If you look at the poster for the Sorcia and Mother Root tour that will take both bands from their shared home state of Washington to Montana for Rocky Mountain Riff Fest 2025, you’ll see the scaly snakey-snake that the boogie van is driving on — awesome, by the way — is on-point with the poster art for that same festival. I don’t know if there’s a corresponding tour for the other side of that poster — that is, if it might a triptych, ultimately — but that’d be rad and I’ll for sure keep an eye out. It’s a killer design either way.

That lineup, for Rocky Mountain Riff Fest in Kalispell, MT, also features Kadabra, Wizzerd and Swamp Ritual, among others, and it reads like a damn good time. I’m not trying to discount the series of club shows that will lead to Mother Root and Sorcia taking part, however. The tour runs eight nights in a row and dips as far south as Las Vegas, so for two bands who could just probably cut east for however many hours and get where they’re going, they’re making a genuine loop of it.

Both bands had records out in ’23, and you’ll find them below. Safe travels and good times wished to all involved parties, who collectively sent the following down the PR wire:

Sorcia & Mother Root – The Road to Riff Fest

Says Sorcia: “We are thrilled to announce our ‘Road To Riff Fest Tour’ with our good friends and fellow Snoqualmie Valley dwellers Mother Root as we make our way to Kalispell, MT for Rocky Mountain Riff Fest! We are looking forward to getting back out on the road and are very excited that the majority of this tour will be places we have not yet played. Cheers to Wizzerd for putting this amazing fest together and to Isaac M Passwater for killing it on the poster art. See you on the road in April!”

Says Mother Root: “In April 2025, we’re hopping in the van for our Road to Riff Fest tour with our longtime friends, Sorcia! This tour will take us through new cities, a few new states, and give us the chance to meet some amazing new people along the way. The journey will culminate at the legendary Rocky Mountain Riff Fest in Kalispell, MT- an event that’s been on our radar for a while. We’re honored and beyond thankful to be able to play it! If we’re nearby, we’d love to see you at the show so come say hi! See you soon!”

4/11 – Bend, OR @ Silver Moon Brewing
4/12 – Eureka, CA @ Siren’s Song Tavern
4/13 – Reno, NV @ Lobar Social
4/14 – Las Vegas, NV @ Griffin Bar
4/15 – Grand Junction, CO @ Copeka
4/16 – Denver, CO @ HQ
4/17 – Rapid City, SD @ AFL-CIO Labor Hall
4/18 – Bozeman, MT @ Gallatin Labor Temple
4/19 – Kalispell, MT @ Rocky Mountain Riff Fest

Mother Root photo by Sara Michelle @saramich3lle and Sorcia photo by Jesse Brasch @jessebrasch. Poster by Isaac M. Passwater.

https://sorciaband.com
https://sorcia.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/sorciaband
https://www.facebook.com/sorciaband
https://linktr.ee/sorciaband

https://motherroot.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/mother_root
https://www.facebook.com/MotherRootmusic
https://linktr.ee/mother_root

Sorcia, Lost Season (2023)

Mother Root, Clamour of Souls (2023)

Here comes the full lineup for Rocky Mountain Riff Fest 2025, fresh off the social media hellscape and set to take place April 19 in Kalispell, Montana, as per tradition. This is the sixth edition of the all-dayer fest (plus a pre-party the night before), which brings Kadabra and Sorcia to town as headliners with support from local spearheads Wizzerd, as well as Mother Root, Doomboyz, Cruel Velvet, Scavenger, Swamp Ritual, Surfbat, Loin Hammer and Superplex. No word on if Superplex sound anything like Suplecs, only, you know, more. I’ll keep you posted on that.

Of the confirmations, at least Sorcia, Loin Hammer, Swamp Ritual, Wizzerd and Surfbat have featured on past Rocky Mountain Riff Fest editions, which tells you there’s a family developing. The only band on this bill I’ve ever seen is Kadabra, and I’ll gladly confirm that they’re something you want to check out when the opportunity presents itself, and certainly other names ring familiar, whether it’s Mother Root or Wizzerd (who had two records out last year) or Sorcia, who also have their own affiliated festival in Washington. Must be nice.

I don’t for one second imagine I’ll be there to see it, but Rocky Mountain Riff Fest has grown over the last few years into its own thing. It’s never struck me as wanting to be huge or some mega-event. It’s an all-dayer with good bands, likely good friends and good times. I like fests with 100,000 people as much as the next guy — so long as the next guy’s also crippled by anxiety in that kind of crowd — but this is more of a hometown showcase for locals and others coming in. Maybe one of these years I’ll get there too. If this is your year, right on.

Here’s info:

FULL LINEUP IS HERE

SEE YOU IN APRIL!

Art by @impillustration

•
@kadabra_band
Sorcia
Wizzerd
Mother Root
Doomboyz
Cruel Velvet
Scavenger MT
Swamp Ritual
@surfbatband
Loin Hammer
@superplexrulez
–
Children of Atom
The Lucitones
@freedrugsusa

https://www.facebook.com/blackmagickbooking
https://www.instagram.com/rockymtnrifffest/

Kadabra, Umbra (2023)

Sorcia, Lost Season (2023)

First of all, this lineup is pretty badass. This year’s Rain City Doom Fest was originally billed as the release show for the new Year of the Cobra LP, but my understanding is the album has been delayed. It’s great, keep an ear out for it. In any case, the Seattle two-piece are still playing, alongside Bell Witch, who’ll headline in their particular morose, crawling, consuming fashion, and The Well, who will trek up from Austin as they do from time to time, presumably to remind everybody in attendance how fucking underrated they are. Those three alone make it quite an evening.

Those three also rest at and near the top of a 10-band bill with Ape Machine, Sorcia, Sun Crow and others showcasing from Washington/the Pacific Northwest, and the uniting factor is heavy as two stages play out over the course of one packed evening. This is the fourth year of the fest — I thought it was five, but I recall being very wrong about that last year — and it’s set for Dec. 14 at El Corazon and Funhouse. I don’t anticipate being in that part of the world at the , but it would be one to see if you are.

The PR wire has details:

Rain City Doom Fest announces lineup for this years festival in Seattle on December 14th!!

2 stages, 10 bands, One night of Doom.

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 8/30!
https://wl.seetickets.us/event/bell-witch/616791?afflky=ElCorazon

Rain City Doom Fest 2024 will be held at El Corazon/Funhouse in Seattle on December 14. This is the 4th year of this annual festival that showcases heavy music of the PNW and beyond. This year’s lineup will include some of the Seattle areas most esteemed active doom bands including Bell Witch, and Year of the Cobra who will be making this show their album release party. The festival is also pleased to welcome The Well as special guests from Austin, TX.

For more than a decade, Bell Witch have sent tides surging over the seawalls of the song form, unraveling conventional expectations about the ways music stations itself in time to absorb a listener’s attention.

Dynamic duo Amy and Jon Barrysmith make up the doom-y twosome that is Year of the Cobra, a Seattle-based sludge metal band. Moaning vocals accent what reeks of Black Sabbath coming back through a long, dark tunnel. The rippling hums of Amy’s ever-expanding bassy tones are complimented by the dynamics in Jon’s drumming, shifting effortless from laid back grooves to pushing, driving climaxes. Amy’s easy voice over Jon’s steady splashing lulls you in, only to hit you with the surprise, brutal left-hook!

A heavy psych rock/proto-metal power trio based out of Austin, Texas, The Well’s lethal blend of knotty prog, punk, and bluesy doom rock invokes names like Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard, Sleep, and Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats. Citing a desire “to blend different musical styles as diversified as Joy Division to Blue Cheer”, the band, which consists of Ian Graham, Lisa Alley, and Jason Sullivan, came together in 2012 out of a shared love for extreme music, cult horror films, and dark mysticism.

Completing this incredible lineup are some of Pacific North West’s finest doom bands. Each bringing their unique twist on the genre:

Witch Ripper

Washington’s WITCH RIPPER have seamlessly welded together the contemporary heaviness of such hard-hitting acts as MASTODON, GOJIRA, and BARONESS with the anthemic bombast of classic artists in the vein of QUEEN and DAVID BOWIE from the start.

Slow Goat

Gamy riffs cut from the flank of the Pacific Northwest

Ape Machine

The name APE MACHINE is a nod to the days of reel-to-reel magnetic tape audio recording; a fitting moniker for the heavy-hitting quartet as the band plays through vintage tube amplifiers and lays down its songs using exclusively throwback quality studio equipment.

Sorcia

SORCIA hails from the Snoqualmie Valley in the backwoods of Seattle, Washington. Combining blues-laden groovy riffs, heavy doom and raw grunge with the added dynamic of dual vocals, they deliver their own method of Pacific Northwest stoner sludge metal.

Sun Crow

Rain-soaked doom blues, moss-covered stoner rock, grey sky heavy psych, whatever they call it, SUN CROW summons the old spirits of high volume heavy rock into close quarters and paints the ceiling and walls with magnets, wood, and glass.

Melancholia

True to its name, MELANCHOLIA explores dread and anguish in all of its malformed glory through the lenses of crushing doom/sludge, ferocious black metal/death metal and raw, primitive crust punk.

Mother Root

Two brothers making noise in the backwoods of the Snoqualmie Valley.

https://wl.seetickets.us/event/bell-witch/616791?afflky=ElCorazon
https://www.instagram.com/raincitydoomfest

Bell Witch, Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate (2023)

The information you want — i.e., the tour dates — is in the tour posters, but as you can see there, what’s happening is that Desert Records denizens Red Mesa (from Albuquerque) and Sorcia (from Seattle) are both going on tour in August, and for part of each run, the tours will combine.

Got it? So they’re not touring the entire time together, but they’re hooking up for a leg as part of each’s broader stint up and down the West Coast/inland. Lacking a good word for it is how you get to “intertwining” in the headline. I could’ve gone with “conjoined” or “joint,” but I felt like either of those would mean it’d be the two of them the whole time — you can see in the images Sorcia actually have more shows with Tigers on Opium, and both they and Red Mesa will share the stage with a bunch of others in the sphere of Desert Records along the way — whereas “intertwining” at least in my head implies joining with something else from a more solitary state.

And I’m sorry to get sidetracked on language here — I should be dropping review links, right? isn’t that how it goes? like someone’s gonna click that? — but I find words interesting and it’s nice to have an idea what to call a thing when it happens. If you have any other suggestions, hit the comments and please let me know.

Otherwise, the tour(s) announcement(s) follow here, courtesy of the reliably-paradigm-shifting PR wire:

RED MESA / SORCIA TOUR

Two of Desert Record’s power trios RED MESA and SORCIA, have announced their respective Western U.S. tours for August 2024. The bands will support each other on a leg from ALBUQUERQUE-SEATTLE.

A multitude of Desert Records bands will support including Nebula Drag, Dali’s Llama, The Penitent Man, Spliffripper, Grim Earth, Droneroom, Breath, Doors to No Where, and Fuzz Evil.

“We’ve been talking about doing a full Western US tour for years…and it is FINALLY happening! We couldn’t be more stoked to do the Albuquerque to Seattle leg with our dear friends Sorcia. As we support our latest album, ‘Partial Distortions’ we will be bringing the heavy desert rock to your city!” – Red Mesa

“We are very excited to announce that we are getting back on the road for another Western US Tour this August! For the first half we will be hitting the West Coast joined by our dear friends, Portland rippers Tigers On Opium. For the second half we will be linking up with our amazing Desert Records labelmates Red Mesa as we make our way through the desert and up through the Rockies, where we will end the tour by hosting them in Seattle for our tour homecoming. We are looking forward to hitting some new towns on this tour, and we have some killer bands lined up to support these shows, so stay tuned for individual show details. See you on the road!” – Sorcia

Red Mesa tour poster by Joey Rudell of Fuzz Evil / Sorcia tour poster art by Misanthropic-Art (poster layout by Jessica Brasch).

Red Mesa is:
Brad Frye – Rhythm and Lead Guitars, Lead and Backing Vocals
Roman Barham – Drums, Lead and Backing Vocals
Alex Cantwell – Bass Guitar, Lead and Backing Vocals, Additional Rhythm Guitars, Piano

SORCIA
Neal De Atley – Guitar, Vocals
Jessica Brasch – Bass, Vocals
Bryson Marcey – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/redmesaband/
https://www.instagram.com/redmesaband/
https://redmesarock.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SorciaBand/
https://www.instagram.com/sorciaband/
sorcia.bandcamp.com
https://sorciaband.com/
http://linktr.ee/sorciaband

https://www.facebook.com/desertrecordslabel/
https://www.instagram.com/desertrecords/
https://desertrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://desertrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://linktr.ee/desertrecords

Red Mesa, Partial Distortions (2024)

Sorcia, Lost Season (2023)

Seattle sludge rockers Sorcia will hit the road in April to support their Desert Records-issued sophomore LP, Lost Season (review here), on a weekend-to-weekend stint around their appearance at Rocky Mountain Riff Fest in Kalispell, Montana, on April 20. Before they get there, of particular note is the Road to Riff Fest Showcase in Spokane on April 19, at which Sorcia will be joined by Mos Generator and Merlock, both also making their way to Kalispell the next day.

The regional run is certainly welcome news, and it follows a broader West Coast tour the trio undertook last summer around the time of Lost Season‘s July release. Still, Substation aside, it’s at least Sorcia‘s third escape from Seattle (cue a grunge-era Snake Plissken in the best movie the ’90s never made, and not a gritty reboot), and an occasion worth marking all the more with a revisit to the album, which you’ll find streaming below should you want to lose your head again in the lumber of “Entering the Eighth House,” which, yeah, you probably do.

Info from the PR wire:

Sorcia Spring Tour 2024

🚨TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT🚨

We are very excited to announce our Spring Tour 2024! We look forward to shaking walls around the NW with so many amazing bands as we make our trek to Rocky Mountain Riff Fest and back. More details to come, so mark your calendars and stay tuned!

4/18 – Ray’s Golden Lion | Richland, WA
4/19 – Road To Riff Fest Showcase | The District Bar | Spokane, WA
4/20 – Rocky Mountain Riff Fest | Eagles | Kalispell, MT
4/21 – Mikey’s Gyros | Moscow, ID
4/22 – Substation | Seattle, WA
4/26 – High Water Mark | Portland, OR
4/27 – McCoy’s Tavern | Olympia, WA

(Poster by Jessica Brasch)

SORCIA
Neal De Atley – Guitar, Vocals
Jessica Brasch – Bass, Vocals
Bryson Marcey – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/SorciaBand/
https://www.instagram.com/sorciaband/
sorcia.bandcamp.com
https://sorciaband.com/
http://linktr.ee/sorciaband

https://www.facebook.com/desertrecordslabel/
https://desertrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://desertrecords.bigcartel.com/

Sorcia, Lost Season (2023)

You can see in the lineup for Rocky Mountain Riff Fest 2024 that the festival, which is set for April 20 in Kalispell, Montana, is expanding its reach. Yes, Wizzerd, Sorcia, Merlock, The Gray Goo and Spliffripper have played before — The Old Ones played Erosion Festival in 2016; I remember thinking that looked awesome and it did — but returning parties are accompanied by newcomers like Lord Velvet, Chokesetter and Hot Milk and the Flower Pallets, who play the pre-show, and I think they’ll have two stages going and Mos Generator are popping eastward from their home in Port Orchard, Washington, which is probably like a 40-hour drive or something, to headline. I’d go to this in a second, man. That’s a good way to spend a day, and you’re in Kalispell, which looks gorgeous.

The full lineup was announced on social media — I know, crazy, right? — and notes a venue change that looks like it’ll actually be pretty cool having it all in one place. Dig:

FULL LINEUP HAS ARRIVED!

We’re excited to reveal the lineup for #rmrf2024! We are welcoming back some heavy hitters, and introducing some bands to the Flathead valley for the first time.

-MOS GENERATOR-
-SORCIA-
-LORD VELVET-
-MERLOCK-
-CHOKESETTER-
-WIZZERD-
-GREASE CULT-
-THE GRAY GOO-
-THE OLD ONES-
-SURFBAT-
-SCHTICKY-
-SPLIFFRIPPER-
-FREE DRUGS-
-HOT MILK AND THE FLOWER PALLETS-

In years past, Riff Fest has been a block party between the legendary @oldschoolrecords134 and the Eagles in downtown Kalispell. Facing the closure of the 1st Street location of OSR, we are now taking over two levels of the Eagles! It’s going to be a party in the whole building, with our traditional free pre-party at the Glacier Park VFW.

We are also proud to bring on some local sponsors who are stoked to help bring some killer music to the valley!

-ALTITUDE-
-WHEATON’S-
-BIAS BREWING-

Spread the word, and see everybody in April!
🏔🤘🏔

Artwork by @isaacpasswaterillustration

Sorcia, Lost Season (2023)

An all-dayer set for Saturday, Dec. 16, at El Corazon and Funhouse in Seattle, Washington, Rain City Doom Fest was announced late last week by the bands. There are eight of those, which is probably plenty, considering you’ve got Matt Pike bringing his Pike vs. the Automaton solo band through with direct support from Witch Ripper and Mos Generator. Un, Sorcia, Sun Crow, Grim Earth and Mother Root round out, and if you know all of those bands or you don’t — Sorcia in July put out a record called Lost Season (review here); Witch Ripper gleaned fervent hyperbole around their The Flight After the Fall (review here) this Spring; Sun Crow are working toward their next LP; the list goes on — but if I’ve earned any trust in the last 14 years, I hope maybe you’ll take my word for it when I say it’s a solid lineup between established and newer acts, and that I hope it continues to be a regular thing.

Because a homegrown heavy fest isn’t anything to sneeze at and it’s not easy to put together, learning many invariably crucial lessons the only way they can be learned: by doing the thing. I didn’t know it when I first posted the lineup, but Jessica Brasch of Sorcia books this one and it’s been going for three years. This is the first time it will be at two venues — I think — and it remains a killer bill.

Have at it:

El Corazon & The Funhouse present:

RAIN CITY DOOM FEST 2023

2 stages, 8 bands. Showcasing some of the heaviest music in the PNW and beyond.

Pike Vs The Automaton
Witch Ripper
Mos Generator
Un
Sorcia
Sun Crow
Grim Earth
Mother Root

Saturday, Dec. 16

Doors @ 6pm | Show @ 7pm
$20 ADV | $25 DOS | 21+

(#127903#)️ on sale Friday 10/13 at 9am

Poster: Brian Kim

Event page: https://facebook.com/events/s/rain-city-doom-fest-2023/1021960045617875/

Sorcia, Lost Season (2023)

Nice when a plan comes together. Seattle three-piece Sorcia will head out on a West Coast run just one week after the release of their second full-length, Lost Season (review here), which is out July 21 through Desert Records. The route will head south down the Pacific Coast and loop back north inland, hitting Denver and Salt Lake City en route to a still to-be-announced date in Boise that will close. If you’re in Boise, you could be a hero. Yes, booking shows is largely thankless work and the second you become a ‘promoter’ you sign up for at least 75 different shades of bullshit to hit you all at once, but, you know, heroism.

No doubt you’ll note their appearance at Burque Rock City Fest in Albuquerque on Aug. 5. There they’ll share the bill with the likes of Weedeater, Matt Pike, Brant Bjork, Fatso Jetson, Belzebong and many others. Sure to be a highlight of the run, though that’s not taking away from the rest of the shows, which I’m sure will also be cool. This tour was first announced with the review/track premiere linked above, but the venue seems to have dropped out of that Boise show, so an update seemed reasonable. If you didn’t check out the single from Lost Season, “Miss Ann Thrope,” it’s on the Bandcamp player below, where you can also preorder the album.

From the PR wire:

SORCIA Announce West Coast Tour!

Lost Season pre-order on Bandcamp: https://sorcia.bandcamp.com/album/lost-season

In support of their new album ‘Lost Season’ Sorcia hit the road on a summer west coast tour with a stop at Burque Rock City Festival!

Supporting their highly anticipated new album Lost Season, Sorcia embark on their biggest your yet hitting 12 major cities of Western US. Lost Season is the bands their heaviest and most eclectic offering to date and they are ready to unleash it in a live setting.

As part of their tour, Sorcia will take the stage at Burque Rock City Festival. They will play along side some of the Titans of Stoner and Doom, Weedeater, Matt Pike, Dead Meadow, Brant Bjork Trio, Yawning Balch and so many more.

Lost Season will be available July 21st through Desert Records!

SORCIA – WESTERN US TOUR 2023
07.28 Seattle WA Substation
07.29 Portland OR Kenton Club
07.30 Eugene OR Old Nick’s Pub
07.31 Eureka CA Siren’s Song Tavern
08.01 Oakland CA Golden Bull
08.02 Los Angeles CA Knucklehead
08.03 San Diego CA Til Two Club
08.04 Tempe AZ Yucca Tap Room
08.05 Albuquerque NM Burque Rock City Fest
08.06 Denver CO The Crypt
08.07 Salt Lake City UT Aces High Saloon
08.08 Boise ID TBD

SORCIA
Neal De Atley – Guitar, Vocals
Jessica Brasch – Bass, Vocals
Bryson Marcey – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/SorciaBand/
https://www.instagram.com/sorciaband/
sorcia.bandcamp.com
https://sorciaband.com/
http://linktr.ee/sorciaband

https://www.facebook.com/desertrecordslabel/
https://desertrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://desertrecords.bigcartel.com/

Sorcia, Lost Season (2023)