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!
Ticket Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planet-desert-rock-weekend-vi-in-las-vegas-jan-29-31-2026-tickets-1254021715709
Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1890287758376482/
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