The organizers of Caterwaul Festival, May 24-27th, Minneapolis, Minnesota, have just revealed the event’s first ten confirmed artists for 2024. In alphabetical order, the fest will feature Brainiac, CNTS, Ganser, Gaswar, Gay Witch Abortion, J. Robbins Band, Lung, Part Chimp, The Austerity Program, and Thrones. The full lineup, consisting of at least 30 additional artists, will be revealed in the coming weeks. Find out more below.
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Caterwaul founders Conan Neutron (Seismic Wave Entertainment), Rainer Fronz (Learning Curve Records), and Melanie Thomas offer this statement about this year’s fest: “Carefully curated and putting a solid focus on bringing in newer bands as well as old favorites from all over, we put together an eclectic lineup of artists (and exceptional food and drink options) that will keep fans of iconoclastic music enchanted and involved for all four days. With Caterwaul we make a promise to showcase the paragons of the weird, whilst also prioritizing the community spirit that holds us all together. We are working harder than ever to make sure that our 2024 version will top the previous editions. Count on it.”
While highlights of Caterwauls past include Big Business, Chat Pile, Flipper, and dozens of other artists representing the heavy, noisy, and experimental fringes of rock, the 2024 lineup promises to be the most stacked one yet, boasting some absolute juggernauts of the past, present, and future: the legendary, reincarnated Brainiac; CNTS, featuring members of Dead Cross and Qui; new post-punk phenoms Ganser; Gaswar, featuring members of Cows, Melvins, Hammerhead; sludge-noise duo Gay Witch Abortion; Jawbox frontman (and acclaimed producer) J. Robbins; cello-core duo Lung; UK noise rockers Part Chimp; industrial punks The Austerity Program; and Thrones, the solo project of Melvins/High on Fire/Sunn O))) collaborator Joe Preston.
An official statement from Brainiac’s camp reads: “Brainiac spent the ’90s carving their own path directly through every typical musical trope, but just as their trajectory had poised them to present their maniacal vision of hissing electro-punk to the mainstream, the death of lead singer Timmy Taylor cut their story short. In the wake of this tragic event, many artists (Trent Reznor, The Mars Volta, Muse, The Flaming Lips, The Breeders, Mogwai, and more) have espoused the band’s lasting influence and relevance as trailblazers whose music still sounds fresh and ahead of its time even today. Over 25 years later, following a full length documentary about the band along with several recently unearthed archival releases, the surviving band members emerge to celebrate the music and give it life once more both for a new generation and long time fans alike.”
Beyond the stellar curation, Caterwaul has come to represent a cooperative, familial spirit within the underground. Through their decades of work in the trenches of independent music, serving in the roles of musician, label owner, show booker, podcaster, and more, Neutron, Fronz, and Thomas are deeply tied to the artists and fans whom Caterwaul pulls together. With its third installment approaching, Caterwaul is becoming the epicenter of its own scene – not limited to any one specific genre, but dedicated to uniting all people on the noisy, eccentric side of the fence.