Cold Waves Festival announce lineup for 2020 "Lost Weekend" virtual experience

Today, the folks behind Cold Waves Festival have unveiled the programming for their previously announced livestream event.

Taking place from September 18 through September 20 on Twitch, the Lost Weekend virtual experience will including some live and previously unreleased performances. On September 18, the first Cold Waves event from 2012 will be streamed for everyone’s enjoyment. The presentation will include performances from The Cocks Members, Chemlab, Final Cut, 16Volt, Damage Manual (acoustic), Czar, Acumen Nation, The Claypeople, I:Scintilla, Cyanotic, Go Fight, and Iron Lung Corp.

On September 19, new live performances from Meat Beat Manifesto, DHS, Ash Code and Cyanotic will take place. Viewers can also see unreleased live performances from The Young Gods, Front Line Assembly, Test Dept, Chemlab, OHGR, Lead Into Gold, C-Tec, 16volt Vs. Acumen, Cocksure, and Bile. There will also be special airings of classic industrial music videos with commentary from the artists and directors. So far, Richard 23 and Patrick Codenys (Front 242), Paul Barker (Ministry), Chris Connelly (The Revolting Cocks), Martin Atkins (Killing Joke), Chris Vienna (Nine Inch Nails), and director Eric Zimmerman are slated to appear.

On September 20, the documentary Last Call 2350: The Neo Documentary will air. Directed by Eric Richter, the documentary showcases Chicago's first alternative dance club Neo. A homage to Dace Medusa and their beloved Chicago alternative dance club Medusa will also air. Cold Waves will also say farewell to Severed Heads, who disbanded last year.

Throughout the weekend, Cold Waves Festival will be raising money through artist auctions for the staff of Metro Chicago and the suicide prevention and awareness charity Darkest Before Dawn. The festival will also raise money through a special compilation featuring Stabbing Westward covering The Cure’s “Burn” from The Crow soundtrack. Other acts on the compilation include Godflesh, Meat Beat Manifesto, The Young Gods, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Cubanate, Assemblage 23, Caustic, Ash Code, Cyanotic, Test Dept, and Bile.

The hourly schedule will be announced on September 17.

Cold Waves Festival to hold virtual event on Twitch

While this year’s Cold Waves Festival is cancelled due to the coronavirus, the folks behind the event have decided to go digital.

Announced today, Cold Waves Festival will have a special virtual weekend on their Twitch channel from September 18 through September 20. The event will feature some unseen video performances, auctions, DJ sets, and special appearances. Meat Beat Manifesto, The Young Gods, Chris Connelly, Ash Code, and Severed Heads are among the acts slated to appear. Full details on the event will be released on September 10 via the Car Con Carne show with James VanOsdo

In a statement, Cold Waves Festival founder Jason Novak said:

“Regardless of the current struggles our industry family and friends are enduring, we realize how much COLD WAVES means to so many people every September, since Jamie Duffy’s passing in 2012 that inspired it all. We felt the need to do something, anything, to try and connect this passionate fan base during our ‘lost weekend,’ and we are grateful to the artists who contributed in such a dark time. Hopefully there is enough goodwill and gas in the tank left to generate some fundraising revenue for the Metro staff and Darkest Before Dawn, as we all continue to fight to save our industry.”

Cold Waves Festival is set to return in its regular form next year (September 24-26, 2021).