Not that there was any reason to doubt the curated spirit of Las Vegas’ Planet Desert Rock Weekend V with thus-far announcements for the likes of JIRM, Mos Generator, Sergeant Thunderhoof, and so on, but bringing in New Jersey’s Solace and Kansas’ Godzillionaire — the latter of which boasts former Paw vocalist Mark Hennessy in its lineup — only offers reassurance in my mind. Three bands out from the lineup being complete, the possibilities feel all the more open amid intersecting geographies, generations, and styles.

Solace in 2025 will be a quarter-century out from their 2000 debut, Further, as well as six from their most recent LP, 2019’s The Brink (review here), but their volatility continues to precede them along with their penchant for leveling whatever stage they happen to be on. And as regards Godzillionaire, they’re new to me, but in addition to its striking title, the 2021 single “30 Days Same as Cash, Motherfucker” digs into punk-rooted heavy with a shuffling groove behind Hennessy‘s bluesy bellow, a ripper of a layered solo, thoughtful lyric and sharp finish. I went right from it to their preceding 2020 full-length, Negative Balance, which I always take as a good sign.

The full international assemblage can be seen on the poster below — righteous, yes — and fest producer John Gist sent the following down the PR wire:

Planet Desert Rock Weekend V — Jan. 30 – Feb. 1

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planet-desert-rock-weekend-v-in-las-vegas-jan-30-31-feb-1-2025-tickets-873750791137

FB event: https://facebook.com/events/s/planet-desert-rock-weekend-v-j/1399556780734695/

Solace

Solace is a band I have admired for years and the chance to have them as part of Planet Desert Rock Weekend is super exciting! These guys have been killing it on stage since around 1996 and have produced a signature sound that is part metal and part heavy rock. Their two guitar attack and strong vocals drives their style. Solace has played all over Europe including the Roadburn Festival and toured with Orange Goblin but have never played shows out west. We are excited to have these New Jersey legends coming out to join the Planet Desert Rock Weekend V festivities!

Godzillionaire

Godzillionaire is a heavy rock band out of Lawrence Kansas that features frontman Mark Hennessy formerly of the 90s band Paw! Paw rose to popularity with the album “Dragline” and their track “Jessie” has over 2,500,000 listens on Spotify! Their most recent album “Negative Balance” made a strong ripple in the scene with its creative textures and strong vocals by Mark. A new album is likely to be out by the time PDRW V happens. This will be a rare show for Godzillionaire outside of Kansas and their region. We will have this super cool group kick off one of the nights!

We have just 3 bands left to announce, and it may be a little while before these final groups are unveiled. We really appreciate all the amazing support from many of our former fest goers and we fully expect PDRW V to be the biggest yet! Thank you!
-John

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Solace, The Brink (2019)

Godzillionaire, “30 Days Same as Cash, Motherfucker” (2021)

Planet Desert Rock Weekend V preview playlist

After a compelling first announcement two weeks ago that put Washington heavy rock institution Mos Generator atop a bill with six other outfits curated from among Europe and the UK’s ever-crowded underground — JIRM, Samavayo, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Omega Sun, and Fire Down Below — the Las Vegas-based festival Planet Desert Rock Weekend V offers four new names today with a similarly curated feel. California’s Fireball Ministry, Ohio’s Valley of the Sun (returning), Canadian upstarts Sons of Arrakis and Italian cosmic rockers MR.BISON (also returning) are the new additions to the lineup, and each brings something specific of their own to the mix for the three-dayer set for Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2025.

And yeah, that’s a ways off, but if you, like me, don’t actually live in Vegas, it’s an opportunity to make your travel plans early. As the city has never been a ‘scene’ hotbed for heavy fare — of course there are good bands who’ve come from there; that’s true of most of the planet — there’s no question Planet Desert Rock Weekend is positioning itself as a destination festival, and letting you book a flight before they’re even more outlandish than they are now is part of that. Not that I was just looking at airfare prices or anything, mind you. Because I absolutely was.

There were eight bands left after the first reveal, and this, as noted, adds four, so I count four more names to come, give or take, sometime between now and next January. I’m not sure how much more one could reasonably ask beyond what’s already being served here, but golly it’s fun to daydream.

From fest director John Gist, via the PR wire:

Planet Desert Rock Weekend V — Jan. 30 – Feb. 1

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planet-desert-rock-weekend-v-in-las-vegas-jan-30-31-feb-1-2025-tickets-873750791137

FB event: https://facebook.com/events/s/planet-desert-rock-weekend-v-j/1399556780734695/

Vegas Rock Revolution and Planet Desert Rock Weekend are proud to announce the next 4 bands for PDRW V.  We bring back two alumni bands in Valley of the Sun and Mr. Bison, a longtime legacy band Fireball Ministry and rising star with Sons of Arrakis coming to Vegas for a fun filled weekend of heavy rock, friends and a cool environment that is comfortable. PDRW is designed to give you your mornings and afternoons to enjoy Vegas!

Fireball Ministry/ Los Angeles

Rising from quietly smoldering for a number of years we are honored to have Fireball Ministry be a part of PDRW.  This is a pure legacy band that has been rocking the scene since 1999 and have shared the stage with the likes of Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Judas Priest,  Slayer, Danzig, Anthrax, Motörhead and many others.  Recently it was announced Ripple Music will be reissuing their catalog.

Valley of the Sun/ Cincinnati

Super pumped to have Valley of the Sun return to Planet Desert Rock Weekend after performing at the inaugural one. Led by frontman Ryan Ferrier they deliver straight heavy rocking desert rock tinged stuff that sticks in your head. Their recently released album on Ripple Music landed close to the top of Vegas Rock Revolution’s top albums of the year.

Mr. Bison/ Italy

Mr. Bison has been one busy band since appearing at Planet Desert Rock Weekend II. Their latest album “Echoes of the Universe” has made an amazing splash in 2024 including landing #2 on the Doom Charts for February. Mr. Bison have continued to evolve and challenge themselves including adding a new member who is a multi instrumentalist. We can’t wait to have them back and hear the new stuff live! Mr. Bison is part of the Heavy Psych Sounds label.

Sons of Arrakis/ Montreal

Early on Vegas Rock Revolution has been touting and working with Sons of Arrakis and after hoping to have them as part of PDRW IV, we are excited to have them for 2025!  Their sound is an outstanding blend of heavy rock/ heavy psych/ progressive/ stoner with a backdrop of being a Dune themed band. Their debut album ended #2 for 2022 on the VRR end of the year list right behind PDRW alumni Freedom Hawk (2). Their album landed #1 on Doom Charts for July 2022 and #8 overall for the year.  SOA is currently finishing up their 2nd album which will be released on Black Throne Productions.

https://www.facebook.com/VRRProductions/
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Planet Desert Rock Weekend V preview playlist

The annual Planet Desert Rock Weekend festival will hold its fifth edition on Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2025, which I think marks the first time I’m actually writing that year to refer to an event that’s actually happening rather than random speculation. Feels like the future. And a killer future at that. Planet Desert Rock Weekend V makes its first lineup announcement today, and the sense of curation and purpose behind it could hardly be clearer.

No doubt the three-dayer conceived and booked by John Gist of Vegas Rock Revolution will pick up more than a handful of domestic acts in addition to Mos Generator (though if you had to only have one…), but five out of the six bands in this first publicly-confirmed batch will cross the Atlantic to play. Five for six, between JIRM, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Samavayo, Omega Sun (they’re making a return appearance after playing in 2019) and Fire Down Below. The very obvious message here is that Planet Desert Rock Weekend V wants to give the audience — the American heavy rock underground — a show it isn’t going to get anywhere else. If you can’t respect the put-up-or-shut-up nature of that, well, maybe you’ve never booked a show before. No doubt your existence has been easier and more gratitude-filled for that.

Early-bird tickets are up and there’s of course more to come, but in terms of the curation involved here and the feeling of Planet Desert Rock Weekend bringing over the acts it wants to see that no one else is bringing over, there’s a lot to admire as is. I will look forward to who else is added, finding out if this is it for non-US-based acts or if there’s more coming, and watching as the lineup takes shape generally. Thinking of making travel plans? I get it.

Word from the fest follows. Oh, and before you get your no-doubt-very-masculine panties in a bunch about AI art like all of a sudden you never used something cheap, convenient and easy because it was all of those things — we’re all complicit in the horrors of capital — the actual art is still in progress, and the full poster will be unveiled later. It’s a placeholder. Calm down, imaginary internet pearl-clutchers. Deep breaths.

Here we go:

Planet Desert Rock Weekend V — Jan. 30 – Feb. 1

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planet-desert-rock-weekend-v-in-las-vegas-jan-30-31-feb-1-2025-tickets-873750791137

FB event: https://facebook.com/events/s/planet-desert-rock-weekend-v-j/1399556780734695/

Vegas Rock Revolution’s Planet Desert Rock Weekend is back for edition 5 and it’s going to be a spectacular collection of bands from around the world of heavy rock!

It’s 3 nights of highly curated bands with evening shows only so that you can enjoy all that Vegas has to offer during the day rather it’s hitting the museums or hiking or donating to our local casinos (ha we kid!). Each evening will be in a cool atmosphere and the sound will be top rate to make your concert experience an unforgettable one.

Our 1st 6 bands are:

Mos Generator / Washington State

Mos Generator has been rocking for over 20 years and led by Tony Reed who is a monumental force within the scene. From straight forward heavy rock to heavy psychedelic they have always created music that elevates above many.

JIRM/ Sweden

Ripple Music’s JIRM (formerly known as Jeremy Irons + the Ratgang Malibus) has built their reputation on an epic sound on each release regardless of the evolution and creativity of the album. They can range from a light summery psych song to a dark tinged song describing inner turmoil. They are accented by amazing vocals. JIRM’s album “The Tunnel, The Well, Holy Bedlam” landed #4 on the Doom Charts for March 2022. This will be their 1st time in the States.

Sergeant Thunderhoof / U.K.- England

These Brits have blown away fans in the U.K. for years and rocked amazing album after album of heavy rock for the world to hear. Highly touted for their live sets but their recent album “The Scripted Veil” took the scene by storm with incredible soaring vocals and superior songwriting to most. Landed #1 on Doom Charts for June 2022. This will be their 1st and only show in the States in 2025!

Samavayo / Germany

This German trio has been releasing amazing heavy rock since 2003! Their evolution of sound and influence have changed some over the years but at their core they are a heavy rock band that writes rocking songs that are catchy but yet get you moving. They have played with many of the top bands in the world whether it was on tour or at a festival. Samavayo’s album “Payan” landed #2 on the Doom Charts for March 2022. This will be their 1st time playing the USA!

Fire Down Below / Belgium

Since their 2017 release “Viper, Vixen, Goddess, Saint” they have done a masterful job of blending desert rock, stoner rock and grunge elements together to make music that is so easily accesible to people who want to rock. Their 2022 release “Low Desert Surf Club” on Ripple Music landed #5 on Vegas Rock Revolution’s end of year list and #3 on Doom Charts for September. This will be their 1st time playing the USA!

Omega Sun / Slovenia

Returning to Planet Desert Rock Weekend is Omega Sun whose recent 2023 release Roadkill captured many rocker’s ear with their powerful blend of heavy rock, doom, grunge and stoner rock. Recently the guys had the great fortune of opening up for USA supergroup The Winery Dogs and have embarked on a European tour. We love to bring back bands to the PDRW fold! Their 2023 release “Roadkill” landed #9 on the Doom Charts and VRR’s end of the year list at #6 in 2023.

We will be collaborating with Ripple Music again on this version and looking at a full night that would be all Ripple bands or close to it. Todd is such an amazing part of the scene and his curation of bands feels unparalleled.

We will announcements for at least 8 more bands from all around the world coming up in the months to come!

https://www.facebook.com/VRRProductions/
https://www.facebook.com/vegasrockrevolution/

Planet Desert Rock Weekend V preview playlist

JIRM, The Tunnel, the Well, Holy Bedlam (2021)