DesertFest Berlin

Desertfest Berlin
Background information
Genre(s)	Stoner Rock, Doom, Sludge, Psychedelic Rock and more
Date(s)	April or May
Location	Berlin, Germany
Venue(s)	(Current) Arena Berlin (Former) Festsaal Kreuzberg Astra KulturHaus Badehaus Cassiopeia
Years active	2012 - 2019, 2022 - Present
Promoter(s)	Sound of Liberation
Associated Events	DesertFest, DesertFest London, Desertfest Belgium, Desertfest Athens, Desertfest New York
Website	Official Website

Desertfest Berlin is one of several annual festivals which run under the DesertFest banner. Each year, the festival is a three day event showcasing bands from the whole stoner rock scene. The festival takes place in Berlin, Germany. Like its English counterpart, the first event ran in 2012.

Background

The original DesertFest, DesertFest London was first conceived of by Reece Tee and Jake Farey of the music promotions company Desertscene. Desertscene started organising shows in 2009, the first of which was Truckfighters. After gaining experience promoting individual bands and hearing the people at those shows' desire for a UK festival like Roadburn Festival, they decided to create DesertFest.

The first Desertfest London was officially announced on 26th July 2011 via a Facebook post, but posters advertising the festival were placed at London's High Voltage Festival. Early on in development of the first edition of Desertfest London, the team behind the festival partnered with Sound of Liberation to make a German equivalent, DesertFest Berlin.

The first DesertFest Berlin was publicly announced, via Facebook, on October 9th 2011. The first event was set to take place between Thursday 19th and Saturday 21st April 2012, and was initially to take place solely at Astra KulturHaus (though later into development Festsaal Kreuzberg replaced Astra as the venue for the first day of the festival The event has remained an annual fixture, in later years taking place within the month of April, exclusively at Astra KulturHaus. The fifth edition of the event is scheduled to take place between the 28th and 30th April 2016.

2012

SUMA live @ Desertfest - Berlin - Astra - 21.04.2012

The first DesertFest Berlin was announced on October 9th 2011 via a Facebook post. The event ran from Thursday 19th to Saturday 21st April 2012, and was initially to take place solely at Astra KulturHaus. Later into development Festsaal Kreuzberg, which like Astra is situated in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough of Berlin, replaced Astra as the venue for the first day of the festival On 28th October 2011, Brain Police were the very first act announced for the festival. The main stage headliners for the event were Orange Goblin, Motorpsycho and Colour Haze As well as the official main festival, an after-show was also held at Raw Tempel on April 21.

Lineup poster for DesertFest Berlin 2012

Thursday 19th April
Festsaal Kreuzberg
Orange Goblin
Greenleaf
Ancestors
Stonehenge
Operators

Friday 20th April
Sol Stage	Rockzilla Stage
Motorpsycho	Grandloom
Amplifier	Truckfighters
Triggerfinger	Mars Red Sky
Lonely Kamel	Glowsun
Danava	Oddjobmen
	Wight
	Shrine 69

Saturday 21st April
Sol Stage	Rockzilla Stage	Raw Tempel (After Show)	Theatre Bizarre
Colour Haze	Red Fang	Kadavar	Wino & Conny Ochs
Ufomammut	Brain Police	Toner Low
Monkey3	Black Tusk	Abrahma
Orcus Chylde	Suma
The Machine	The Grand Astoria
	LDDSM

2013

UNIDA - Intro & Wet Pussycat (Live at Desertfest Berlin 2013)

On August 14th 2012, DesertFest Berlin's Facebook page confirmed via an uploaded photo that the even was returning in 2013, taking place between Thursday 25th April to Saturday 27th April. For the 2013 edition, Astra KulturHaus was the sole venue, with both the Main Stage and Foyer Stage located in the Astra. On October 11th, Norwegian blues-psych band Lonely Kamel were confirmed as the first act for the festival. The main stage headliners for the event were initially confirmed to be Pentagram, Unida and Witchcraft. On 24th April, three days before they were scheduled to headline the festival, Witchcraft cancelled their tour, including DesertFest Berlin, due to what the band described as "serious health issues". As a result of Witchcraft's cancellation, Troubled Horse joined the lineup. Orchid, who were initially set to be the last band on the Foyer Stage on the Saturday night, were bumped up to headline the Main Stage due to Witchcraft's absence.

Lineup poster for DesertFest Berlin 2013

Thursday 25th April
Main Stage	Foyer Stage
Pentagram	Lonely Kamel
Victor Griffin's In-Graved	Dÿse
Samsara Blues Experiment	The Shrine
	Satellite Beaver

Friday 26th April
Main Stage	Foyer Stage
Unida	Belzebong
Dozer	Cough
Lowrider	Naam
Blues Pills	House of Broken Promises
Danava	Oddjobmen
	Witch Mountain
	Lecherous Gaze

Saturday 27th April
Main Stage	Foyer Stage
Orchid	Troubled Horse
Kadavar	My Sleeping Karma
Fatso Jetson & Yawning Man	Gentleman's Pistols
Free Fall	Alunah
	1000mods

2014

Spirit Caravan - Dead Love Jug Fulla Sun (Desertfest Berlin 2014)

On September 26th 2013 a third edition of DesertFest Berlin was confirmed via the event's Facebook page. The 2014 edition of DesertFest Berlin took place from Thursday 24th to Saturday 26th April, once again returning solely to the Astra Kulturhaus in Berlin. On 13th October, the Italian band Black Rainbows were confirmed as the first act for the festival. The main stage headliners for the event were confirmed to be Spirit Caravan, Kvelertak and Clutch.

Lineup poster for DesertFest Berlin 2014

Thursday 24th April
Main Stage	Foyer Stage
Spirit Caravan	Pet the Preacher
Sleepy Sun	ASG
Siena Root	Sixty Watt Shaman
Anciients	The Midnight Ghost Train
	Cojones

Friday 25th April
Main Stage	Foyer Stage
Kvelertak	Mantar
Causa Sui	Elder
Church of Misery	Hull
Gozu	Prisma Circus
Black Rainbows	Huata
	The Moth
	Red Stoner Sun

Saturday 26th April
Main Stage	Foyer Stage
Clutch	The Machine
Radio Moscow	The Graviators
Ultra Electric Mega Galactic	Stoned Jesus
Sasquatch	Sardonis
Radar Men From The Moon	Castle
	Powder For Pigeons
	Doctor Doom

2015

Low Desert Punk - Brant Bjork @ Desertfest Berlin, 2015

On 2nd May 2014 a fourth edition of DesertFest Berlin was confirmed via the event's Facebook page. The 2015 edition of the festival took place between Thursday 23rd and Saturday 25th April, again returning solely to Astra Kulturhaus in Berlin. On 1st September 2014, Orange Goblin were confirmed as the first act for the festival, taking the first headline slot. Orange Goblin treated this, and their appearance at DesertFest London, as a 20th anniversary celebration, playing their third album, The Big Black, in its entirety. The two other main stage headliners for the event were confirmed to be Brant Bjork and The Low Desert Punk Band and Red Fang. A warm-up show was held prior to the festival at Stattbad on April 22 in Berlin, Germany.

Lineup poster for DesertFest Berlin 2015

Wednesday 22nd April
Stattbad
Belzebong
Samsara Blues Experiment
Bright Curse
Elephant Tree

Thursday 23rd April
Main Stage	Foyer Stage
Orange Goblin	Lo-Pan
Karma To Burn	The Picturebooks
Baby Woodrose	Black Pyramid
	Wedge
	Riff Fist

Friday 24th April
Main Stage	Foyer Stage
Brant Bjork and The Low Desert Punk Band	Conan
Ufomammut	Brutus
Acid King	Dirty Fences
Heat	Kamchatka
Morning Cities	Sun & the Wolf
	Travelin Jack

Saturday 25th April
Main Stage	Foyer Stage
Red Fang	Neume
My Sleeping Karma	Toner Low
The Atomic Bitchwax	Mountainwitch
Dopethrone	Bushfire
Mother Engine	Cigale
	Tau

2016

Current event poster for DesertFest Berlin 2016, including full lineup as of 17th January 2016

On May 19th 2015, it was confirmed that the next edition of Desertfest Berlin will take place between the 28th and 30th of April 2016. On 10th September 2015, the first bands for the 2016 edition were announced; the full first announcement included Electric Wizard, who are set to headline the festival, with Elder, Mothership, Somali Yacht Club and Wo Fat also playing. As of 17th January 2016, 22 bands have been announced for the festival, with more to be confirmed. On 2nd February 2016, DesertFest Berlin's Facebook page announced the day splits, confirming that Truckfighters and Crowbar would join Electric Wizard as headliners. On 22nd March, the final three bands, Black Pussy, Baby in Vain and Greenleaf, were announced. On the same day, the festival was confirmed to be completely sold out.

Current Lineup

This is the current lineup for Desertfest Berlin 2016. Stages and times are unclear but day splits have been announced. As such, bands will are listed by day and the order in which they appear on the latest official poster.

Thursday 28th April
Main Stage	Foyer Stage
Truckfighters	Mantar
Pelican	Wo Fat
Spiritual Beggars	Mothership
	Baby In Vain
	High Fighter

Friday 29th April
Main Stage	Foyer Stage
Electric Wizard	Death Alley
Elder	Monolord
Coogans Bluff	Mondo Drag
Monomyth	The Loranes
We Hunt Buffalo	Somali Yacht Club
	Samavayo

Saturday 30th April
Main Stage	Foyer Stage
Crowbar	10000 Russos
Rotor	Greenleaf
Dÿse	Egypt
Asteroid	Kaleidobolt
Black Pussy	Stinking Lizaveta
	Desert Storm

2017

On 19 October 2016 it was confirmed that DesertFest Berlin would take place between 28 and 30 April 2017, returning to the Astra Kulturhaus. Later it would be announced that Cassiopeia and Badehaus would be additional venues to host bands alongside Astra, which would cause some criticism among fans. A warm-up show was added on 27 April at Cassiopeia. An afterparty was also announced for 29 April at Cassiopeia featuring DJ sets from Johanna Sadonis (Lucifer, The Oath) and Nicke Anderrson (The Hellacopters)

Thursday 27 April
Cassiopeia
Stonehenge
Android Empire
Pabst

Friday 28 April
Astra Kulturhaus (Main Stage)	Astra Kulturehaus (Foyer Stage)	Badehaus	Cassiopeia
Saint Vitus	Odd Couple	Wight	Yuri Gagarin
Wolves in the Throne Room	Toundra	Mammoth Mammoth	Elephant Tree
Bongzilla	Tuber	Ruby The Hatchet	Desert Mountain Tribe
	Venomous Maximus	Bellhound Choir

Saturday 29 April
Astra Kulturhaus (Main Stage)	Astra Kulturehaus (Foyer Stage)	Badehaus (New Heavy Sounds)	Cassiopeia
Sleep	Riff Fist	Glitter Wizard	Lowrider Special
Samsara Blues Experiment	Suma	Giöbia	Gold
Mars Red Sky	Wucan	Duel	The Well
	Domkraft	Killer Boogie

Sunday 30 April
Astra Kulturhaus (Main Stage)	Astra Kulturehaus (Foyer Stage)	Badehaus	Cassiopeia
John Garcia	Tschaikai 21/16	Death Alley	Downfall of Gaia
Lowrider	Cosmic Dead	Ecstatic Vision	Motorowl
1000mods	Pontiak	Bask	Ur
Mother Engine	Avon	Closet Disco Queen
	The Devil & The Almighty Blues

2018

On 20 September 2017, the 2018 edition of Desertfest Berlin was announced to be on 4 May - 6 May 2018. However a major change was a new venue in Arena - Kreuzberg in Berlin and going back to the two stage format. On 22 September day tickets would go on sale with Monster Magnet announced as one of the headliners, along with a host of other bands. There would also be DJ sets through the weekend as well (Jan Schwarzkamp on 4 May at Glashaus and DJ Volksradio Moos on 5 May at Glashaus.

Friday 4 May
Main Stage	Side Stage
Monster Magnet	Weedeater
Nebula	Monolord
Church of Misery	Death Alley
	Pretty Lightning
	Vonavibe

Saturday 4 May
Main Stage	Side Stage
Graveyard	Yuri Gagarin
Elder	Lucifer
Horisont	King Buffalo
Dead Lord	Maidavale
	The Necromancers
	High Reeper

Sunday 4 May
Main Stage	Side Stage
High on Fire	Haik
Eyehategod	Radio Moscow
Planet of Zeus	Jex Thoth
Church of the Cosmic Skull	Dopelord
Freedom Hawk	The Black Wizards
	Lionize

2019

On 27 July 2018, it would be announced that the 2019 edition of DesertFest Berlin would be set for 3 - 5 May 2019 at Arena Berlin, with bands and early bird passes to be announced. On 21 September 2018 the first wave of bands would be announced for the 2019 edition, including Witch, All Them Witches, Earthless, Colour Haze, Hallas and 24/7 Diva Heaven. On 29 November the second wave of bands would be announced including Om, Mondo Generator, Nick Oliveri, Wino, Wovenhand and Kikagaku Moyo among others. On 20 December 2018 the next festival headliner would be announced in Fu Manchu along with a few other bands. The next wave of bands thereafter would be announced on 5 March 2019. On 15 April 2019 it would be announced that the 2019 edition was completely sold out.

Friday 3 May
Main Stage	Boat
Colour Haze	DJ Volksradio Moos
All Them Witches	24/7 Diva Heaven
Witch	Wino
Earthless
Monkey3
Mondo Generator
The Devil and The Almighty Blues

Saturday 4 May
Main Stage	Boat
Fu Manchu	DJ Das Boot
Kikagaku Moyo	Nick Oliveri
Greenleaf	Zig Zags
Naxatras	R.I.P.
The Shrine
Hallas
Lucidvox
Mirror Queen

Sunday 5 May
Main Stage	Boat
Om	DJ Jan Schwarzkamp (Visions)
Wovenhand	The Great Machine
Long Distance Calling	Blackwater Holylight
The Skull	Worshipper
Electric Citizen
Black Tusk
Stonefield
Swedish Death Candy

2020

A 2020 edition of DesertFest Berlin would be announced not long after the 2019 edition would be finished, though it would not be until 30 September 2019 that the first bands would be announced. The first announced bands would be Masters of Reality, Brant Bjork, Corrosion of Conformity, Orange Goblin, Minami Deutsch, Papir, Saver, Earth Tongue and Dhidalah. Later on in 2019 it would be announced that Witchcraft would be one of the headliners. On 16 January 2020 more bands would be announced, including Amenra as one of the headliners. On 27 March 2020 it would be announced that Desertfest Berlin would be canceled due to the CO-VID19 pandemic.

2022

Event poster for DesertFest Berlin 2022, including full lineup as 26-29 May 2022.

On April 10, 2020, the tenth anniversary of Desertfest was announced for its 2021 edition at Arena Berlin. Tickets purchased for the canceled 2020 edition due to COVID-19 remained valid for the 2021 edition. To mark the milestone, a four-day festival was planned. However, on April 29, the date for the tenth edition was shifted to May 26-29, 2022. After a two-year hiatus, Desertfest returned with a lineup featuring some stellar headliners and a mix of renowned and up-and-coming bands.

The Electric Wizard, along with Witchcraft, leads the charge. Other notable acts include Orange Goblin, Ufomammut, Desert Legends Brant Bjork, and Nick Oliveri with their new band Stoner. Additionally, Yob, Truckfighters, Elder, 1000mods, Lowrider, My Sleeping Karma, and Villagers of Ioannina City will grace the stage. Newer bands are MaidaVale, 24/7 Diva Heaven, Los Bitchos, Slift, and Slomosa.

Thursday 26 May 2022
Main Stage	Second Stage
Samavayo	Vug
My Sleeping Karma	Polymoon
Long Distance Calling	Los Bitchos
Witchcraft	Maidavale
Kadavar	Party with DJ's on the "Hoppetosse" Boat

Friday 27 May 2022
Main Stage	Second Stage
Dhidalah	Love Machine
Spirit Adrift	Temple Fang
Villagers Of Ioannina City	24/7 Diva Heaven
Yob	Dvne
Electric Wizard	Party With DJ's on the "Hoppertosse" Boat

Sathurday 28 May 2022
Main Stage	Second Stage
Black Rainbows	Enigma Experience
Lowrider	Velvet Two Stripes
1000Mods	The Well
Truckfighters	Steak
Orange Goblin	Party with DJ's on the "Hoppetosse" Boat

Sunday 29 May 2022
Main Stage	Second Stage
Slomosa	Saver
Stoner	Band TBC
Ufomammut	PigsPigsPigsPigsPigsPigsPigs
Elder	Rotor
Baroness

2023

Event poster for DesertFest Berlin 2023, including full lineup as 19-21 May 2023. The poster is realized by Callum Rooney.

On October 18 2022, the 2023 edition of Desert Fest Berlin was announced for May 19-21, 2023. A new venue is planned, namely the Columbiahalle. The announced bands include Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, The Obsessed, King Buffalo, Church of Misery, Dozer, Blood Ceremony, L.A. Witch, Somali Yacht Club, Gnod, Ecstatic Vision, Daily Thompson, Gaupa, Psychlona, and others announced subsequently.

On November 7, a second location was added for the festival, namely the Columbia Theater. On April 17, it was announced that Somali Yacht Club would not be present at the event, but Might, Godsleep, and David Celia & Zuffalo have been added.

Friday 19 May 2023
Main Stage	Club Stage
The Obsessed	The Great Machine
King Buffalo	Gnome
Minami Deutsch	Kanaan
Dozer	Godsleep
Church Of Misery	Might
Psychlona	David Celia & Zuffalo

Friday 20 May 2023
Main Stage	Second Stage
Mantar	Gnod
Monolord	Mother Engine
Crowbar	Messa
Corrosion Of Conformity	Valley Of The Sun
Greenleaf	Mr Bison
Fatso Jetson	High Desert Queen
	Plainride

Saturday 21 May 2022
Main Stage	Second Stage
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats	L.A. Witch
Slift	Gaupa
Mono	Ecstatic Vision
Bongzilla	Daily Thompson
Blood Ceremony	Dommengang
	Perilymph

2024

to be added...

External Links

• Official Website
• Facebook

References

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