Since launching in 2012, the festival has become a fixture in the UK’s heavy music calendar, focusing on stoner rock, doom, psych and heavy rock. Its multi-venue format makes use of Camden landmarks such as the Roundhouse, the Electric Ballroom, and The Black Heart, providing a mix of large stages and intimate club settings. Alongside its London base, Desertfest has expanded internationally, with editions in Berlin, Antwerp and New York.

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Green Lung’s headline performance will coincide with the band’s 10th anniversary. The group, who have gained a reputation for blending classic heavy metal with elements of folk and psychedelia, trace their beginnings back to Desertfest itself. Three founding members first met during the 2016 festival.

In a statement, vocalist Tom Templar described the show as a career milestone:
“Back at Desertfest 2016, our guitarist Scott, drummer Matt and ex-bassist Andrew met in the hallowed confines of the Black Heart, and over a few ales decided to form the band that would go on to become Green Lung. Ten years later, we couldn’t be more honoured to be headlining the festival. This will undoubtedly be the biggest moment of our career to date and an opportunity to take our stage show to heights we’ve always dreamed of. It’s also a testament to the power of the incredible London heavy rock scene that launched us, and we can’t wait to bring together friends and fans old and new to celebrate a decade of the Lung at the Roundhouse.”

The festival has also confirmed the first wave of other performers. Texan stoner metal band The Sword will make an exclusive UK appearance, while San Diego’s Earthless return for a one-off UK show. Swedish trio Truckfighters, who performed at the inaugural Desertfest in 2012, are also on the bill. Completing the initial announcement are Capricorns, the London-based progressive doom group who helped define the underground heavy scene in the 2000s and will play their first live show in 18 years.

Two further headliners and additional acts are due to be announced in the coming months.

Tickets for Desertfest London 2026 are on sale now and can be accessed here.

Desertfest has announced that American band Earth – known for their simmering minimalist sound and – will be joining Zeal & Ardor and Elder as headliners for the annual, Camden based, heavy rock festival next summer. They will headline Sunday at the Camden Electric Ballroom.

The festival, which takes over Camden for a late spring weekend each year, will be hosted at five iconic venues – The Roundhouse, The Electric Ballroom, The Underworld, The Black Heart, The Devonshire Arms – between 16-18 May 2025. 

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Alongside the headliner announcement 20 new artists have been booked. These include some new experiences such as the UK debut of live art experience Chöd, an audio, visual, and spiritual collaboration between Isaiah Mitchell (Earthless), featuring original animated projections by Arik Moonhawk Roper (known for his artwork for Sleep, High on Fire, Earth, Cathedral, and more) and guided meditation by Doc Kelley (Psychedelic Sangha). They pay homage to Tibetan meditation practice through their combined arts. 

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In a more traditionally true to form style, perhaps, Arkansas quartet Pallbearer will top a heavy duty Saturday at the Roundhouse. Known for hits like ‘I saw the end’ and ‘Love you to death’ the band is touring their current album Mind Burns Alive, a stripped back exploration of narrative, the band has moved away from its historical use of intense vocals and waves of guitar, making for a well rounded sound that will be sure to impress.

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Familiar faces are also making a reappearance at the festival. The local heroes Conan are a heavy hitting trio focussed on drums, bass, and guitar. Their sound will be joined by another group of London locals: the gloomily atmospheric bops of Elephant Tree.

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Full List of New Additions to Desertfest Line Up 2025:

• Earth headlining Sunday at Electric Ballroom
• Pallbearer
• Conan
• Elephant Tree
• Chöd
• Hippie Death Cult 
• Castle Rat
• Avon
• Greenmillk from the Planet Orange
• Servo
• Mr Bison 
• Kind
• El Moono
• The Hazytones
• King Botfly
• Lust Ritual
• Slump
• Witchorious
• The Summit Fever
• Dresden Wolves   

Weekend tickets are currently available for purchase through the Desertfest website. 

Among the new names announced are Colour Haze, Frankie And The Witch Fingers, Pest Control, Morag Tong, Borracho, Noisepicker, Gramma Vedetta, Lodestar, Kulk, Earth Tongue, Skypilot, Wolfshead, Weedsnake, Orsak Oslo, WAXY, Horndal, Silverburn, Fires In The Distance, Sleemo, Midwich Cuckoos, Akersborg, Grand Atomic, Voidlurker, Under The Ashes, and Fuz Caldrin.

The festival has also unveiled its day and stage splits, creating a roadmap for attendees to navigate the musical celebration across various venues in Camden, London. Desertfest London 2024 is set to span six stages: Electric Ballroom, The Underworld, Roundhouse, The Dev, The Black Heart, and Dingwalls.

Friday’s Electric Ballroom stage will be headlined by Masters of Reality, with support from Colour Haze and Frankie and The Witch Fingers. The Underworld will witness the seismic performances of Mantar and Raging Speedhorn, while The Black Heart hosts the psychedelic sounds of Brume and Alber Jupiter.

Saturday’s Roundhouse stage welcomes skate-punk legends Suicidal Tendencies after a seven-year hiatus from London, joined by Cancer Bats, Bongripper, Acid King, and the newly added Pest Control. The day promises a dynamic array of performances across multiple stages, featuring Maserati, Monkey3, Domkraft, and more.

The festival reaches its climax on Sunday with headliners Godflesh, Ozric Tentacles, Monolord, Ufomammut, and Ashenspire slated to perform on the Electric Ballroom Stage. Bat Sabbath, the Black-Sabbath cover band formed by Cancer Bats, will close out the weekend at The Underworld Stage after-party.

Desertfest London stands as the pinnacle of independent festivals in the UK, dedicated to Stoner Rock, Doom, Psych, and Sludge music, showcasing not only renowned acts but also emerging talents across the genres. The addition of Suicidal Tendencies, marking 40 years since their groundbreaking self-titled debut album, introduces an unprecedented punk-metal energy to the festival. Furthermore, Ozric Tentacles, the iconic psychedelic prog-rock ensemble, will join the celebration, commemorating their remarkable four-decade journey in the industry.

Weekend and day tickets are already on sale and available for purchase here, with Friday and Sunday day tickets sold via DICE and Saturday day tickets sold via The Roundhouse. All tickets provide entry to every venue affiliated with the festival.

Desertfest London 2024 promises to be a captivating journey through the realms of Stoner Rock, Doom, and Heavy Psych. A yearly highlight in Camden, the festival draws metalheads and free spirits alike. Don’t miss out on this epic celebration of heavy music and underground culture.

Taking place in various venues across Camden between 17th-19th May, the festival promises to lay on an unforgettable few days. Following the success of the 2023 instalment, Desertfest will be returning with a bang as they prepare to host over 25 explosive acts.

Reflecting on 2023’s shows, the Desertfest team took to Facebook to share their gratitude, writing “The official Desertfest London 2023 recap is here & has us missing y’all so damn much already! As many of you know, Desertfest is a fully independent venture and your support of the event is the only reason we are still able to bring you a festival of this magnitude in a city like London. Thank you so much for continuing to buy tickets, merch, beers & everything inbetween.”

They continued, “We had so many amazing performances this year and the energy shared between the bands and you is what makes the festival so unique. Of course an extra special shout out to our amazing crew & venues, who not only put so much hardwork into make everything run flawlessy, but keep that extra special DF atmosphere alive.“

The enthusiasm for next year has already begun, as the Desertfest team announced their headlining act, Masters Of Reality who will play their first UK show in almost a decade. As expressed in a press release, “their combination of hard-rock blues with a progressive tinge makes no apologies for not sticking within the stylised box listeners would expect, yet simultaneously provides the perfect lesson in the musical ethos and story-telling of the Palm Desert scene.”

The lineup also includes heavy hitters such as industrial band Godflesh, California stoner-metal band Acid King and Italian experimentalists, Ufomammut.

Multiple other bands from the extensive lineup have taken to social media to share their excitement, including Maserati, Sergeant Thunderhoof and Sugar Horse.

Very excited to announce that we’ll be playing @DesertFest London in May 2024! @TempResLtd @voulezvouscie pic.twitter.com/eZp1OelYFX

— MASERATI (@MASERATI_BAND) November 10, 2023

A cold day in hell is upon us! The stars have finally aligned and we are delighted to announce we’ll be making our debut at Desertfest London in May 2024. We hope to see lots of you there to share some beers and riffs.

Tickets: https://t.co/77fZNU0fri #desertfestlondon pic.twitter.com/UnMnqSB5gb

— Sergeant Thunderhoof (@SgtThunderhoof) November 8, 2023

Hugely excited to announce we’ll be playing @DesertFest in London Town next May. TICKETS:https://t.co/aViazC5JwB pic.twitter.com/qSNEyF4NnK — Sugar Horse (@sugarhorse666) November 8, 2023

Tickets are available to purchase here.

The underground shows will be held, as usual, in six iconic rock venues around the heavy-loving neighbourhood, this year compromising of The Roundhouse, The Electric Ballroom, The Underworld, The Black Heart, The Devonshire Arms and Powerhaus Camden. Some of which are a new edition to the yearly festival.

We’ve been granted news of the final bands to have joined the line-up, and once again, we have not been let down. The roster includes great bands such as, on the first day, the French post-metal band Year Of No Light playing their first gig in London since 2013, the hardcore-punk foursome Bad Breeding from the unbowed Stevenage, Electric Funeral covering Sabbath tunes and many more.

The second day, expect to be plastered by another series of significant rockers, together with one of Sweden’s first and most enduring stoner rock bands Dozer, the so-called ‘fathers or the desert’ Fatso Jetson and the American band Corrosion of Conformity bringing a slower, blues-tinged heavy metal to the table, who have not played on UK soil since 2018.

Following up on Sunday’s final blast we find the heavy groove trio Nebula, Antwerp’s stoner rock legends Gnome, the British riff-driven Uncle Acid and The Deadbeat, Japanese experimental-rock band Boris and many, many more.

It is a relished festival, which comes back round every year with great feedback from its regular fans. Desertfest winds way back to 2011, when its first event was ever made, always happening between the months of April and May. The first event, originally took place in London. However, after receiving such a response, as well as high demand, the event was extended to also take place in Berlin a couple months afterwards. In 2014, Desertfest Antwerp, Belgium was announced. Following its steady growth, the festival now also takes place in Ghent and even made it across the pond to New York.

Not only is it a publicly loved festival, however, it is also considered a safespace for repeatedly welcomed bands who return to the stage each year. Seen almost as a family reunion for most artists, they consider it to be a highlight of the year, in reconciliation with other fellow artists having played alongside each other throughout the years. The band Lowrider share in an interview last year; “Desertfest is always so relaxed and welcoming, it’s our third time here. We know lots of the other bands and it almost feels like an old school class or family reunion. The build up to Desertfest has been incredible, the most excited I can recall since waiting to get a Nintendo at Christmas when I was about 10-years-old!”

Tickets for both weekend and day passes are now available to buy online here.

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Ten years ago, Desertfest was birthed in the UK and since then has committed to providing its unique celebration of heavy music that encompasses such genres as stoner rock and doom, now the Festival is back and larger than ever to celebrate its tenth anniversary. Desertfest has announced a line-up full of over 75 bands, which will be split between six of Camden’s most famed venues and various stages. The event will not just feature a line up full of music’s most powerful bands but will also return with a new stage called PowerHaus. The new stage will feature acts such as, Gnod, Slift and Hey Colossus, a rock outfit from London whose 2020 LP ‘Dances/Curses’ was released to great applause.

The line-up also includes three bands who played the initial event in 2012, Corrosion of Conformity, Orange Goblin and Truckfighters. As well as some exclusive UK performances including the Swedish doom metal band, Witchcraft, who will also be returning to the UK after ten years, making the festival their only UK performance in a decade. The event will also see the doom metal band Khemmis play their first UK performance, plus many more acts from the 2020 line up. The festival will also see a UK debut appearance on the heavy metal Black Heart stage from Spirit Adrift, the American heavy metal band whom Kerrang! has included in their list of top ten American bands from the 2010s.

Camden’s most popular rock club, The Underworld, will play host to such bands as Integrity, Switchblade, Huntsmen and London’s own Green Lung. The Devonshire Arms will be home to the scene’s finest underground acts held over three stages, where ticket-holders can expect to see such acts as Gurt, another hometown band and doom rockers 1782.

Due to COVID restrictions, the last two years were unfortunately cancelled but now the festival promises to bring their celebration of music back and better than ever. The complete list of acts performing at Desertfest can be seen in the festival’s full line up.

Click here to buy tickets.