Three more names for Desertfest Berlin 2025 and by all the ‘more’ that’s featured on each day of the poster below, I’m guessing it’s not the last round of lineup additions to come before the festival takes place this May. Scott Hepple and the Sun Band are a mystery to me, but they’re booked now for London, Oslo and Berlin Desertfests, as well as Freak Valley and more, so good for them being all over the place. Hippie Death Cult just announced another European tour, and they too are making the Desertfest rounds in multiple cities, while The Mystery Lights so far as I know are Berlin-only but coming from New York to play, so good on them making the trip too.

You can see the full lineup below, with The Hellacopters, Dinosaur Jr. and Elder headlining and the likes of Slomosa, Dozer, Khan, My Sleeping Karma, Lowrider and Elephant Tree, Stinking Lizaveta and Darsombra, Temple Fang, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol previously confirmed. If you haven’t caught wind of this one yet in 2025, the appeal pretty much speaks for itself.

Or at least the PR wire speaks for it:

DESERTFEST BERLIN adds HIPPIE DEATH CULT, THE MYSTERY LIGHTS and SCOTT HEPPLE & THE SUN BAND, who will join DINOSAUR JR., ELDER, THE HELLACOPTERS & many more outstanding live acts in 2025!

Desertfest Berlin has revealed three new names for its outstanding festival edition in 2025, and confirms Portland’s heavy doom and cosmic riff worship at its finest: HIPPIE DEATH CULT, New York’s raw and fuzzy garage-psych act THE MYSTERY LIGHTS and UK-based psychedelic vintage rockers SCOTT HEPPLE & THE SUN BAND!

This May will see Desertfest Berlin undoubtedly run its perhaps best and most eclectic line-up to date, welcoming iconic DINOSAUR JR., Swedish rock pioneers THE HELLACOPTERS, prog-and psych-rock masters ELDER (playing their groundbreaking “Lore” album in its entirety!), New Orleans sludge legends EYEHATEGOD, MY SLEEPING KARMA returning home, US doom metallers PALLBEARER, Norwegian “tundra rock” frontrunners SLOMOSA, DOZER, TEMPLE FANG, LOWRIDER and so many more incredible live acts the stoner, rock, doom, sludge, psych and metal scene has to offer.

Desertfest Berlin will take place between May 23 – 25, 2025 at Columbiahalle and Columbia Theater. While the Early-Bird tickets sold out in within hours, regular passes are available at: www.desertfest-tickets.de

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DESERTFEST BERLIN 2025
23. – 25. May 2025 – Columbia Venues
🎟 www.desertfest-tickets.de

Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1840149496511466/

www.desertfest.de
www.facebook.com/DesertfestBerlin
www.instagram.com/desertfest_berlin

Hippie Death Cult, “Toxic Annihilator” official video

First names are out for Freak Valley 2025, and though I wouldn’t take the invitation for granted, it does warm my heart to think of The Devil and the Almighty Blues bringing their heavy preach to the AWO grounds in Netphen, standing on that stage, introduced by the esteemed Volker Fröhmer with a hearty “viel spaß!” or seeing the horn-laced shenanigans of Pendejo, the classic doom metal roll of Early Moods or the cosmic futurism of Kombynat Robotron, Travo who I never thought I’d ever see, ever, but whose record I very much dug, and Zig Zags, Wedge, Lurch and Scott Hepple and the Sun Band.

Richmond, Virginia’s Windhand — who just released a demo collection on Creep Purple called Songs From the Satan House and whose bassist, Parker Chandler (also Cough), quit the band about a week ago with some less than complimentary things to say about his experience — are the top name thus far on the bill, and aside from their needing new low end representation, it seems likely they’ll be at Freak Valley as part of a tour. Could Early Moods or Zig Zags join? It’s possible but not definite. Seems likely The Devil and the Almighty Blues will be on the road as well from their home in Norway, as they’ve also been confirmed for Desertfest London and Desertfest Berlin 2025, as well as Sonic Whip 2025, after playing Desertfest Oslo and others this year.

If they end up filling the dates between fests with club shows, that’s a fair amount of touring without a new record, so maybe Spring will bring news of a new The Devil and the Almighty Blues as well, or maybe those guys have just hit the point where they can show up for whatever reason and there’s a slot for them. If you’ve ever seen them live, that’s wholly justified.

Either way, a lot to like here in the variety, in the names themselves, and in the thought of taking in another wonderful weekend standing in the grass at Freak Valley, which is starting to feel an awful lot like a home when I get back each year. Hopefully that includes 2025 as well. Here’s the announcement, which I would usually have written, but I whiffed on because of the Quarterly Review. I’ll try and catch the next one if they’ll let me. Text and poster hit socials on Friday:

🌵 Get ready, Freaks! 🌵

The countdown to Freak Valley Festival 2025 has officially begun, and we’re beyond stoked to announce the first wave of bands set to blow your minds and melt your faces!

Brace yourselves for the crushing doom of Windhand, the blues-drenched heaviness of The Devil and the Almighty Blues, and the psychedelic thunder of Wucan! If that wasn’t enough, we’re cranking up the intensity with the raw power of. ¡Pendejo! , the crushing riffs of Early Moods, and the punk/metal chaos of Zig Zags.

But that’s just the beginning! Prepare to lose yourself in the cosmic grooves of Kombynat Robotron, get wild with the retro rock of Wedge, and let Travo, Lurch, and Scott Hepple and The Sun Band take you on mind-bending sonic journeys.

This is just the start, so get ready for more epic announcements soon. Mark your calendars, tune your ears, and prepare for the freakiest weekend of the year. Freak Valley 2025 is coming… and it’s going to be legendary!

See you in the valley! 🤘

Regular Tickets will first be available 14.October at Die Tintenpatrone in Siegen-Weidenau

15. October 18:00 / 6pm CET at online @ https://fvf.ticket.io/

Your Rock Freaks

https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://www.instagram.com/freakvalleyfestival/
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
http://www.rockfreaks.de/
http://www.freakvalley.de/

Wucan, Live at Deutschlandfunk (2023)

A strong first impression from Desertfest London 2025 is no big surprise. The UK’s premier heavy festival will feature Elder, as previously noted, as well as Zeal & Ardor, Amenra, Stoned Jesus, The Devil and the Almighty Blues, Planet of Zeus, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, Josiah, and others. Note 10,000 Years supporting their new record and first for Ripple. Note Volcanova because they’re a new-ish band on the way up. Note Bobbie Dazzle as Sian Greenaway moves forward from her time with Alunah. Note Sons of Alpha Centauri because they don’t tour a ton. Note Black Willows because they rule, on and on. There’s a lot to be unpacked here even before you get to Barbarian Hermit, Erronaut or Scott Hepple and the Sun Band, but the bottom line is the news is good.

Some of these acts will be shared with Desertfest Berlin and Desertfest Oslo, and I haven’t seen a lineup announcement for either of those yet, but it seems fair to think of it as imminent. In the meantime, Desertfest London 2025 has tickets on sale, should you either want to purchase one or spend the rest of your week until payday fantasizing about doing so and then make the buy. I haven’t been there since 2013 — would go, happily — and still feel comfortable heartily recommending the experience as life-changing for the better.

From the PR wire:

DESERTFEST LONDON ANNOUNCES FIRST WAVE OF BANDS FOR 2025 INCLUDING ZEAL & ARDOR, ELDER, AMENRA AND MORE

Friday 16th May – Sunday 18th May 2025

Weekend Tickets on sale here: www.desertfest.co.uk

Desertfest London have announced the first wave of bands for their 13th edition, which will take place across multiple venues in Camden on Friday 16th – Sunday 28th May 2025. Weekend tickets are available HERE: www.desertfest.co.uk

Swiss avant-garde metallers Zeal & Ardor are confirmed to headline the Roundhouse on Saturday night. Led by Manuel Gagneux, the group will undoubtedly deliver a masterclass in genre-pushing riffery following the release of their highly acclaimed fourth album Grief in August.

Desertfest favourites and psych-rock masters Elder will be headlining Friday night with a special performance celebrating 10 years of their album Lore, which was the band’s third full-length release and a watershed moment in their history cementing the hallmark Elder sound.

Frontman and lead guitarist Nick DiSalvo adds, “Lore is turning 10 years old. This album marked a point of departure for Elder upon a path which the band is still walking now. For us, this is the record where the band came into its own as a unique voice in the heavy rock underground. As we approach our second decade as a band, we feel it’s appropriate to look back on this landmark for us and acknowledge it properly, which is why we’re doing a tour performing the entire album along with some other tracks from our earlier catalogue; we’ll give this era of the band a proper celebration before turning our attention once again toward the future and the next album, currently being written.”

After their crushing performance at Desertfest London in 2019, the boundary defying postmetal titans Amenra will be returning to deliver shared catharsis and indoctrinate more to the Church of Ra with their undeniably powerful and haunting atmospherics.

Currently celebrating their 15th anniversary, the Ukranian trio Stoned Jesus will be bringing their mix of doom, prog and grunge whilst The Devil & The Almighty Blues will be hardhitting heavy- slung blues rock.

With new music on the horizon and known for their thunderous live reputation, Planet Of Zeus will be stirring things up, as will Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol with their selfprofessed brand of Doom-Wop.

Also announced are Josiah, Sons Of Alpha Centauri, Volcanova, Black Willows, 10,000 Years, Scott Hepple & The Sun Band, Barbarian Hermit, Erronaut and Bobbie Dazzle.

Weekend Tickets for the event are on sale now via www.desertfest.co.uk with more bands to still be announced!

FULL LINE-UP SO FAR
ZEAL & ARDOR | AMENRA | ELDER |STONED JESUS | THE DEVIL & THE ALMIGHTY BLUES |
PLANET OF ZEUS | RICKSHAW BILLIE’S BURGER PATROL | JOSIAH |
SONS OF ALPHA CENTAURI | VOLCANOVA | SCOTT HEPPLE & THE SUN BAND |
BLACK WILLOWS | 10,000 YEARS | BARBARIAN HERMIT | ERRONAUT | BOBBIE DAZZLE

TICKETS ON SALE NOW – www.desertfest.co.uk

http://www.desertscene.co.uk/support
https://www.facebook.com/DesertfestLondon
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_london/
https://www.desertfest.co.uk/

Black Willows, Shemurah (2021)