MetalSucks

At the beginning of the year I wrote a piece highlighting the sudden abundance of awesome metal festivals in the U.S.. Though our friends across the pond still retain an advantage in metal festivals in both number and size, 2009 saw a whole host of upstarts in the U.S.: Scion Rock Fest, L.A. Murderfest (in its 5th year), California MetalFest, Texas Metal Up Your Ass, Dudefest and of course long-established destinations such as Maryland Deathfest, New England Metal and Hardcore Festival and Dirtfest. SXSW and CMJ both made surprisingly strong showings for metal this year, too.

The party keeps on rolling into the fall with another brand new festival, Planet Caravan, to take place September 18th and 19th at the Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina. The lineup is headlined by Clutch and Pentagram, with Orange Goblin, Kylesa, Burst (!), Yob, Wino, Astra, and Revolution Mother rounding out the bill. I haven’t heard of Taddy Porter, Orchid, or Pick Up the Snake, but even if all 3 bands are terrible (highly unlikely) that’s still a fucking killer lineup!

MetalSucks is co-sponsoring the event so we’ll have more news as it’s available. Check out the press release and festival details after the jump.

AC Entertainment presents Planet Caravan
Festival debuts September 18-19
Tickets on sale July 18

What: AC Entertainment presents Planet Caravan featuring Clutch, Pentagram,
Orange Goblin, Kylesa, Burst, YOB, Wino, Astra, Revolution Mother, Taddy
Porter, Orchid, and Pick up the Snake
When: September 18 and 19, 2009
Where: The Orange Peel, Asheville, North Carolina
How: Tickets are $79.50, plus applicable service fees, available beginning
Saturday, July 18, at 12 p.m. Eastern time, via The Orange Peel box office,
by phone at 866-468-7630 and online at www.planetcaravanfestival.com.

KNOXVILLE AC Entertainment is proud to announce Planet Caravan, a two-day
music festival celebrating the origins of heavy music at The Orange Peel
Social Aid and Pleasure Club in Asheville, North Carolina. Featuring a
line-up of some of the best emerging and established rock and metal bands,
the debut festival showcases heavy music in many of its various sub-genres
and incarnations, from doom and psychedelic to progressive and experimental.

“Planet Caravan is an homage to the pioneers of heavy music,” says event
creator Charlie Jennings. “The event spotlights bands that carry on the
traditional sounds of heavy rock and blues but also push it into new and
exciting territories.”

This year’s festival features Maryland hard rockers Clutch, who released
their ninth studio album, Strange Cousins from the West, on July 7. Highly
influential, recently reunited doom metal legends Pentagram will appear for
a rare performance. Swedish progressive metal band Burst will make its
first-ever U.S. appearance at Planet Caravan. Orange Goblin, named “the best
underground band in Britain,” by Metal Hammer magazine, will make their
first appearance in three years and their only U.S. performance in 2009.
And, hot off their newest release Static Tensions and a major tour with
Mastodon, Georgia band Kylesa will bring their sludgy brand of rock to the
Planet Caravan stage.

Other performers include newly reformed doom band YOB, who return to the
East Coast for the first time. Doom metal icon Scott Weinrich (of St. Vitus
and The Obsessed fame) appears with his new project Wino. Hot new San Diego
band Astra will perform tracks from their recent Rise Above/Metal blade
release The Weirding. In other firsts, San Francisco’s Orchid will make
their debut performance outside the Bay Area. Rounding out the bill will be
Mike Vallely’s Revolution Mother, modern blues rockers Taddy Porter, and
Knoxville’s own Pick up the Snake.

That the first Planet Caravan is being held at The Orange Peel is a
testament to the club’s premier status in the rock community. Named one of
the top five rock clubs by Rolling Stone in the magazine’s “Best of Rock
2008” issue, The Orange Peel is situated in vibrant downtown Asheville, N.C.
Since it opened in 2002, The Orange Peel has hosted revered performers
including Queens of the Stone Age, King Crimson, Wolfmother, The Flaming
Lips, Wilco, Sonic Youth, and 311, as well as special performances by The
Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, Ben Harper, and a nine-night residency with the
Smashing Pumpkins.

Asheville, situated in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of western
North Carolina with an estimated population of over 70,000, is recognized
for its unique Bohemian culture, natural beauty, and lively downtown, often
referred to as the “Paris of the South.”

Planet Caravan presenter AC Entertainment is a Knoxville, Tenn.-based,
full-service concert and festival production, management and marketing
company that books and presents more than 500 events a year throughout the
nation. AC Entertainment, along with partners Superfly Productions, produces
the annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival.

http://www.planetcaravanfestival.com/
http://www.myspace.com/planetcaravanfestival
http://twitter.com/planetcaravan09
http://www.facebook.com/planetcaravanfestival