Echo Fest will hold its seventh iteration this weekend in Detroit, hosting a slew of influential and prolific bands from the realm of psychedelia, garage rock, noise, and experimental music. Over the last couple of years the festival has grown in popularity, often selling out of tickets and moving from The Loving Touch to the newly reopened Magic Stick this year.
The fest, started by local band Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor (SOYSV), does not stick to stringent genre guardrails. Rather, Echo Fest strives to create an environment of mind-expanding sounds and showcase the incredible musicianship of bands both seasoned and young. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. tonight, Saturday, November 12, and tickets are $20. Check out some of the highlights from the bill below and head to Echo Fest’s official Facebook page for the full schedule.
The Deadly Vipers
6:00 p.m.
S.T.F.B.Y. Stage
The Deadly Vipers are a psych-punk four-piece whose onstage abandon would surely be enough to bring a smile to Iggy Pop’s face. While certainly inspired by the wah-wah guitars of Pop’s late bandmate Ron Asheton, at their breathtaking heaviest The Deadly Vipers recall no one more so than Black Sabbath. Dare to investigate whether they live up to these lofty comparisons and you won’t be disappointed.
Rogue Satellites
7:00 p.m.
S.T.F.B.Y. Stage
Rogue Satellites blend the ghostly textures of dream pop and the mind-blowing sonic exploration of space rock with indie’s moody, introspective lyrics for one of the more unique takes on traditional psychedelia you’ll hear at Echo Fest.
Mountains and Rainbows
7:30 p.m.
Found Sound Stage
With a new album out this year on Castle Face, the label founded by John Dwyer of Thee Oh Sees, Mountains and Rainbows have taken their already humongous sound to even greater heights. Their set will take you from a slow-burning dirge to a medley of skittering punk scorchers, while promising to sprinkle in some of their signature weirdo jams.
Outrageous Cherry
8:30 p.m.
Found Sound Stage
Outrageous Cherry have been beloved in the Detroit scene for nearly 25 years now, and their jangly, coy brand of indie pop recalls the likes of Beat Happening and Teenage Fanclub. They’re sure to draw a lively crowd, playing from their immense catalog of lo-fi tunes and delving into a psychedelic solo or two.
Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor
10:30 p.m.
Found Sound Stage
Like many of the other acts at this year’s Echo Fest, Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor are a very solid garage rock band. They lean more toward the atmospheric end of the spectrum, however, with many of their songs devolving into a wall of indistinguishable sounds. Pulling equally from the shoegaze and psychedelic experimenters that came before them (think Brian Jonestown Massacre), it’s sure to be one heady performance.
Wolf Eyes
11:15 p.m.
S.T.F.B.Y. Stage
Wolf Eyes are a Michigan-based band that began as the solo project of Nate Young, but have since earned a large cult following and introduced the noise underground to indie rockers, punks, psychonauts, and experimentalists alike. This year the group held the inaugural Trip Metal Fest over Memorial Day Weekend.
Timmy’s Organism
12:15 a.m.
S.T.F.B.Y. Stage
Detroit rock veterans Timmy’s Organism have recently started getting the attention they deserve. Their latest LP, 2015’s terrific Heartless Heathen, was released on Jack White’s Third Man Records and featured highlight single “Get Up, Get Out,” a life-affirming, four-minute punk eruption. The group’s raucous live set is one you won’t want to miss.
Nik Turner’s Hawkwind
12:45 a.m.
Found Sound Stage
Hawkwind are a soaring, sci-fi-influenced British space rock band, respected in both metal and progressive circles during the 1970s and ’80s, who have since reformed under the leadership of Nik Turner and will close out this year’s Echo Fest.