At Vegas Rock Revolution we love to champion really good music that deserves more attention and ears upon them. Earlier this year Salt Lake City’s Iota released a comeback album “Pentasomnia” after an 18 year hiatus and it caputured me immediately. The crispness in it’s sound and production truly captured the vibrancy of the album led by former frontman of Dwellers, Joey Toscano.
As I was contemplating the Last Call’ show (Night 4) of Planet Desert Rock Weekend V, I made a short list of bands to exam and re-exam over and over. Iota was on the list. As a curator but also the promoter I had to think through the balance between art and marketing. Iota is a VERY under the radar band that very likely most that are considering coming to PDRW would not know.
As I was whittling down bands on the list almost right on cue I got a message from Joey Toscano introducing himself and inquiring about potentially playing. After some time and floating their music out to a few ears, I decided to make this happen. The visualization of their music being done live in the right setting with an amazing sound engineer gave me clarity.
This power trio also features Andy Patterson who is the former drummer of Subrosa and current one for The Otolith who recently played Ripplefest Texas and Oz Yosri from Bird Eater. We know our well versed PDRW crowd will embrace this cool band and become new fans.
Next band to be announced with be in the next week as well and features another band from west of the Mississippi…..
Tickets for PDRW Last Call: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1022254108557
Tickets for PDRW V: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/873750791137
Official facebook event: https://facebook.com/events/s/planet-desert-rock-weekend-v-j/1399556780734695/
The Lineup:
Fireball Ministry / Los Angeles
Fireball Ministry has been rocking stages since the late 90s and have shared the stage with such badasses as Judas Priest, BOC, Alice Cooper, Danzig, Anthrax, Slayer, ROb Zombie, Motorhead, Uriah Heep, Dio, Megadeth and many others. They are a Heavy Rock band that delivers great riffs by Emily Burton and magnificent song composition by Jim Rota.
Unida / California Desert
Desert Rock legends Unida have proven over the years that their riff driven Heavy Rock style is one that has stood the test of time. With John‘s blessing Unida has continued to get out there are blow away crowds with the high energy style that guitarist Arthur Seay plays. Unida will be headlining Night 1 of PDRW V at Count’s Vamp’d.
Mos Generator / Washington State
Mos Generator has been rocking for over 20 years and led by Tony Reed who is a monumental force within the scene. From straight forward Heavy Rock to Heavy Psychedelic they have always created music that elevates above many. They will be playing with the original lineup and songs from the early Mos Generator catalog!
Valley of the Sun/ Cincinnati
Super pumped to have Valley of the Sun return to Planet Desert Rock Weekend after performing at the inaugural one. Led by frontman Ryan Ferrier they deliver straight Heavy Rocking Desert Rock tinged stuff that sticks in your head. Their recently released album on Ripple Music landed close to the top of Vegas Rock Revolution’s top albums of the year.
JIRM/ Sweden
Ripple Music‘s JIRM (formerly known as Jeremy Irons + the Ratgang Malibus) has built their reputation on an epic sound on each release regardless of the evolution and creativity of the album. They can range from a light summery Psych song to a dark tinged song describing inner turmoil. They are accented by amazing vocals. JIRM‘s album “The Tunnel, The Well, Holy Bedlam” landed #4 on the Doom Charts for March 2022. This will be there 1st time in the States.
Sergeant Thunderhoof / U.K.- England
These Brits have blown away fans in the U.K. for years and rocked amazing album after album of Heavy Rock for the world to hear. Highly touted for their live sets but their recent album “The Scripted Veil” took the scene by storm with incredible soaring vocals and superior songwriting to most. Landed #1 on Doom Charts for June 2022. This will be their 1st and only show in the States in 2025!
Solace / New Jersey
Solace is a band I have admired for years and the chance to have them as part of Planet Desert Rock Weekend is super exciting! These guys have been killing it on stage since around 1996 and have produced a signature sound that is part metal and part Heavy Rock. Their two guitar attack and strong vocals drives their style. Solace has played all over Europe including the Roadburn Festival and toured with Orange Goblin but have never played shows out west. We are excited to have these New Jersey legends coming out to join the Planet Desert Rock Weekend V festivities!
Samavayo / Germany
This German trio has been releasing amazing Heavy Rock since 2003! Their evolution of sound and influence have changed some over the years but at their core they are a Heavy Rock band that writes rocking songs that are catchy but yet get you moving. They have played with many of the top bands in the world whether it was on tour or at a festival. Samavayo‘s album “Payan” landed #2 on the Doom Charts for March 2022. This will be their 1st time playing the USA!
Mr. Bison/ Italy
Mr. Bison has been one busy band since appearing at Planet Desert Rock Weekend II. Their latest album “Echoes of the Universe” has made an amazing splash in 2024 including landing #2 on the Doom Charts for February. Mr. Bison have continued to evolve and challenge themselves including adding a new member who is a multi instrumentalist. We can’t wait to have them back and hear the new stuff live! Mr. Bison is part of the Heavy Psych Sounds label.
Fire Down Below / Belgium
Since their 2017 release “Viper, Vixen, Goddess, Saint” they have done a masterful job of blending Desert Rock, Stoner Rock and Grunge elements together to make music that is so easily accesible to people who want to Rock. Their 2022 release “Low Desert Surf Club” on Ripple Music landed #5 on Vegas Rock Revolution‘s end of year list and #3 on Doom Charts for September. This will be their 1st time playing the USA!
Omega Sun / Slovenia
Returning to Planet Desert Rock Weekend is Omega Sun whose recent 2023 release Roadkill captured many Rocker’s ear with their powerful blend of Heavy Rock, Doom, Grunge and Stoner Rock. Recently the guys had the great fortune of opening up for USA supergroup The Winery Dogs and have embarked on a European tour. We love to bring back bands to the PDRW fold! Their 2023 release “Roadkill” landed #9 on the Doom Charts and VRR‘s end of the year list at #6 in 2023.
Sons of Arrakis / Montreal, Canada
Early on Vegas Rock Revolution has been touting and working with Sons of Arrakis and after hoping to have them as part of PDRW IV, we are excited to have them for 2025! Their sound is an outstanding blend of Heavy Rock/Heavy Psych/Progressive/Stoner with a backdrop of being a Dune themed band. Their debut album ended #2 for 2022 on the VRR end of the year list right behind PDRW alumni Freedom Hawk. Their album landed #1 on Doom Charts for July 2022 and #8 overall for the year. SOA is currently finishing up their 2nd album which will be released on Black Throne Productions.
Godzillionaire/ Kansas
Godzillionaire is a Heavy Rock band out of Lawrence Kansas that features frontman Mark Hennessy formerly of the 90s band Paw! Paw rose to popularity with the album “Dragline” and their track “Jessie” has over 2,500,000 listens on Spotify! Their most recent album “Negative Balance” made a strong ripple in the scene with its creative textures and strong vocals by Mark. A new album is likely to be out by the time PDRW V happens. This will be a rare show for Godzillionaire outside of Kansas and their region. We will have this super cool group kick off one of the nights!
Green Desert Water / Spain
Green Desert Water returns to Planet Desert Rock Weekend after setting the stage on fire with their permance at PDRW v2. This Spanish power trio is all about groovy bluesy based Rock with Pysch tinges! A very electric live band that has 2 albums and an EP to their credit. Both albums placed in the top 10 VRR albums of the year.
Just 1 band remains to be announced and that will be the Saturday Night headliner.
** Also we will be announcing soon a Sunday lineup for “Last Call” which will feature 5 bands from all over. This show will be in a venue in the Arts District in Las Vegas. Seperate ticketed show for that night!