Freakout Festival 2024: Tickets, Lineup, and Where to Go

Psychedelic and fun 🎸

By Jas Keimig | Published October 31, 2024

A person crowd surfs during a Freakout Festival performance in Seattle, Washington.

NOV 7–10

📸: Courtesy Freakout Festival

📆 Thursday, November 7th — Sunday, November 10th
🎟 Passes start at $76 | More info
📍 Multiple Venues – Seattle | Full venue list

Every November, a suspicious number of people with cool wolf haircuts and fat silver rings congregate in dark bars around Ballard to listen to acts from around the world as they shred guitars and scream into mics while gloopy blobs of color project onto them. It’s psychedelic. It’s fun. It’s so Seattle.

@theticketsea
🧪 Mad Alchemy from the Mad Alchemist 💧 If you were at Freakout Festival over the past weekend you couldn’t have missed the liquid light show at the Salmon Bay Hi stage. The guy behind it is Lance Gordon, who started mixing glass plates, ink, oil dye, and light when he was 17. We asked the Mad Alchemist about his techniques and how his analog show has evolved over the years. Having worked with many of Freakout’s bands before, Lance said Friday night’s show was something of a “new-psych reunion” and “a great rock and roll night” as he lit up the Allah-Las, Death Valley Girls, The Shivas, and Night Beats, among others. He’s worked with Freakout for around eight years and done both Ballard’s Freakout Festival and Freakout Weekender at the Crocodile. “Seattle’s very lucky to have them,” he said of Freakout’s organizers, giving a special shout-out to Acid Tongue frontman Guy Keltner for his role in curating the festival’s lineup, saying, “He did a great job.” Then adding: “His band sounded great too.” 🎶: Allah-Las and @Acid Tongue #madalchemyliquidlightshow #freakoutfestival #seattlemusic
♬ original sound – TheTicketSeattle

I’m talking about Freakout Festival, an annual music fest that celebrates all things punk, rock, and psychedelia. Started in 2013 by musician Guy Keltner, Freakout has nurtured a community of freaks who like to get down to all manners of music while Mad Alchemy Liquid Light Show projects sick visuals onstage. At every Freakout, dozens of bands usually spread across venues like Sunset Tavern, Tractor Tavern, The Salmon Bay Eagles, and Caffe Umbria in Ballard over three days. This year, the fest runs from November 7th to 10th, and while it will still focus on Ballard, they have expanded the debauchery into Fremont at Nectar Lounge and High Dive.

Headlining the 2024 edition of Freakout is a fun mix of bands and genres —psych rockers The Black Angels, experimental hip-hop outfit Shabazz Palaces, legendary ‘60s rock band Flamin’ Groovies, and garage rockers The Black Lips. Other acts include fable synth punk musician Martin Rev, shoegazy band The Veldt, French rockers Ménades, and Seattle’s very own Biblioteka. But the festival is also known for its deep reach with Latin American bands and musicians, programming performers like psych-garage act Xocé Román from Puerto Rico, Chilean post-punk rockers Tsunamis, and Mexico-based Freakout mainstays Carrion Kids.

A word of advice: Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of many bands on the lineup—half the fun is discovering groups you might not have gotten the chance to see otherwise. The four-day fest kicks off with The Music’s in Our Blood, an open-to-the-public (with suggested monetary donation or recent blood donation) grant celebration at Conor Byrne.

Freakout Festival 2024 Lineup 🤯

The Black Angels
Shabazz Palaces
Flamin Groovies
Black Lips
A Place To Bury Strangers
Martin Rev (of Suicide)
Lydia Lunch
Bodega
Reignwolf
The Buttertones
Ural Thomas & The Pain
Ron Gallo
Tempers
Silverio
Light Asylum
Love Battery
The Briefs
The Veldt
La Santa Cecilia
Tezatalks
Ghostwoman
The Mystery Lights
Acid Tongue
Iguana Death Cult
Daiistar
Kinski
Winona Forever
Marina Fages
Ms. Boan
Buffalo Nichols
Hooveriii
Descartes A Kant
The Jackets
The Asteroid No.4
Castle Rat
Carrion Kids
Alex Vile
Mala Suerte
Shana Saret
Biblioteka
Tsunamis
Boots! 60s Dance Party
Mega Cat
Stas The Boss
The Grizzled Mighty
Pancho and The Wizards
Kris Baha
Sharlese
King Youngblood
Howlin Jaws
L36
Ménades
Pythies
Birthday Girl
Cardiel
Pär Asito
Fabriccio De La Mora
Small Paul
Jusmoni
Joujou
Klesa
Valeur
The Sex Organs
Muck and The Mires
Los Mundos
The Cumbieros
Chiff Chaffs
John Paul Hodge
Julez and The Rollerz
Mango In Euphoria
Beyond Captain Orca (ft. Jack Endino)
Porter Ray
Cameron Romance
System Exclusive
Maryze
The Crotches
Tulsa Tender Two
Scott Yoder
El Mizell
Serafima & The Shakedowns
Cat Valley
Asimov
Savage Daughters
Pegzilla
Comparto Info
Windows
Fiona Moonchild
Sisters of Black Mountain
Caspian Coberly
Sedona
Seaside Tryst
Marble
Hate Knife
Meldrop
Boyfriend Sushi Town
DJ Jawa Jones
Gary Reynolds
Anthers
Muerte Lu
Espuma
Koce Roman
The Snares
Sad Thanaz
Dark Dazey
Jungo Swank
J. Graves
The Bunyans
Trash Panda Go Kart
Void Palace
Sun Colony
La Sombra
Buzzed Lightbeer
Rabbit

Visuals by:
Mad Alchemy Liquid Light Show

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Author

Jas Keimig

Jas Keimig is an arts and culture writer in Seattle. Their work has previously appeared in The Stranger, i-D, Netflix, and Feast Portland. They won a game show once and have a thing for stickers.