Heavy Psych Sounds Fest Returns To San Francisco

By Dave Pehling

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A two-day blowout of heavy psychedelia and hard rock returns to San Francisco next spring when the Heavy Psych Sounds Fest brings Earthless, Danava, Yawning Man, Brant Bjork and more to the Rickshaw Stop and the Bottom of the Hill.

Organized by noted Italian psychedelic rock imprint Heavy Psych Sounds, the festival first came to the Bay Area last May in partnership with local show promoter and design company Subliminal SF. The epic weekend of heavy music marked the only two-day stop for the inaugural year of the U.S. edition of the festival with headliners Red Fang and Nebula along with a host of other acts taking over the Bottom of the Hill for a full weekend of loudness.

This year, the festival will kick off with a Friday night show at the Rickshaw Stop featuring a headlining set from epic psychedelic rock power trio Earthless after performances by Portland-based hard rock favorites Danava, Philadelphia stoner-metal band High Reeper and Texas cosmic rockers Crypt Trip. On Saturday, the Heavy Psych festivities continue with guitarist Mario Lalli (Fatso Jetson, Desert Sessions) and his renowned Palm Desert experimental surf/psych group Yawning Man headlining a five-band bill that includes a set from desert rock legend Brant Bjork (Kyuss, Fu Manchu) as well as Bay Area favorites Hot Lunch, Turn Me On Dead Man and Disastroid.

Tickets for the shows are $25-$30 for Friday and $20-$25 Saturday. They go on sale on Monday, Dec. 2, at 10 a.m. at Subliminal SF's Facebook event page and the websites for the Rickshaw Stop and the Bottom of the Hill.