After cancelling their 2020 edition because of COVID, Psycho Las Vegas are planning to return in 2021, with almost the same lineup as 2020 -- 80 of the 83 bands booked are currently onboard for the coming year, including Danzig, Mercyful Fate, Emperor, The Flaming Lips, Blue Oyster Cult, Down, Mayhem, Satyricon, Obituary, Warpaint, Blonde Redhead, HEALTH, Watain, Ulver, Katatonia, At the Gates, Poison the Well, Thursday, Zola Jesus, Pinback, Boris, Eyehategod, Windhand, Cursive, TSOL, King Dude, Pig Destroyer, and more. The festival is scheduled for August 20-22 at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and they've put single day tickets on sale, and begun rolling out the lineup by day.
So far we've seen the lineups for Friday, headlined by Emperor and also featuring Blue Oyster Cult, Mayhem, GZA (performing Liquid Swords), Satyricon, Watain, Obituary, HEALTH, Cephalic Carnage, Exhorder (performing Slaughter in the Vatican), King Dude, Pinback, This Will Destroy You, Khemmis, MGLA, Two Minutes to Late Night; and Saturday, headlined by Danzig (performing Danzig II: Lucifuge), and also featuring The Flaming Lips, Ulver, Warpaint, At the Gates (performing Slaughter of the Soul), Poison the Well, Pig Destroyer, Eyehategod, Thursday, Cursive, Death by Stereo, Profanatica, Boysetsfire, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, and more. See both days' lineups in full below, and stay tuned for Sunday.
Meanwhile, we last heard from Maryland Deathfest in September, when they said it was "too early to make a definitive decision about which path to take" for 2021. They still haven't made that call, but they say to expect "a more thorough update" at some point in January. "As has been the case since the start of this pandemic, the situation seems to change every day, and while there might be a dim light at the end of the tunnel, it needs to be a lot brighter for us to pull off the event in its proper form without a wave of bands cancelling due to the continued uncertainty," they write. Read their statement in full below.
Maryland Deathfest 12/22/2020 Statement:
UPDATE REGARDING MDF 2021:
As you may recall, we mentioned in our statement in September that we would need to make some very important decisions about MDF 2021 by the end of December.
We have been working on the best way to move forward over the last few months, but December just isn't the best time for a variety of reasons to finalize a plan for the event. That being said, we will definitely be able to post a more thorough update sometime during the month of January, giving you ample time to know what to expect and not be left in the dark.
As has been the case since the start of this pandemic, the situation seems to change every day, and while there might be a dim light at the end of the tunnel, it needs to be a lot brighter for us to pull off the event in its proper form without a wave of bands cancelling due to the continued uncertainty. This isn't to say that we've already pulled the plug on 2021, but if the final decision in January is to reschedule the event again until 2022, take comfort in knowing that we have contacted all of the bands and at least 90% of them have already committed to 2022 if and when it comes to announcing that.
We had mentioned in our post in September that Edison Lot could return if and when the event is moved until 2022. At this point, that is still on the table, as we have come to an agreement in principle with the new management of the lot.
We will continue to deal with this mess and fight to keep this event alive. Everything we've been doing to give this event a legitimate chance to survive is for you, the fans, so that you can see the bands that you were expecting to see earlier this year. We are giving our minds a bit of a rest from everything until the holidays are over, but we'll be back with much more information in January.
