Posted in Whathaveyou on May 2nd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Continuing its thread of bringing international acts to a waiting audience, next January’s Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI in Las Vegas will host the first US appearance of Fuzz Sagrado, the recent-years project of Samsara Blues Experiment founding guitarist/vocalist Chris Peters. Based in Brazil for I think a half-decade now (time flies), Peters has been trying to find a way to bridge past and present between psychedelic rock and more progressive, synthier sounds, and while Fuzz Sagrado is less definitively heavy psych than Samsara Blues Experiment, it retains the stamp of Peters‘ songwriting that was the defining feature of his former outfit.
Why not just reunite Samsara Blues Experiment or pull together a new lineup with the name? Sometimes these things are complicated. But Peters has said the live incarnation of Fuzz Sagrado (which imports players from Germany) will perform his old band’s songs, so if you live in the States, or wherever, and ever wanted to hear “Double Freedom” live — and you know you did — this will probably be your best chance. Fuzz Sagrado joins an absolutely stacked bill from The Atomic Bitchwax to Huanastone, and there’s still more to come. Hell yes.
From the PR wire:
We like to bring in cool unique performances, so we are excited to announce Fuzz Sagrado (Brazil/Germany) is joining us for Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI! Fuzz Sagrado features former Samsara Blues Experiment frontman Kris Peters and he has put together a very special lineup that will be playing a great blend of songs. The band joining him is guitarist Steffen (ex-Spaceship Landing), drummer Charlie (Coogans Bluff) and bassist Raphael .
FUZZ SAGRADO in concert will continue the tradition of SBE, playing intense Psychedelic Stonerrock, including old and new titles in an explosive 70s Krautrock-influenced mixture. For the many of us old school fans who remember Samsara Blues Experiment this will be a cool treat to see these songs live. For others this will be a great discovery of a band that has always held a special place in our scene.
Also we sadly must announce that Swan Valley Heights will not be joining us in 2026. We hope in the future they can make it over!
We have 4 bands left to announce and we have some doozies coming at ya! Much love to everyone and their support and can’t wait to rock with you all next year!
From Kris Peters:
“I’m very excited about my return to the live scene. I’ve actually been planning my stage comeback for two years. I was looking for new musicians with the idea of putting together a best-of setlist of my career, including tracks from Samsara but also newer songs (Fuzz Sagrado, Surya) in a well-rounded package. I know what my fans like to hear, and now that I’ve found a great new band, I’m sure there’s no room for disappointment. This is going to be great!”
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 24th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Finland’s Kaiser are the latest European import act to be announced for Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI, set to take place early in 2026 in Las Vegas. The three-piece recently issued their sophomore LP, 2nd Sound (review here), through Majestic Mountain Records, and their relationship with PDRW curator John Gist goes back further to an installment of Ripple Music‘s Turned to Stone split series that Gist put together with Kaiser and Captain Caravan. This will be their second time making the trip. Obviously dude is a fan, and reasonably so.
I’m not sure how much more there is to add to Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI, but I am sure I want to go. How many times in your life are you going to get to see a band like this on US soil?
Off to the PR wire with you:
Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI is proud to announce Kaiser returning to Planet Desert Rock! This Finnish power trio played PDRW v2 back in 2019 and brings a high energy set every time. Kaiser’s newest album via Majestic Mountain landed #2 on The Doom Charts for the Month of March. The band is led by frontman Otu Suurmunne who is also known for his cool mash up creations on Moonic Productions as seen on Instagram, YouTube and other platforms. Their super strong catalog consists of 2 very good album, an ep and was part of an amazing split with Captain Caravan on Ripple Music’s Turned to Stone series that Vegas Rock Revolution’s John Gist curated.
Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI has 4 more bands to announce with at least 1 to be announced within the month. We have also created a 4 day pass that includes Night 4 (Last Call Show) along with poster combo packages as well. We are happy to announce that artist Joey Rudell will be providing artwork for a set of posters and Alex Sonolith will be helping with posters/artwork as well. Ripple Music will be a sponsor again for PDRW and expect to be adding a few more again for PDRW VI.
Thank you to everyone who has helped sell out the early bird tickets and supported our humble weekender! The amount of positive feedback is the fuel that keeps it going. We know it will be one helluva rock and roll party!
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 28th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
As somebody who’s been lucky enough to see the Olso-based troupe on stage, The Devil and the Almighty Blues are dead on. The groove, the bluesy vibe. Absolutely stellar pick on the part of Planet Desert Rock Weekend. Salt the frickin’ earth. They’re gonna kill it, whatever stage they’re on. Fingers crossed it’s Count’s Vamp’d, but I’ll take it either way. And yeah, I do have every intention of being back in Vegas next January for Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI.
In what would be an astonishing circumstance at nearly every other US heavyfest, The Devil and the Almighty Blues aren’t the only Norwegian band on this bill, as Saint Karloff were previously confirmed, and they’re paired in this announcement with Bone Church, from Connecticut. As it’s been five years since the classic metal/heavy rockers issued their Acid Communion LP, one can’t help but wonder if they’ll have a record between now and early next year — though honestly, with PDRW, it might just be a case of festival director John Gist digging the band. It’s not always about promoting the thing (whatever ‘the thing’ is) at PDRW, and I like that about it.
To wit, I would not expect a The Devil and the Almighty Blues record in 2025 — though I’ll say it’s not impossible in case one happens, just to cover my ass — but I’ll be goddamned if they won’t be a highlight of 2026’s edition.
From the PR wire:
Planet Desert Rock Weekend is happy to announce two more bands for next year’s Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI! For those that have kept up some with the PDRW VI lineup you can see we have quite a few international bands announced so far with many of which will be coming over for the 1st time to the USA. With that being said we have the righteous band The Devil & The Almighty Blues from Norway joining us! They blend an obvious blues rock base with some heavy psych and some doom/stoner. Their 3 albums have all been immensely received leaving folks wanting more… Stay tuned for that as word has it some news on the horizon possibly. The band has played a slew of festivals in Europe including Roadburn, Sonic Blast, Desertfest London/Berlin/Oslo and the upcoming Freak Valley Fest along with others. We can’t wait to have the guys over to rock our world!
Of course, at PDRW we like to deliver really good bands that are at times a bit under the radar currently. We believe strongly that the music matters the most and songs are important. With the abundance of bands out there we hand select bands we believe in that if more folks hear them that they will resonate with many of our super cool rockers that attend Planet Desert Rock. Next year one such band is Bone Church out of Connecticut. Truth be told from very early on I have championed the band. A few years back Todd Severin and Ripple Music snagged them, they delivered a follow up to their very good debut with a super strong album. After seeing them at the 1st Ripplefest Texas, I was simply blown away by their performance. This is one of the semi rare bands that has a pure frontman who only sings and damn if he doesn’t kill it live. The whole band sounded fantastic and the memory of that performance still is one of a tight set and full-on energy. Their Sabbath drenched sounded is melded with other influences to create songs that will ear worm ya if you aren’t careful. I have previewed some new tracks and it’s so good!
We wanted also to thank everyone who snagged the early bird tickets and did so in record time. We have the tier 2 pricing ticket still available for now until we go to final pricing. Also there will be a special 4 night ticket to snag that includes Night 4/ Last Call. The lineup as you see so far will be spread out among the 4 nights so if you have the initial 3 night package… You may want to snag the Last Call as well if you can pull it off. In the works are a couple bigger bands (no not Clutch and that size) that we are hopeful to have come aboard along with a bit of a supergroup of sorts that could happen. Stay tuned as we have just 5 left to announce. We so appreciate all the interest we have received from bands for our intimate 4 night weekender of heavy rock and continue to be humbled by everyone’s support!
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 3rd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Barely a month removed from the glorious, still-coming-down ride that was Planet Desert Rock Weekend V, the Las Vegas-based festival is already making its second lineup announcement for its 2026 edition, and I have to think at this point that most of the bill is out there by now. The Well, from Austin, Texas, will bring swing and a bit of cult threat to the proceedings, and two more European acts — Germany’s Swan Valley Heights and Norway’s Saint Karloff — have also been added, bringing the total international contingent to six acts, and that includes Canada’s Mooch, because Canada is, and will likely be grateful to remain, its own country.
One of my favorite aspects of this year’s Planet Desert Rock Weekend was the flow in how each night was set up, and I think looking at the lineup as it stands you can kind of piece it together, a legacy band here, a Euro band there, Phantom Hound tucked away at the bottom like a secret PDRW VI is keeping. But make no mistake, there’s more coming. Fest curator John Gist (who promotes through Vegas Rock Revolution) still has the ‘Last Call’ lineup to unveil for the fourth night, there are day splits to come, and more names too. Stay tuned while you book your flights, I guess is what I’m saying.
From the PR wire:
For this next batch of bands to announce for Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI / Last Call we have 3 distinctively different bands heading to Sin City. At PDRW we want to deliver super cool groups from all over the world that represent our growing community. So let’s get the party going!
We have been fans and admirers of The Well for years and just in the last year or so had them as part of a Vegas Rock Revolution show with 1000mods. This Austin Texas power trio brings a really good mesh of proto metal with heavy psych. On bass is the energizer bunny Lisa Alley that can’t help but get you moving at their shows. This killer band has played all over the world in support of their 3 full length releases. Harmony vocals and retro tones really are dynamic live!
At PDRW we always like to have very good heavy psych bands like we did this year with JIRM, Mr. Bison and Iota. This year coming all the way from Germany is Swan Valley Heights. These guys have been releasing high tiered psych rock since 2016. They can go from dreamy to a darker feel. This will be their first time to USA and we are excited to have them play a nice lengthy set that will captivate our fans. They are perfect for folks who dig King Buffalo, Elder, All Them Witches and others that are part of the new wave of heavy psych.
What would a rock and roll party be without some vikings to storm our stages? All the way from Norway we have Saint Karloff! These guys have been on our radar since their debut album “All Heed the Black God” when we heard the Sabbath drenched song “Ghost Smoker”. This band not only leans at times on Black Sabbath and doom but also hard rock and prog. Their 2023 album “Paleolithic War Crimes” does a supreme job of mixing various influences and styles while making it feel seamless between the more doom tinged tracks vs heavy pysch songs. The album landed #1 on The Doom Charts for the month of June 2023 as voted on by insiders from around the world.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 21st, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Being at just a couple weeks’ remove from this year’s Planet Desert Rock Weekend, I can tell you outright that the comedown is real. Even putting aside mindboggling performances from the likes of Iota, Luna Sol, Solace, Valley of the Sun and a host of others, the people and place, the vibe and heart of the event, and the sense of curation were excellent. It was a great, great time, and it was accordingly something of a challenge to get back to regular life.
The good news as regards daydreaming is that the first lineup reveals for Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI are happening today. The Atomic Bitchwax and Freedom Hawk top the thus-far bill, with The Heavy Eyes and High Desert Queen also making return appearances and Throttlerod traveling the farthest I’ve seen them go for a show since Small Stone was at SXSW. Also, Montreal’s Mooch, Sweden’s Huanastone, Saturna from Spain and Italian heavy rockers Isaak are slated to appear as imports, all apparently coming to the US for the first time.
Already the specificity of the picks — these aren’t just bands who’ll be on tour for new records stopping through town, I mean — speaks to the depth brought to putting together Planet Desert Rock Weekend by curator John Gist who heads the promotional company Vegas RockRevolution, and I look forward to learning more about the stories these nights will tell over the better part of the nex year, in addition to hoping I make it back to Vegas next January.
From the PR wire:
This year’s Planet Desert Rock Weekend V was an amazing success as we had outstanding performances from all 20 of the bands who came to play. This included a rare performance from Fireball Ministry at the Ripple Music Showcase along with ripping sets by legacy bands like Unida, Mos Generator and Solace as well as 8 international groups came out that included Sergeant Thunderhoof, JIRM, Sons of Arrakis, Mr. Bison, Samavayo, Fire Down Below, Omega Sun and Green Desert Water. Our turnout was simply a magnificent set of fans who love the heavy underground, enjoy the killer party & music each evening and want to give all the positive energy into the experience. PDRW does not exist without the feedback and love that our fans give.
So PDRW VI has its work cut out as the curation of the event’s bar has been set high. Happy to announce 10 bands to get the lineup rolling. Speaking of legacy bands, we are super excited to have The Atomic Bitchwax coming to Sin City! This New Jersey band has been rocking since 1992 and always delivers a massive energy to their presence. The band features two active members of Monster Magnet.
We return 4 PDRW players that have put on top notch performances and are super cool people. We have Freedom Hawk flying back to Sin City to rock the stage. They performed not only PDRW IV but also the 1st PDRW back in 2018. They are one of the best bands musically in the scene. The Heavy Eyes returns to PDRW after playing the debut of Planet Desert Rock. This Memphis band knows how to get the crowd moving! High Desert Queen who played a high octane set at PDRW III which was our basic reboot of PDRW. Vocalist Ryan Garney is a great friend to Vegas Rock Revolution and of course the man with the plan behind our other favorite fest Ripplefest. High Desert Queen’s 2024 album “Palm Reader” landed #2 for May on the Doom Charts. Spain’s Saturna returns to PDRW after playing at PDRW v2 and we can’t wait to hear some of the tracks of their highly regarded album “The Reset” that was Vegas Rock Revolution’s #4 album of 2023. They create songs so good that if rock radio was an actual thing still they would be on it. Vocalist James Vieco is one of the top singers in the scene.
Three more international bands from three more countries are next as each of the bands will be playing their USA debuts. Italy’s Isaak who is on the well-respected Heavy Psych Sounds label cruises out to pummel concert goers. They have been rocking the European stages since 2011 and are a high energy band sure to get your blood pumping! This will make 3 years in a row of Italian bands following in the footsteps of Black Elephant and Mr. Bison. From Sweden we have one of the best kept secrets in the scene Huanastone. Many in the know are very familiar with them due to their last two releases that includes 2024 release “Son of Juno” that landed #9 on the Doom Charts for June. They have a silky smooth style and sound that will be cool to hear live. From Montreal Canada as we continue the legacy of 3 straight French Canadian bands(Sandveiss+Sons of Arrakis) we have Mooch. Likely the most unknown of this batch of bands but we have had our eye and ears on them since their 2020 releases Hounds which was produced by Brant Bjork. Their style harkens back to some classic rock influences and a dash of Masters of Reality. Mooch is a younger band and all 3 members sing. Their tracks can stick in your ears for days at a time. Their 2024 release Visions landed #14 on the Doom Charts for June.
Lastly we got a righteous legacy band and a newer band. Throttlerod has been pretty dormant for a bit but they will be firing on all cylinders at PDRW VI . They started blazing stages back in 1999. Frontman Matt Whitehead has been busy with another stellar band Shun which is on Small Stone Records. The band’s sound has wide ranging influences sure to keep us on our toes! Oakland’s Phantom Hound rounds out the announcements for this grouping. VRR has been a big champion of them since the beginning and their recent album “From Boomtown to Ghost Town” on Glory or Death Records landed #5 on the Doom Charts. This power trio has lots of bluesy elements and stroytelling in their stuff.
Already in chats with 10 other very good bands and will release the names as we gather commitments. The list of who we are targeting is close to done and now it’s a matter of who gets the spots. We will have a Last Call Show again and will get a ticket link out for that soon! Some of these bands will be playing that night.
Thanks so much to everyone who has been amazing in their support and love for Planet Desert Rock Weekend. We can’t wait to see you again and party! We won’t let you down.
