock veterans channels decades of underground energy into a single, pulsing current of fuzz, groove, and liberation. Their music feels alive — not rehearsed or restrained — a living jam that breathes dust and distortion.

On stage, The Freeks are pure combustion. Their frontman leads with a chaotic, exuberant energy — part shaman, part showman — driving the band and crowd alike into a state of wild release. Guitars roar like engines in the Mojave night, basslines rumble through your chest, and the rhythm section locks into a trance-inducing groove that pulls the whole room into motion. It’s heavy and hypnotic but always human — a performance that blurs the line between control and surrender.

In the desert or in the city, The Freeks deliver the kind of rock that refuses to sit still — electric, expansive, and unapologetically alive.

Come ready. Come raw. The Mojave Experience isn’t here to entertain you — it’s here to change you.

See you March 20 & 21.

Next Ticket Bundle, Sun Chaser, goes on sale November 14. mojaveexperience.net

https://www.mojaveexperience.net
https://instagram.com/mojave_experience_festival
https://www.facebook.com/mojave.experience.festival/

The Freeks, Studio/Live II (2025)

Nick Oliveri, N.O. Hits at All Vol. 9 (2024)

Like a month ago, as the first bands and the what-it-is details were announced for the inaugural Mojave Experience Festival set to take place next March in Joshua Tree, California, if you went to the website, there was a picture of Yawning Man. Fair enough. Even with the likes of Earthless, Dead Meadow, Acid King, John Garcia, Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers and Ecstatic Vision on the bill, there would kind of be a glaring hole in the notion of ‘desert’ if Gary Arce and company didn’t take part. If it becomes an annual thing, they could be the house band.

Yawning Man are joined in this week’s announcements by Hippie Death Cult, from Portland, Oregon. The sometimes-sweet-sometimes-gnashing sludge-rocking three-piece (actually they’re always sweet in my experience) represent the second act to be added to the lineup not from California, behind Ecstatic Vision, from Philly. Needless to say, neither will have any trouble making their mark on the weekend, but it does show that Mojave Experience is looking beyond the actual, physical desert as it comes together, and that could be a point of growth for the future, again, should it become an annual thing.

I’ll admit I’m not sure how the ticket sales are working, with the different bundles and all that, but the first two groups of tickets are gone and I’d expect the rest to go as well. If you’re thinking travel plans (and you know I am), the arguments in favor are myriad. Here are two more, from social media:

Yawning Man

Yawning Man are legends — the originators of the desert rock sound and one of the most influential bands to ever rise from the sands of Southern California. Formed in the late ’80s, their hypnotic instrumentals and sun-bleached grooves became the spiritual blueprint for an entire generation of desert musicians. Their sound — part mirage, part meditation — drifts between psychedelic reflection and raw, earth-born power, evoking the endless horizon and the wild stillness of the Mojave itself.

On stage, Yawning Man’s performances feel like living landscapes — waves of tone unfolding with patient intensity, every note soaked in atmosphere and intention. There’s no separation between player and place; the music breathes with the desert wind and glows with its fading light. Their live sets are more than concerts — they’re experiences that transport audiences to the heart of the high desert, where sound and silence trade places and time seems to dissolve.

As one of the godfathers of desert rock, Yawning Man’s legacy continues to shape the scene they helped create. Their influence can be felt in countless bands across the globe, yet no one captures that elusive sense of space, soul, and sunburned serenity quite like they do. When Yawning Man take the stage, it’s not just a performance — it’s a return to where it all began.

Hippie Death Cult

Hippie Death Cult stands as one of the most magnetic forces in modern heavy rock — a band whose sound fuses vintage psychedelia, thunderous riffs, and soulful introspection into something unmistakably their own. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, the power trio of Eddie Brnabic (guitar), Laura Phillips (bass/vocals), and Harry Silvers (drums) has carved a deep imprint on the global heavy music scene, evolving through resilience and reinvention while remaining anchored by an unshakable creative spirit.

Their live shows are a revelation — a hypnotic surge of groove, fuzz, and emotion that moves like a desert storm. With walls of tone and trance-like rhythms, Hippie Death Cult doesn’t just perform; they create a shared space where heavy music becomes spiritual. Each set feels both primal and cinematic — a journey through reflection, rebellion, and release that leaves crowds buzzing long after the last note fades.

At festivals and stages across the world, they’ve earned a reputation for transforming every performance into a wall of sound and connection. Whether under the glow of club lights or the vast open sky, the band channels an energy that feels timeless — equal parts catharsis and communion. Hippie Death Cult doesn’t just play rock; they conjure it, inviting listeners to lose themselves in the hum of amplifiers and the pulse of something bigger than sound itself.

Come ready. Come raw. The Mojave Experience isn’t here to entertain you — it’s here to change you.

See you March 20 & 21.

Next Ticket Bundle, Sun Chaser, goes on sale soon. Early Bird & Dust Rider Bundles are Gone. mojaveexperience.net

https://www.mojaveexperience.net
https://instagram.com/mojave_experience_festival
https://www.facebook.com/mojave.experience.festival/

Yawning Man, Pavement Ends (2025)

Hippie Death Cult, Live at the Star Theater (2025)

I mean, yeah, you probably could put on a festival centered around desert rock in the California desert and not invite Mario Lalli to be a part of it, if you wanted to do it wrong. Fortunately for those who’ll attend, next March’s inaugural Mojave Experience Festival will indeed include Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers, who bring their avant-dezzpsych and poetic undulations of sound and form to the proceedings alongside the previously announced likes of John Garcia, Acid King, Dead Meadow and Earthless. If you’re keeping track, that makes Mojave Experience five-for-five in my book. I know — nobody’s keeping track. But still.

Joining the ultra-desert representation in this round are Philadelphia psychblasters Ecstatic Vision, who bring an element of chaos to any stage they take. They’re the first non-Californian act to be announced for the festival, and while I don’t know their tour plans if they even have any, it will have been nearly four years since 2022’s Elusive Mojo (review here) by the time March 2026 comes around, the prospect of a West Coast tour heralding a studio return from them is enticing to say the least. As ever, I know nothing, so don’t go being like, “that bozo from The Obelisk said you have a new record” on their Instagram or whatever. Would add to the fun though.

From socials:

Mario Lalli & The Rubber Snake Charmers

Born from the wild pulse of the California desert, Mario Lalli & The Rubber Snake Charmers is less a “band” and more a living ritual — an ever-shifting collective of players led by the godfather of desert rock himself, Mario Lalli (Yawning Man, Fatso Jetson). Known for his hypnotic bass lines and free-flowing improvisation, Lalli steers the Charmers through sprawling, psychedelic jams that blur the line between song and trance. Each performance is unique, unfolding like a mirage under the desert sun — heavy, meditative, and unpredictable.

Drawing on over four decades of underground legend, Lalli and his collaborators channel the spirit of the generator parties that birthed a global movement. Their music is a communion of rhythm and atmosphere — drone, groove, riff, and release — with raw, poetic incantations from desert icon Sean Wheeler adding grit and mysticism to the sonic storm.

Whether in a dusty dive, a windswept canyon, or beneath the stars of Joshua Tree, The Rubber Snake Charmers embody the living heart of the desert sound — heavy, spiritual, and endlessly evolving. It’s not nostalgia; it’s the continuation of a tradition that never needed permission to exist.

Ecstatic Vision

Ecstatic Vision are Philadelphia’s high-voltage shamans of heavy psych — channeling the raw spirit of Hawkwind, Amon Düül II, and Detroit’s proto-punk underground into an ecstatic, world-driven eruption of sound. Since emerging in 2013, the band has carved a singular path through the modern psych scene, releasing a string of feral, hallucinatory records and earning a reputation for live shows that unfold like trance-fueled eruptions of energy and sound.

After signing to Relapse Records on the strength of their early demos, Sonic Praise (2015) established Ecstatic Vision as torchbearers of primal, high-energy psychedelia — a blur of fuzz, sax, and trance-inducing groove. Their subsequent releases — Raw Rock Fury, Under the Influence, For the Masses, and most recently Elusive Mojo (Heavy Psych Sounds) — have only pushed the band further into uncharted territory, fusing Detroit rock grit, krautrock pulse, and global rhythm into a feverish brew.

With appearances at Roadburn, Hellfest, Desertfest, Levitation, and the legendary Duna Jam, Ecstatic Vision continue to embody the reckless, transcendental edge of heavy music. Their latest era is a full-force revival — heavier, hungrier, and more unhinged than ever — where molten grooves, scorching saxophones, and trance-inducing jams blur the line between the cosmic and the carnal.

Come ready. Come raw. The Mojave Experience isn’t here to entertain you — it’s here to change you.

See you March 20 & 21.

Tickets On Sale Friday – mojaveexperience.net

https://www.mojaveexperience.net
https://instagram.com/mojave_experience_festival
https://www.facebook.com/mojave.experience.festival/

Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers, Folklore From the Other Desert Cities (2024)

The first announcement from the inaugural Mojave Experience Festival — headed and curated by Patrick Brink of long-running heavy rockers Volume — brought Dead Meadow and Earthless to the bill of the two-dayer set for next March in Joshua Tree, California. This second featured John Garcia and Acid King, so yes, one could say the no-filler trend continues amid the four-thus-far killers yet revealed. I have no idea what the schedule is for names, if it’s a weekly thing or monthly or whenever they get around to it, but I’ll do my best to keep up from here, in no small part because with just these four, that’s already a show I’d like to see. Not that that necessarily means I will, you understand.

You’ve got till March to make your travel plans, so go ahead. My recommendation from copious experience is to leave it all to the last minute so you get really completely overwhelmed by the whole thing. An essential part of going, well, anywhere really.

The festival posted the following on socials, heralding the additions:

Lori S. of Acid King has spent nearly three decades forging some of the heaviest, most hypnotic sounds in underground rock. Emerging from San Francisco’s fog with a molten blend of proto-metal groove and mind-expanding doom, she built Acid King into a cornerstone of the stoner-psych movement—its sound equal parts thunder and trance. From club stages to major festivals across the globe, Lori’s signature low-tuned riffing and commanding presence have inspired a generation of heavy-music lifers.

At the heart of Acid King is more than volume or distortion—it’s an atmosphere. Lori’s music evokes vast spaces and head-clearing horizons, the same cosmic desolation that defines California’s desert. Her vision aligns perfectly with gatherings like The Mojave Experience, where tone, texture, and timeless heaviness meet under open skies. With a career rooted in authenticity and sonic exploration, Lori continues to lead Acid King into new terrain, inviting audiences to lose themselves in sound, light, and dust.

Come ready. Come raw. The Mojave Experience isn’t here to entertain you — it’s here to change you. See you March 20 & 21.

John Garcia stands as one of the defining voices of desert rock — a genre born from the scorched landscapes of Southern California and fueled by fuzz, groove, and grit. Best known as the frontman of Kyuss, Garcia helped shape an entire musical movement whose influence still echoes through generations of heavy rock. His unmistakable vocal power — equal parts soulful, feral, and commanding — became the desert’s own signature sound, bridging psychedelia, punk energy, and Sabbath-esque weight into something timeless.

Beyond Kyuss, Garcia carried that fire into projects like Slo Burn, Unida, and Hermano, each reaffirming his ability to turn raw atmosphere into pure electricity. Yet it’s on stage where he remains most formidable — his live performances radiate intensity, reverence, and a sense of communion with both his band and the crowd. Whether fronting a full electric lineup or delivering stripped-down sets under the John Garcia and the Band of Gold banner, his shows feel less like concerts and more like desert rituals, summoning the spirit of a scene he helped create.

Today, Garcia’s legacy isn’t just about his past bands; it’s about his ongoing embodiment of what heavy rock can be — honest, grounded, and alive. His voice remains a beacon for the desert underground, proving that true legends never fade; they just keep echoing through the canyon walls.

Come ready. Come raw. The Mojave Experience isn’t here to entertain you — it’s here to change you. See you March 20 & 21.

Dust Rider Tickets on sale October 24th 8am: mojaveexperience.net

Event page: https://facebook.com/events/s/mojave-experience/1125642332836970/

THE MOJAVE EXPERIENCE 2026:
03/20-21/2026 Joshua Tree, CA – Joshua Tree Lake & Campground

https://www.mojaveexperience.net
https://instagram.com/mojave_experience_festival
https://www.facebook.com/mojave.experience.festival/

Acid King, Live in Sacramento, CA, July 12, 2025

John Garcia, Live in Madison, WI, May 15, 2024

There are only two acts announced so far for the first-ever Mojave Experience Festival, set to take place next March in Joshua Tree, California, but a couple things about that. First, the two bands are Earthless and Dead Meadow. Second, Patrick Brink from Volume is curating. Third, if you go to the festival’s website, there’s a picture of Yawning Man, so maybe they’ll be there too. In any case, the fest notes intention toward a blending of acts old and new. Fair enough for the headliners, then, to probably be among the more familiar names included.

It’d also be something of a waste if Brink‘s own band didn’t play, but I guess you never know until it’s confirmed and it’s not that yet, so don’t go saying I said a thing because, no, I don’t have any idea what I’m talking about.

Whoever else takes up the however-many lineup slots available, no question Mojave Experience is off to a rousing start. I look forward to seeing how it shapes up, but here’s first word from the PR wire on it:

The Mojave Experience Festival announces first annual dates and early lineup

Desert music & culture festival revives the free spirited vibe of Desolation Center, High Desert generator parties and early days of Coachella

The Mojave Experience festival announces the dates of the first annual event taking place from March 20th-21st, 2026 in Joshua Tree, California. The festival is the brainchild of organizer and High Desert native Patrick Brink, frontman of VOLUME and former lead singer of desert rock legends Fu Manchu. Early tickets go on sale on October 3rd.

Co-headliners Earthless and Dead Meadow are the first artists to be announced in the lineup, with many more of the 16 bands confirmed to perform over two nights. The lineup includes legends in explorative and countercultural music, as well as future ones now making waves.

The Mojave Experience takes place in Joshua Tree, California at the Joshua Tree Lake & Campground. Attendees are encouraged to make use of the camping, hiking and rock climbing in the area while taking in the vast beauty and mystery of the region that birthed the Desert Rock movement.

The Mojave isn’t just a backdrop — it’s the raw, unfiltered stage where music, art, and chaos collide. Out here, under endless stars and brutal sun, the desert strips away the fake and leaves only what’s real.

The Mojave Experience was born from that spirit. It’s not another sanitized festival in a city park, it’s a gathering for the wild ones, the wanderers, the true believers who know the desert doesn’t hand out comfort, only freedom. This is where local desert legends share the stage with national heavyweights, weaving new stories into the myth of the Mojave. No velvet ropes. No corporate gloss.

Just artists, misfits, and seekers coming together for a weekend that won’t be forgotten. We bring the sound. You bring the fire. Together we’ll carve something into the desert that echoes long after the amps shut down. This is more than a festival — it’s a ritual. A pilgrimage into the heat, dust, and sound that will rattle your bones and rewire your soul.

Come ready. Come raw.

The Mojave Experience isn’t here to entertain you — it’s here to change you.

THE MOJAVE EXPERIENCE 2026:
03/20-21/2026 Joshua Tree, CA – Joshua Tree Lake & Campground

https://www.mojaveexperience.net
https://instagram.com/mojave_experience_festival
https://www.facebook.com/mojave.experience.festival/

Dead Meadow, “What Needs Must Be” live at Freak Valley Festival 2025