ORIGINAL STRAWBERRY GIRL PRESENTS unveils the 2025 roster for GLŌM FEST, an itinerant symposium of the underground’s most tenebrous soundscapes. This inaugural procession sweeps the West Coast in September 2025, carving its path through Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Vancouver.
Transoceanic in scope, the festival conjures an array of artists from Europe’s fog-laden nooks, the UK’s industrial underbelly, and North America’s haunting frontiers. Anticipate an onslaught of post-punk luminaries, industrial agitators, and darkwave conjurers, united in a pageant where sophistication slides into menace, basslines brood in the half-light, and synths shimmer like streetlamps smeared by midnight rain.
Yet GLŌM FEST is more than a stage-bound spectacle. In alliance with Los Angeles Bats, the festival champions creatures as maligned as the sonic realms it inhabits. Limited-edition merchandise will funnel proceeds toward bat conservation, ensuring that festivalgoers can support both the subterranean scene and the misunderstood species that dwell in its metaphorical shadows.
A testament to boundary-shattering ethos, GLŌM FEST dismantles the economic barriers that stifle the ascent of emergent, self-sufficient musicians. This is fertile ground for the next wave of post-punk to take root: a place where whispered introspections erupt into thunderous roars, making the traditionally impenetrable accessible to all.
Commanding the vanguard is The Awakening, led by the endlessly theatrical Ashton Nyte. Conceived in Johannesburg during the late ’90s, the ensemble has shifted its coordinates to the U.S., where Nyte refines its ever-evolving aesthetic. Their alchemy melds the opulence of gothic rock, the frosty pulse of darkwave, the angular tension of post-punk, and the streamlined pulse of electronic rock. The result? A restless amalgam that also drinks deeply from folk noir’s dark well, tinted by new wave’s melancholic sheen. Still bearing the grit of Johannesburg’s cityscape, The Awakening’s shape-shifting ambiance resonates with a murk befitting our fractured times. Their self-titled twelfth album—out since October 2024—bristles with some of their most affecting work to date.
Watch the video for Haunting below.
The Cemetary Girlz make their U.S. debut with a flourish of ghastly glam and deathrock bravado. Founded by DJ AlienSPagen in 2007, they catapulted onto the scene with Smoke My Brain two years later, weaving threads of post-punk bite, deathrock opulence, and gothic theatricality. Their latest offering, L’Envol du Corbeau, crackles with unnerving allure, layering knife-edged guitars over low-slung bass throbs and synth apparitions, conjuring labyrinthine catacombs and candlelit corridors in its wake.
Stream the band’s album L’Envol Du Corbeau below.
Aeon Sable descend from Essen onto U.S. shores for the very first time, bearing their cryptic strain of German gothic rock infused with arcane whispers and swirling psychedelia. Since 2010, the band, led by Din-Tah Aeon and Nino Sable—have honed a transcendental blend that meanders between dreamlike haze and sharp, electrifying riffs. With roots in Germany’s underground since 1997, Aeon Sable’s sonic tapestry smolders with shadow-kissed bass, bewitching guitar lines, and incantatory vocals that blur the boundary between this world and the next.
Watch the video for Burning In Black from their latest album Aenigma below.
Black Angel storm through GLŌM FEST with an onyx-lacquered grace, channeling the lofty resonance of vintage goth yet sharpened by a contemporary bite. Headed by the British expatriate Matt Vowles in Los Angeles, Black Angel conjure the drama of funereal vigils and cathedrals reverberating with unholy choruses. With echoes of Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, and Xmal Deutschland permeating their brood, this outfit forges its own grandiose silhouette. Now joined by vocalist Corey Landis, Black Angel’s six-album catalogue continues to expand into cinematic terrain.
Watch the band’s video for their single LUXX below.
Dark Chismé spin a spellbinding mesh of spectral synth and hypnotic percussion, shot through with Latin rhythms. Though rooted in Seattle, their DNA traces back to Chicago’s subterranean strongholds, with Christine Gutierrez and E blending the edgy tension of post-punk, the propulsive energy of house, and the stark machinery of techno. The result is a cross-cultural séance where cumbia’s ghost dances alongside coldwave’s existential chill. This subversion of sonic tradition forges a seductive vortex, compelling you to dance your way into oblivion.
Watch the video for Tonight Tonight, their collaboration with Meldamor.
Stream the band’s single Beautiful Obsession Killer here.
Adding further intrigue is The Royal Ritual, hailing from the UK with an innovative brew of electronic and industrial textures. This GLŌM FEST date doubles as their first-ever U.S. appearance.
Photo: Vara Pappas
Watch the video for their single Modes of Violence off the latest album Pleasure Hides Your Needs below.
Secure your attendance at the festival by grabbing tickets here.
Festival Dates and Locations:
- September 12: Los Angeles, CA – The Lodge Room
- September 13: San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge (Main Room)
- September 19: Portland, OR – Star Theater
- September 20: Vancouver, BC – The Cobalt
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