List of industrial festivals | |
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General Information | |
Related genres | Industrial music, electro-industrial, EBM, industrial rock, industrial metal |
Location | Worldwide |
Related events | Concert tour, music festival, heavy metal festivals, EDM festivals, goth festivals, rock festivals, punk festivals |
Related topics | Cassette culture, rivethead, steampunk, industrial music bands |
The following is an incomplete list of industrial music festivals, which encapsulates music festivals focused on industrial music. The list may have some overlap with list of electronic music festivals, list of gothic festivals, and list of heavy metal festivals. Industrial music is a genre of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s, [1] and precursors included acts such as electronic group Kraftwerk, experimental rock acts such as The Velvet Underground and Frank Zappa, psychedelic rock artists such as Jimi Hendrix, and composers such as John Cage. AllMusic defines industrial as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music"; "initially a blend of avant-garde electronics experiments (tape music, musique concrète, white noise, synthesizers, sequencers, etc.) and punk provocation". [2]
Notable hybrid genres are industrial rock from the late 1970s and industrial metal from the 1980s, while electro-industrial developed in the late 1980s. Because of its genre fluidity, industrial music may be featured at rock festivals, heavy metal festivals, goth festivals, and electronic music festivals, though there are also festivals dedicated solely to industrial music. In North America in particular, electro-industrial music is often termed industrial dance, and since the late 1980s industrial music festivals often attract industrial fans termed rivetheads or cybergoths, [3] with other countercultures such as cyberpunk and goth appearing as well. Cybergoth dance styles include rave dance styles, while more rock-focused festivals may feature dance styles such as pogoing, headbanging, and moshing. The rivethead dress code that emerged in the late 1980s [4] is militaristic with hints of punk aesthetics and fetish fashion, [5] while cybergoth fashion from the late 1990s combines rivethead industrial aesthetics with a style associated with "gravers" (gothic ravers). [4]
Festival name | Years | Location | Genre and details | |
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Hellsinki industrial festival | 2018-present | Helsinki, Finland | 3-day festival with international lineup that focuses on industrial, EBM and industrial metal. The festival is held annually during Halloween season. Headliners include Suicide commando, Covenant, Blutengel, Rotersand and Hocico. | |
Berlin Atonal | 1982–1990 2013–present | Germany | Originally held at SO36 in Kreuzberg, the early years of Atonal fostered revolutionary and innovative musical acts such as Psychic TV, Einstürzende Neubauten, Test Dept, 808 State, Die Haut among many others. [6] | |
Whitby Goth Weekend | 1994–present | Whitby, North Yorkshire, UK | Twice-yearly goth festival with genres such as EBM and industrial | |
Dark Force Fest | 2023-present | New Jersey, U.S. | Annual Gothic-Industrial festival hosted by VampireFreaks. 2 stages over 3 days, featuring over 30 bands, vendors, club events, performers, panels and presentations. | |
Prague Industrial Festival | 1995–? | Czech Republic | Organized by Martina Sanollová | |
Infest | 1998–present | Bradford, England | Mixture of electronic, industrial and gothic music | |
Bats Day in the Fun Park | 1999–present | Anaheim, California, U.S. | Created by two local goth/industrial and deathrock clubs | |
Maschinenfest | 1999–2018 | Oberhausen, Germany | Industrial, power electronics, and other alternative electronic performers | |
Noize Of Life | 2017-present | Mannheim, Germany | Industrial, power electronics, and other alternative electronic performers | |
Tinnitus | 1999–2009 | Stockholm, Sweden | subgenres of alternative electronic music such as Industrial, EBM, Synthpop and Futurepop | |
M'era Luna Festival | 2000–present | Hildesheim, Germany | Goth, metal and industrial music | |
Lumous Gothic Festival | 2001–2020 | Finland | Genres such as gothic rock, deathrock, industrial, EBM and neofolk | |
Forms of Hands [7] | 2001–present | Bönen, Germany | 2 days, industrial, power electronics, musicians and bands published by the German hands label | |
Reverence | 2003–2009 | Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. | An electronic music festival with primarily aggrotech, electro-industrial and synthpop bands | |
C.O.M.A. | 2004–2008 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | industrial, power electronics other alternative electronic musicians and DJs. | |
Eccentrik | 2004–2009 | Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. | A 3-day industrial and goth music festival | |
Amphi Festival | 2005–Present | Cologne, Germany | EBM/Industrial festival held at the Tanzbrunen in Cologne. The first year the festival was held at the Amphitheatre at Gelsenkirchen however it transferred to the Tanzbrunnen, Cologne in 2006. The festival is held over 2 days in late July and audience numbers are typically around 12,000 spectators per day. Currently the festival has three stages and typically hosts approximately 44 artists over the event [8] | |
Blacksun Festival | 2005–2007 | New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. | 3-day industrial and goth music international festival | |
Distorted Music Festival | 2005 | Melbourne, Australia | One year EDM festival that featured underground/mainstream electronic artists, with the genres of breakcore, IDM, noise, industrial, power noise, and glitch | |
Kinetik Festival | 2008–2013 | Canada | C.O.M.A. was essentially replaced by the Kinetik Festival | |
Resistanz | 2011–2016, 2020-? | Sheffield, United Kingdom | Large industrial music festival | |
Renaissance Alternative Music Festival | 2011–present | London, UK | Alternative Music and Art Festival with focus on Industrial, Industrial Metal, Metal, Gothic | |
Cold Waves | 2012–present | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Annual industrial music festival honoring the memory of deceased Chicago-based musician Jamie Duffy. | |
Aftermath Festival | 2014–2015 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | In 2014, Kinetik was replaced by Aftermath, with many bands that were originally intended to play Kinetik. | |
EBM Dark Souls | 2015–2019 | Bratislava, Slovakia | A small industrial/Dark Electro/EBM/Dark Ambient festival which for the first time was organized for one evening in 2015. EBM Dark Souls 2016 edition consisted of two evenings [9] [10] | |
Tomorrow's Ghosts festival | 2018–present | Whitby, North Yorkshire, UK | Twice-yearly goth and film festival with genres such as Metal, EBM and industrial | |
Dry Sockets | 2019– | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada | Two day festival of death industrial, power electronics, harsh noise, harsh ambient and synth-creep with a strong DIY ethic. [11] | |
Factory Fest | 2020 | Saintes, France | A small industrial / post-industrial / industrial metal festival which for the first time is organized indoor for one evening in 2020. [12] | |
Mechanismus | 2018–present | Seattle, Washington, U.S. | Eponymous, multi-day Industrial / EBM / Aggrotech / etc. festival that began on the 10th anniversary of this production & DJ crew. [13] | |
BIMFEST | 2003-present | De Casino, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium | The Belgian Independent Music Festival hosts top international artists from electro/industrial/EBM acts and also great and rising Belgian acts. 18th-10th March 2022 features UK pioneers Portion Control and many other great acts. | |
Wave-Gotik-Treffen Treffen | 1992-present | Leipzig, Germany | Wav Gotik Treffen is a four day music festival boasting more than 100 artists playing in multiple locations around Leipzig. There is also a gothic outdoor picnic, clothing exhibits, and meetups. The musicians include industrial, EBM, aggrotech, gothic, etc. | |
Natale Industriale | 2022-present | Hell Fire Club, Rome, Italy | Festival of Industrial / Experimental Music, Movies, Art, etc. |
The following is a gallery of music festivals focused largely on industrial music (as compared to gothic music):
Gothic rock is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and the Cure.
Death rock is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genres. Notable death rock acts include Christian Death, Kommunity FK, 45 Grave, and Super Heroines.
Gothic fashion is a clothing style marked by dark, mysterious, antiquated, homogenous, and often genderless features. It is worn by members of the Goth subculture. Dress, typical gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, exotic hairstyles, dark lipstick and dark clothing. Both male and female goths can wear dark eyeliner, dark nail polish and lipstick for a dramatic effect. Male goths use cosmetics at a higher rate than other men. Styles are often borrowed from the punk fashion and can also draw influence from Victorians and Elizabethan fashion. Goth fashion is sometimes confused with heavy metal fashion and emo fashion.
Electronic body music (EBM) is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of industrial music and synth-punk with elements of dance music. It developed in the early 1980s in Western Europe as an outgrowth of both punk and industrial music cultures. It combines sequenced repetitive basslines, programmed dance music rhythms, and mostly undistorted vocals and command-like shouts with confrontational or provocative themes.
Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1980s built on the post-punk and new wave movements, incorporating different sources of inspiration from subgenres and what is now classed as world music in the shape of Jamaican and Indian music. It also explored the consequences of new technology and social change in the electronic music of synthpop. In the early years of the decade, while subgenres like heavy metal music continued to develop separately, there was a considerable crossover between rock and more commercial popular music, with a large number of more "serious" bands, like The Police and UB40, enjoying considerable single chart success.
The Wave-Gotik-Treffen is an annual world festival for "dark" music and "dark culture" in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds play at several venues throughout the city over four days on Whitsuntide. The festival also features multiple all-night dance club parties, several fairs with medieval, gothic, and related merchandise, a variety of cultural exhibitions and performances, large themed picnics, and a number of unofficial fringe events.
A rivethead or rivet head is a person associated with the industrial dance music scene. In stark contrast to the original industrial culture, whose performers and heterogeneous audience were sometimes referred to as "industrialists", the rivethead scene is a coherent youth culture closely linked to a discernible fashion style. The scene emerged in the late 1980s on the basis of electro-industrial, EBM, and industrial rock music. The associated dress style draws on military fashion and punk aesthetics with hints of fetish wear, mainly inspired by the scene's musical protagonists.
Cybergoth is a subculture that derives from elements of goth, raver, rivethead and cyberpunk fashion.
Pagan rock is a genre of rock music created by adherents of neopagan traditions. It emerged as a distinct genre from gothic rock in the 1980s. Bands in this genre will often use pagan and occult imagery and deal with pagan themes. In some cases the definition is stretched to include rock bands embraced by modern Pagans.
Electro-industrial, also known as elektro, is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the early 1980s. While EBM has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound with a more experimental approach. The style was pioneered by Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, Numb, and other groups, either from Canada or the Benelux. In the early 2000s style spawned the aggrotech offshoot. The fan base for the style is linked to the rivethead subculture.
Dark culture, also called dark alternative scene, includes goth and dark wave culture, the dark neoclassical/dark ambient scene, parts of the post-industrial scene parts of neofolk and the early gothic metal scene. Dark culture's origin lies in followers of dark wave and independent music, but over the decades it has developed to a social network held together by a common concept of aesthetics, self-representation, and individualism. The musical preferences of the dark scene are characterized by a mix of styles ranging from futurism, electropop, early music, (neo-) classical, and folk music to punk rock, rock, techno and ambient music.
INFO is an industrial metal, industrial rock band from Bogotá D.C., Colombia.
Futurepop is an electronic music genre that has been characterized as a blend of synthpop, EBM and dance beats, based on trance and techno.
Sonic Seducer is a German music magazine that covers gothic rock, new wave, EBM and other kinds of electronic music and culture. The magazine is noted for organizing the annual M'era Luna Festival. Since its inception in 1994, the Sonic Seducer has become one of the major publications of the dark culture in Germany.
Orkus is a monthly German music and culture magazine published by the Zoomia Media Group. Despite its subtitle and its web tagline, it includes all popular music genres including metal, medieval rock, Neue Deutsche Härte, alternative rock, electro and futurepop. The gothic rock, dark wave and industrial music genres have had only a minor presence since the late 1990s.