Yes. This. Cool update from Desertfest Berlin 2019, with Greenleaf and The Shrine and The Great Machine along for the ride with Lucidvox, R.I.P., BlackWater HolyLight, Mirror Queen and Worshipper, and the pairings of the last four between RidingEasy Records and Tee Pee Records leads me to wonder if maybe Mirror Queen and Worshipper won’t hit the road together for a bit and if R.I.P. and BlackWater HolyLight won’t do likewise. For all I know, that’s already announced, but it’s speculation as far as my brain and limited, I’m-writing-in-the-car internet connection are concerned, but either way, they all bring something different Desertfest Berlin 2019, and pretty much anywhere Greenleaf goes is someplace you want to be. Man, I’d love to see that band again one of these… years.

Full announcement came down the PR wire:

DESERTFEST BERLIN 2019 ADDS THE SHRINE + GREENLEAF + THE GREAT MACHINE + LUCIDVOX + MIRROR QUEEN + WORSHIPPER + R.I.P. + BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT!

Spring is almost around the corner, which also means DESERTFEST BERLIN is coming close and will be again opening its holy grounds for the annual and 8th festival edition in the heart of Berlin, the Arena, this May. While desert rock fans and riff lovers from all over the globe come together at the leading cult underground festival specialising in all aspects of the Stoner Rock, Doom, Heavy Psych and all its great subgenres soon, today DESERTFEST BERLIN announced the next batch of great names and high class acts to their already eclectic line-up!

If Black Flag, Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath would have a baby, it would be definitely named THE SHRINE. Hailing straight out of the local rock scene at the Whiskey A-Go-Go in Los Angeles and delivering a breed of heavy, psychedelic, riff based Rock n’ Roll, THE SHRINE will make their long awaited return to DESERTFEST BERLIN this year, and are gonna light it up!

You eagerly asked for them, so you get them! As a most welcome guest and longtime member of the DESERTFEST family, we are thrilled to have GREENLEAF rocking out the Arena stage this year! The Swedish power rock unit will not only present their brand new album live on stage, but as always showcasing some of their finest riffs, haunting melodies to sing along, a unique groove and energetic stage presence the band is known and loved for. Welcome back at DESERTFEST BERLIN, guys!

Furthermore DESERTFEST is proud to confirm THE GREAT MACHINE will be coming all the way from Israel to Berlin! This trio creates a strong psychedelic, stoner rock experience with a heavy dose of the punk rock attitude, join THE GREAT MACHINE on their wild trip into the freedom of heaviest sounds, live at the ARENA Berlin 2019!

With the hints of folk and kraut-rock, LUCIDVOX from Moscow will join to represent full ladies power at this year’s DESERTFEST BERLIN! Sometimes psychedelic rock can extend beyond clichés of shaggy-haired ruffians; LUCIDVOX, the forerunner in a new and burgeoning Russian DIY rock scene, prove that more than well. While the brains behind this Moscowian four-piece, Alina, Nadezhda, Galla and Anna, have played outside of Russia just once, DESERTFEST BERLIN will be their very first show in Germany to date. Please give these killer ladies a very warm welcome!

Cult fuzz rock label Tee Pee Records (home of bands such as Witch, Sleep, High On Fire among many more ) are presenting us two more exciting and up&coming acts from their excellent artist roster: US-based MIRROR QUEEN and WORSHIPPER are currently rising from the psychedelic hard rock underground, both perfectly proving that the soul of melodic heavy music still burns brightly!

After several years of hammering the US west coast with their blunt scythe of street-doom, R.I.P. are about to embark on an extensive tour this Spring with a stop at DESERTFEST BERLIN! The band’s debut “In the Wind”, out on RidingEasy Records, closes the casket on the trends and exhumes the notion that doom isn’t always about how slow and de-tuned you can play, but about fear, death, leather and playing as heavy as possible.

Rounding up today’s announcement with another MUST-SEE tip from the underground, please welcome BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT to the 8th edition of DESERTFEST BERLIN! The Heavy Psych quintett from Portland, who released their critically acclaimed debut just last year on RidingEasy Records, are currently on their way to the top of the biggest hopes in psychedelic rock music, and we are more than psyched DESERTFEST BERLIN will be part of their journey.

DESERTFEST BERLIN 2019 takes place between May 3th – 5th 2019 at the riverside in the heart of Berlin, the ARENA. The festival will not only provide a new sound-and payment-system on the ground, but also more space PLUS a psychedelic wonderland chillout- and live zone on the ‘Hoppetosse’ boat!

Day- and Weekend passes are selling fast, make sure to grab yours at the following link:
www.desertfest-tickets.de

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

BlackWater HolyLight, “Wave of Conscience” official video

If I can be completely honest for a moment, of all the European festivals that happen each Fall, none of them sets me to daydreaming quite like Keep it Low. Is it the fact that a headlining set from Colour Haze is pretty much guaranteed at this point? Well, that certainly doesn’t hurt. But in addition to that, it’s the vibe of the thing. Every year, fests start spewing out their lineups and try to outdo each other, and I have no doubt that 2018 won’t be any different. It’s a lot of fun, but Keep it Low tends to sidestep the hype in favor of a more laid back approach, and to me that speaks to the kind of vibe I’d like to check out on a cool October weekend in Munich. Acid King, Colour Haze and Sasquatch playing Keep it Low 2018? Pardon me while my mind wanders…

What follows here are actually the first two announcements from the festival via social medias. I put them together as one thing because, like with Up in Smoke the other day, I wasn’t getting Sound of Liberation‘s updates. Once again, that problem has hopefully been fixed at this point, so I should be able to keep up from here on out.

Emphasis on “should.”

Here’s the latest, anyhow:

Keep it Low #6 – Oct. 19 & 20, 2018

The first three bands confirmed for Keep It Low – Festival 2018: Acid King, Sasquatch & The Great Machine! Regular Tickets are also now available! Grab yours quick (remember that Early Birds were gone in only 1 day!)

Acid King – Bathed in distortion and baptized in a plume of smoke, the Bay Area trio fronted by talented Lori S. is rocking the heavy scene for more than 2 decades and we are just thrilled to host them for our sixth edition of the festival.

Sasquatch – Californian Dudes are riffrockers to the core: mixing elements of 70s rock, metal and psychedelia…we’re all in for a hell of a party !

The Great Machine – Three piece heavy rock machine from Tel Aviv, Israel, known for their intense and straight forward live performances. Check them out, you won’t regret it!

Today, we’re thrilled to tell you that Colour Haze will be playing their yearly & exclusive Munich show at Keep It Low – Festival! The band has recently added a fourth bandmember (piano/organ/keys) and as usual you can expect an outstanding live set. We’re also stoked to welcome the amazing alternative-blues-rock duo The Picturebooks, and Munich-based heavy-blues outfit Sundog (who by the way will release their new EP “Where My Bones Lie” on March 17th at Feierwerk, you should check them)!

Last bunch of Keep It Low Hard Tickets: http://woolheads.com/shop-2/festivalmerchandise/keep-it-low-2-fays-festival-ticket-2018-early-bird

Keep It Low E-Tickets:
https://www.sol-tickets.com/produkte/24-tickets-keep-it-low-festival-feierwerk-area-muenchen-am-19-10-2018
http://www.eventim.de/tickets.html?affiliate=EVE&doc=artistPages%2Ftickets&fun=artist&action=tickets&erid=2131092&includeOnlybookable=true&xtmc=keep_it_low&xtnp=1&xtcr=1

https://www.facebook.com/keepitlowfestival/
https://www.facebook.com/events/300578407135232/
https://www.facebook.com/Soundofliberation/
https://www.soundofliberation.com/news

Colour Haze, Live at Keep it Low 2017

I’m going to avoid the thing I usually do when it comes to posting about Freak Valley and not fall into woeful daydreaming about how much I’d like to go to the festival. I’m not going to give into the impulse in my head which says things like, “Golly, it sure would be nice to see Asteroid again now that they’re back together,” or, “You know, that live record Mothership put out after the last time they played was awesome, I bet they’ll kill it again at Freak Valley.” Nope.

Not gonna let myself go down a rabbit hole of being like, “Gee, I don’t even really know The Great Machine, and Sativa Root are supposed to have a bunch of new material and their last single was pretty cool,” and then make myself sad thinking about things like the prices of international flights and hotel stays.

I’m not going to do any of that stuff I normally do when it comes to these announcements. Nope. No sir.

It’s liberating to be so contented.

Freak Valley 2017 is June 15-17  in Siegen, Germany. It in no way kills me that that is a place I’ve never seen. No way whatsoever.

Here’s the latest from the fest:

Hi Freaks – here are 4 more bands that will join the Freak Valley 2017 lineup.

Asteroid [SW] – Hardrock/Blues/Jam
Mothership [US] – Heavy Rock
The Great Machine [IL] – Stoner/Doom/Psychedelic
Sativa Root [OE] – Austrian Instrumental Doomedelic Stoned Sludge Metal

For the past ten years, ASTEROID have been one of the trend setting bands in the independent psychedelic heavy rock community. With their origin in hard hitting stoner rock, they’ve constantly been adding more musical layers to evolve their own unique brand of rock. With inspiration taken from American and British Blues and Swedish folk music, the three piece always bring something new and fresh to the table. After all these years together and all these concerts Asteroid is a very impressive act to watch live, where their genuine love for the music really shines through in every song. The trio is well known for making use of the entire musical spectrum with a rich and powerful musical energy that never leaves any stone unturned.

“It’s got the murky darkness of the more menacing Zeppelin songs, the spaciness of Floyd’s cosmic tracks, and the bluesiness of Howlin’ Wolf – not to mention the incredible harmonies that tie everything together and keep you coming back for more.”

The supersonic intergalactic Heavy Rock trio MOTHERSHIP is landing at Freak Valley again!!!

The band will be releasing its highly anticipated third studio album “High Strangeness” in Spring 2017. The band is best known for its highly energetic and infectious live show, their non-stop dedication to performing on the road, and their unique Texas brand of heavy rock & roll boogie, blistering guitar solos, and thick grooves many find hard to believe for a 3 piece band. Consisting of brothers Kyle Juett on bass/lead vocals, Kelley Juett on guitar/vocals, and Judge Smith on drums, these guys have created a unique sound that satisfies like a steaming hot stew of UFO and Iron Maiden, blended with the southern swagger of Molly Hatchet and ZZ Top, paired with a deadly chalice of Black Sabbath. Mothership’s goal from the beginning has been to carry on the tradition of the classic rock style of the ’70?s, updated and amped up for the modern day. TRIP ON THE SHIP

THE GREAT MACHINE is a four piece band from Israel.

Led by the brothers Haviv: Omer on guitar and Aviran on the bass. Combined with the energetic drumming of Michael Izaki and the powerful singing of Noga Shalev they create a strong psychedelic, stoner-rock musical experience. The music of THE GREAT MACHINE is very powerfull. Two words: Riffs forward. the Brothers Haviv produce a heavy aggressive riff, that worships at the same time Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin ; From the back Yitzhaki kills with his drums . Some things make this simplicity wins. First,the free spirit and wild feeling that the Great Machine spreads, their stage behavior immediately releases the rocker in the mind , even if it is quite suppressed . Second, the brothers Haviv are very good at creating a dynamics and tension of slow and heavy rock, and then they shatters.

SATIVA ROOT: A world created from the darkness of ourselves, the homogeneous perfection of the nature and the consequent discrimination of our community. All that and more surrounds the Austrian Band Sativa Root and consequences their motivation to create their special kind of music. But not that bad attributes alone provokes the Trio to write such hypnotic sounds. With a pure and raw instrumental Doom, a fist full of Sludge Metal and spooky psychedelic parts they will put you in a head banging trance.

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL – 15th-16th-17th June 2017
www.freakvalley.de – www.rockfreaks.de

Freak Valley Festival 2017: No Fillers – Just Killers

LineUp 2017:
Slo Burn, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Pentagram, Ufomammut, Greenleaf, Conan, Golden Void, Asteroid, The Brew, Arbouretum, Maserati, Föllakzoid, Mothership, Wand, Salem’s Pot, MaidaVale, Elephant Tree, Geezer, Kikagaku Moyo, The Great Machine, Orango, Vodun, The Black Willows, Sativa Root, Limestone Whale

More tba soon…!

www.freakvalley.de
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://www.facebook.com/events/150965291977635/
https://twitter.com/FreakValley

Mothership, Live over Freak Valley (2016)