Desertfest delivers an absolutely top class line up of stoner rock, doom and desert rock across three stacked days in the capital. Here is our day one round up.

DESERTFEST VIBES

As a first time attendee, the first thing that struck me was the brilliant vibe in the area. Whilst the hustle and bustle of tourists navigating Camden continues, swathes of battle jackets, largely black band shirts and plaid laden folk descend upon London’s famous locked area. Old friends catch up and new acquaintances are made; friends of friends bringing people to the festival.

Down ‘stoner alley’ (a cordoned off Greenland Place), people jostle for merch, drinks and check out tattoo designs. At the centre is The Black Heart, one of the venues in play for the festival. It is heaving as doors open with music blaring out, announcing that this festival has started.

Over the road, The Worlds End pub houses plenty of folks wanting a little space to sit. The Underworld (situated in the basement of the pub), is another venue with a rich history and a slate of bands set to wow. Around the corner is the larger Electric Ballroom with The Dev (the smallest venue at the festival), a mere minutes away. The proximity of venues is absolutely brilliant and makes a perfect setting for the festival.

FIRE & FURY

Iron Slug kick things off at a packed The Black Heart but I plump for Bismut at The Underworld (owing to cap restrictions!). The Dutch trio are all fire and fury in their rolling doom laden rhythms. Traversing tempo changes aplenty, Bismut have the Underworld full early doors. As far as setting the early bar goes, Bismut absolutely deliver; they clearly have an ear for huge hooks and pack their music with tension aplenty.

Bath’s Sergeant Thunderhoof arrive to a great reception at the Electric Ballroom. A last minute addition, the boys from Bath are clearly amongst fans. ‘How you doing?’ asks singer Dan Flitcroft. It’s all very refined as the festival starts to fill. Chants of ‘HOOF! HOOF! HOOF!’ echo around the Ballroom as Sergeant Thunderhoof commence their sonic journey. They offer an insatiable groove and have great chemistry on stage. Each member of the quintet carries their own weight with some nice vocal harmonies and great twin guitar lines. There is a real classic rock feel in some parts of the music, but the ‘hoof can certainly kick the shit when it comes to unadulterated heaviness. Another Plane is a highlight as the band really stretch out; a truly great way to kick off proceedings at the Electric Ballroom.

Up at The Dev (Devonshire Arms), Superseed hit the corner stage behind the bar. They fly out of the traps in high octane fashion. ‘Are you with us?’ The pub is chocca with little scope for coming and going! It is one in one out. It is the first time at Desertfest for the Bristolians and they are clearly keen to grab their opportunity. Give Me Something stands out in amongst the brilliant noise they make.

DOOM RIFFS & GNOME HATS

Witchsorrow are set to return with their new album. They open with new track, Bacchus. With an ominous tolling bell, the trio have volume levels pushed to the limit as they showcase what a great doom band they are. Hypnotic grooves and brilliant wah-wah laden solos dominate proceedings. The theme of trios is one that will ensue for the duration of the weekend. Witchsorrow have fists pumping and heads bobbing in unison. The Slow crushing doom passages are executed superbly. When the pace hits the incredibly slow, everything hits harder; there is a real intricacy in great doom drumming and Witchsorrow deliver the slow, crushing tempos impeccably.

From English doom worship, to the quirky eccentricities of Gnome. How can you tell if a person is a Gnome fan without them telling you they’re a Gnome fan? Well…if you have a red pointy hat on and you are casually sloping around Camden, chances are you are in the area for Belgium’s garden dwelling sludge trio. In the lead up to their set, music on the PA ranges from The Wurzels’ Combine Harvester to the theme from Blazing Saddles. All intentional I presume.

When the trio hit the stage, hats are applied (after guitars of course, thus avoiding complications). Duke Of Disgrace and Golden Fool kick off the set. Immediately, the sight of an audience all wearing red pointy hats and bobbing up and down is a delight to see. It ramps up further when circle pits break out for the incredibly powerful The Gods Are Evil. As far as fun at festivals go, you’d have to go a long way to top Gnome. Their support slot with Green Lung later in the year will make that tour one not to miss.

VARYING STYLES

Welsh doomgazers Cwfen, fronted by the enigmatic Agnes Alder, are next up. Alder looks the part all decked out in black with a fiendish looking painted on black eye mask. The band play a selection of songs from their Sorrows LP. It showcases a first real foray into harsher vocal styles with Alder making the blood curdle with her range – there are some vocal parts that touch on greats like Patti Smith as well. Musically, the band move from dreamy like Cure style guitar motifs to paint peeling horror.

In The Black Heart, Norwegian group Daufødt are a fiery prospect. Their punky attitude is another blistering assault on the senses, like Cwfen. They proclaim that their shows are a violent release of decibels and energy. That description is one that feels completely accurate. Daufødt are definitely a band that will make waves in the future.

At the other end of the spectrum, Danish instrumental psych rockers Causa Sui have The Electric Ballroom in a trance. Their long jams are performed with precision and they hold a strong grip over the punters in attendance. This might have something to do with the fact that the band don’t perform live too regularly, therefore this performance is a complete treat.

ADVENTURE ROCK

To keep the Scandinavian theme going, it is Hällas that close out day one of Desertfest headlining The Underworld. Whilst Hermano are the name atop the poster for the day, the lure of Hällas is just too much for some. Again, the venue is full from front to back. The Swedish group have released one of the best albums of 2026 in Panorama (our review here).

Like any true prog rock band that deal in articulate storytelling, the band are wrapped in capes. Their self styled ‘adventure’ rock comes across magnificently. Their sound is so incredibly clean and crisp but with just enough looseness that it doesn’t feel too polished.

A few choice cuts from Panorama really stand out. The Emissary is a pacey track with stomping drums and a brilliant vocal line. If fellow Swedes Ghost had released something like this, the mainstream would be all over it. It retains its prog credentials with the synth use. Another thumper of a track is Face Of An Angel. It has a bit of glam rock stomp. Opening with the hooves of horses trotting along, the song has the quintet showing what great chemistry they have between them.

Hällas fully deserve their chance to headline this ‘second’ stage, as it were. They are not overawed one jot, and deliver a brilliant curtain call for day one of Desertfest 2026.

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