UK Gothic weekender, Tomorrow’s Ghosts Festival/Halloween Gathering, has announced its Saturday night very special guests as Katatonia. This follows the recent confirmation of fellow Swedes, Then Comes Silence, alongside a host of other acts who will be appearing at the event, Friday 01st – Sunday 03rd November. Keep reading in the article below for full details.
The Swedish grand seigneurs of gloom, Katatonia recently released their crushing and exhilarating new album Sky Void Of Stars, and will be bringing it to Whitby this Autumn. Carving their way from their nineties gothic-tinged doom metal to the ethereal post-metal entity they are today, Katatonia continue to be led by founding members Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström, with the current line-up of the band also featuring Roger Öjersson (guitar), Niklas Sandin (bass) and Daniel Moilanen (drums). Over the course of an unbelievable thirty years and twelve studio albums, the band have staked their place as Stockholm’s finest architects of existential dread. Since their first two genre-bending death/doom milestones Dance of December Souls (1993) and the immortal Brave Murder Day (1996), the band have never shied away from evolution and the soaring post-rock and elaborate prog wanderlust of latest effort Sky Void of Stars is a testament to their enduring penchant for innovation. Katatonia’s addition to the Tomorrow’s Ghosts 2024 line-up promises to deliver a set for the ages.
On Friday 1st, goth rock’s greatest innovators of the moment Creeper will be unfurling a fright-fest to remember following the runaway success of latest album Sanguivore. Expect a freakish, future-facing performance of high drama and jet-black darkness as Southampton’s visionary hell-raisers take the stage.
The following night, headliners Peter Hook & The Light will be taking the genre back to the blackened roots that began it all as they present a Joy Division : A Celebration. Long-argued as being the founding fathers of the Gothic genre, Hooky and co. will be making their case by illuminating the macabre marvels of classic albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer in their completion. A festival exclusive, only at Tomorrow’s Ghosts Festival 2024.
Each night the headliners will be ably supported by some very special guests. On Friday night, the foreboding tones of industrial Manchester will set the mood for the evening as Ist Ist, one of the city’s most celebrated post-punk outfits of recent times, return to Tomorrow’s Ghosts as guests of honour. After their incendiary set at the festival’s Spring Gathering in April 2023, expect to hear elements of 2023 masterwork Protagonists alongside deep cuts from their cultish canon.
Across the weekend, Tomorrow’s Ghosts // Halloween Gathering’s specially curated line-up will see bearers of the Gothic flag new-and-old representing at Whitby. Yorkshire goth-rock originals Skeletal Family will be reminding audiences of their essential early works with choice picks from the likes of Burning Oil and Futile Combat, while also showcasing work from 2023’s class comeback album Light From The Dark.
Last week, Swedish post/punk outfit Then Comes Silence were also added to the Saturday billing. Currently a three piece, recent opuses Machine, Hunger and upcoming seventh album Trickery have found the band undertaking a darker, thrilling and more electronic mode of operations. Recently touring around the USA and Europe with their new set-up, plus playing choice support shows with kindred spirits Vision Video and The Bellwether Syndicate, expect the band to arrive in Whitby with a fearsome new sound and a formidable live spectacle to get very excited about.
Elsewhere, Black Doldrums will be blitzing senses with their “dark psych” creations. Viewing their work as a contemporary form of gothic post-punk, the sonic voodoo they conjured on their acclaimed debut Dead Awake was produced by Suicide’s producer Jared Artaud. A set guaranteed to leave you feeling anywhere but the doldrums.
Plus, opening the festival on Friday, future stars and Louder Than War favourites The Gospel will deliver an enrapturing performance. A supergroup of sorts comprising Jimmy Sweet (Hot Hot Heat), Danni McCormack (Mel from hit 90’s TV series My Parents Are Aliens), Charis Anderson (Curse Of Lono), Heather Bell (Nova Hawks), and Hazel Cotogno (Poussez Posse), this unlikely combo make otherworldly synthesiser-addled gothic-gospel with more than a whiff of Nick Cave about them.
As per previous years, alt/rock DJ royalty Carpe Noctum will be burning the midnight oil and bringing the tunes as they reprise their notorious death disco into the early hours. Around the site, attendees can also expect to see the return of the Gothic and alternative markets, as well as other special events – to be confirmed in due course.
After the resounding sell-out success of last year, the annual goth festival will be returning to its spiritual home once more on Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd November. Hosted annually at the Whitby Pavilion, the town that saw Bram Stoker gift the world with the original Gothic masterpiece Dracula, since 2018 Tomorrow’s Ghosts Halloween Gathering has earned its place as the UK’s ultimate gothic destination festival. Delivering expertly curated line-ups, markets, talks, club-nights and so much more, fans of the gothic subculture flock to Whitby every Halloween in what is becoming something of an annual pilgrimage for its devout following. Following the sell-out successes of 2022 and 2023, the 2024 edition of Tomorrow’s Ghosts will be celebrating the very finest the dark arts have to offer with one of its most spectacular editions yet.
Tickets / Info
Tomorrow’s Ghosts Festival // Halloween Gathering 2024
whitby Pavilion, Whitby
Friday 1st – Saturday 2nd November 2024
Friday Tickets are priced at £42.50 + BF
Saturday Tickets are priced at £42.50 + BF
Weekend Tickets are priced at £85.00 + BF
Remaining General Sale tickets are on sale now here:
https://www.tomorrowsghostsfestival.co.uk
Additional Information:
Ages 8+
Under 14s to be accompanied by an adult over the age of 18 at all times.
Over 18s only for after show club night events.
Doors 6.00pm / Curfew 2.00am
Partners:
As with the previous editions, the Tomorrow’s Ghosts // Halloween Gathering 2024 festival will be partnering with the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. A charity committed to stamping out prejudice, hatred and intolerance everywhere, the ideals of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation and Tomorrow’s Ghosts couldn’t be any closer aligned. 17 years on from Sophie’s tragic passing in a vile hate-related crime, the festival will be supporting the exceptional work of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation throughout the weekend. The festival will also be teaming up with certified goth aficionados, Vive Le Rock Magazine, who will be the festival’s official media partner for 2024.
Full Line Up
Friday:
Creeper
Very Special Guests:
Ist Ist
Skeletal Family
The Gospel
+ Club night hosts: Carpe Noctum
Saturday:
Peter Hook & The Light
Very Special Guests:
Katatonia
Then Comes Silence
Black Doldrums
+ Club night hosts: Carpe Noctum
More information here:
https://www.tomorrowsghostsfestival.co.uk