Concerts – 2025 April

After taking the first couple of weeks off from shows to get back used to real life after touring for most of March with Pelican, the first few shows back at it feel like a haze. To celebrate the 4/20 holiday in style, Widowmaker Brewing once again hosted Hopsmokerfest and the 3-day lineup was stacked. Not having my fill of doom and gloom, was able to catch Faetooth and Sunrot.

For the past few years, Widowmaker has hosted a heavy metal and beer festival endearingly called Hopsmokerfest, a now three-day event of fast riffs, slow chugs, crispy suds, and dank buds. Area main stays Swamphead, Leather Lung, and High Command are no strangers to the fest, with fellow locals Earthlore and Held Captive winning the opening slots via the battle of the bands Invitational, as well as Mourned and Bone Church making their first appearances at the brewery. Snagging some bands along their tour cycles for direct support and headlining roles include Castle Rat, Enforced, Harsh Realm, Howling Giant, Restless Spirit, and Rezn. The Dregs Liquid Lightshow provided visuals for all three nights.

Just mere days later, the need to be in a dark room with loud music was satisfied once again as the Los Angeles-based fairy-doom trio Faetooth were bopping around the Northeast with New Jersey’s noisey sludge experimentalists Sunrot. All four of these dates would sell out, with the Cambridge date being held at Sonia – the nightclub formerly known as TT the Bears, after being moved from the Middle East Upstairs, a +150 person increase.

Statistics:
Month: April
Number of concerts attended: 4
Total Bands/Unique Bands: 14/12
Total Venues/Unique Venues: 2/1

Year: 2025
Number of concerts attended: 29
Total Bands/Unique Bands: 71/42
Unique Venues: 24

Spotify Playlist:
2025 – Live Actions
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4bcRkuAftCEWUbqqgXukyu?si=12e12437297f4212

Swamphead