Photos: Wayne Ballard
Desert Dweller Fest’s introductory year was a helluva of a weekend. The first day was stuffed to bursting with youth crew glory, old school fury, brutal chuggery and even a scaled back, emotive set from Runaround. Day two was a different monster entirely, with some of Arizona’s heaviest acts banding together in one bone-crushing, earth-moving night. Comprising of sets from Woundvac, Hikikomori (in all their elegant cacophony), Minor Morals, Arm’s Reach, Frustrated, Trench, Get A Grip, Reasons and a surprise set from the bestial Blackened, the second evening was every bit as fun as the first.
Poster by Joshua Green
Arizona shows – ahem, Tucson shows – have a life to them that is almost elemental, an energy that rivals any regional scene out there. There’s been a multitude of them over the last few years. You could call it a comeback, a renaissance, whatever, I just know that there are even more bands making cool music than there were ten years ago. All thanks goes out to the showrunners and everyone involved with Desert Dweller Fest; may we rage, feed and haunt in the darkness again.
Photos courtesy of Wayne Ballard of Toxicbreed’s Funhouse.
Sick poster by the talented Joshua Green.
