COLD WAVES IX Returns September 24-26 For In-Person Event In Chicago! Long-Running Industrial Music Festival To Feature Front 242, CLIPPING., Stabbing Westward & More

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COLD WAVES IX
Returns September 24-26, 2021

With In-Person Event At

Chicago’s Metro / Smartbar / G-Man Tavern

Long-Running Industrial Music Festival To Feature

Front 242, CLIPPING., Stabbing Westward,

Consolidated, Youth Code, Dalek, Actors & More

“All Event” Weekend Passes Are On Sale Now

At www.MetroChicago.com

Individual Events Will Be Announced

May 21 At 10 AM CT At www.ColdWaves.net

Like many shows and festivals that were sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, COLD WAVES announces its return this fall with an anticipated in-person event. The ninth edition of the beloved industrial music festival has been rebuilt with many of last year’s scheduled performers, and is set to take place September 24-26, 2021 at Chicago’s Clark Street compound, housing adjoining venues Metro, Smart Bar and G-Man Tavern.

The lineup includes Belgian giants Front 242 playing the fest for the third time; industrial/hip-hop trio CLIPPING. featuring Daveed Diggs (“Hamilton” and TNT’s “Snowpiercer”) making their fest debut; scene favorites Stabbing Westward returning with new music; the first show from audio-protest juggernauts Consolidated in 20-plus years; and the incendiary duo Youth Code.

Additional talent includes Dalek, Actors, Bootblacks, Barker+Connelly, Luxapan, Korine, Provoker, Odonis Odonis, Wingtips, Fee Lion, Pixel Grip, Paul Barker, Blixaboy, Void Vision, Acucrack, Zoltar, Bud Sweet, The Pirate Twins, Choke Chain, Morgue Vvitch and Philly Peroxide.

A small number of discounted “all event” weekend passes are on sale now at www.MetroChicago.com. Fans are encouraged to buy early as COLD WAVES weekend passes traditionally sell out. Single day GA tickets will go on sale Monday, May 24 at 10 am CT also at www.MetroChicago.com. As well, festival producers will announce all individual events on Friday, May 21 at 10 am CT at www.ColdWaves.net as well as official social media pages.

COLD WAVES Founder (and member of Acucrack) Jason Novak says, “After almost 10 years since Jamie’s passing, it’s amazing to me to see how much this event helps carry people, helps support and enrich them… something he was known for doing himself. Not just the charitable aspects, but the event being such a source of positivity for so many, it’s pretty great. We can’t wait to bring this year’s amazing lineup together and levitate the audience after such a dark year."

Paul Barker (Barker+Connelly, Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Lead Into Gold) adds, “Too many people I know have needed the kind of health services that COLD WAVESfundraises for. I feel fortunate to be involved as a performer, ambassador and friend, and look forward to every year’s festival.”

Chris Connelly (Barker+Connelly, Revolting Cocks, Sons of the Silent Age), also says, "COLD WAVES has become part of my musical DNA, the friendships, collaboration and the incredible sensory overload makes me always look to the future with the joy of a journey undertaken with likeminded souls. So proud to be a part of it each year.”

COLD WAVES will adhere to all state and city-wide regulations to allow a fully compliant event for attendees, and organizers will purposely limit the capacity of all venues for the duration of the weekend. As well, fully open doors, an outdoor sidelot with food trucks and seating space, plus access to the all-night Smart Bar “COLD WAVES Lounge” aims to provide patrons a safe, exciting and respectful event.

The Wax Trax! record label crew will also bring back a pop-up shop featuring hard-to-find and exclusive merchandise. Additional supporters include Electronic Saviors: Music to Cure Cancer, Resilience, Riveting Music, Schecter Guitars and Half Acre Brewing.

COLD WAVES has served the industrial/goth/darkwave/noise/metal community with the popular weekend festival since 2012. The forward-thinking, inclusive event goes beyond great music with a philanthropic mission to raise money and bring awareness to mental health, cancer research, and creating safe spaces in live music. Proceeds from the event will benefit the service industry mental health support group Darkest Before Dawn (www.db4d.org), a non-profit founded by Jason Novak, Kelly Britton and Dawn Szcymczak following the death of beloved Chicago musician and engineer Jamie Duffy whose untimely passing inspired the inaugural COLD WAVES weekend.

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About COLD WAVES

On Friday September 7, 2012, a collection of musicians, peers, co-workers, friends and family gathered together to put on a memorial concert at Bottom Lounge in Chicago to celebrate the life of beloved local musician and sound-engineer Jamie Duffy, who passed away earlier that year. The memorial show was referred to as COLD WAVES: The Jamie Duffy Concert, in no small part due to the high number of “Cold Wave” artists who participated in it. Cold Wave is considered to be a sub-genre of industrial music and more specifically a melding of heavy, melodic rock and dark electronic dance music.

Since then, COLD WAVES has annually upped the ante, adding larger and more exciting (and rare) talent to the lineups, expanding to three nights and eventually other cities in a quest to celebrate the innovators and new talent in the dark music genres. Over the last few years the fest has proudly presented rare appearances from such luminaries as Front 242, Revolting Cocks, Filter, Nitzer Ebb, Godflesh, Meat Beat Manifesto, KMFDM, Stabbing Westward, Severed Heads, Clock DVA, Cold Cave, Pankow, The Black Queen, Fear Factory, Front Line Assembly, Pop Will Eat Itself, and many more, some bands appearing in the U.S. for the first time in 15-20 years.

COLD WAVES also focuses on raising money and awareness for the service industry and music venue staffing communities in their battles against addiction, depression and suicide. From bartenders and bouncers, to stagehands and engineers, this is a very high-risk demographic, often very under-insured and under-advocated. A portion of the COLD WAVES proceeds, including custom auctions and raffles go to Darkest Before Dawn, a local Chicago charity focused on exactly these issues, providing subsidized care and support for low-income members of that workforce. Alongside the DB4D charity, the festival invites other like-minded, socially relevant organizations to set up tables and materials throughout the weekend.

http://www.coldwaves.net/

https://www.facebook.com/coldwavesfestival

COLD WAVES Chicago’s Long-Running Industrial Music Festival Announces Virtual Weekend Of Activities September 18-20

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To Be Streamed Via Twitch HERE

The Event is FREE To Attend, With Opportunities For Donations

Full Programming Details To Be Announced September 10

Exclusive COLD WAVES “Lost Weekend” Compilation Album Will Feature 

A Cover Of The Cure’s “Burn” By Stabbing Westward & 

Contributions From Other Festival Alums

Proceeds Will Benefit Metro Chicago Staff And 

Darkest Before Dawn, Supporting The Nightlife Industry

In-Person Festival Event Rescheduled To September 24-26, 2021

The long-running and much-loved industrial music festival COLD WAVES will live on this year in the form of a weekend-long virtual celebration, announced today. “The Lost Weekend Virtual Experience” is planned for September 18-20 and will be streamed FREE via Twitch HERE

The 3-day event will feature several hours of programming nightly starting at 7:00 pm CT and will include new exclusive content, rare and unseen video performances, artist-driven auction items, special guest appearances and DJ sets. Some of the bands scheduled to participate include Meat Beat Manifesto, The Young Gods, Chris Connelly, Ash Code, Severed Heads and many more. The event is FREE to attend, with opportunities for fan donations. Full details will be revealed September 10.

This year’s annual in-person edition (COLD WAVES IX) had originally been scheduled to take place at the legendary Metro Chicago this month with headlining sets from Front 242, Stabbing Westward and My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, but had to be postponed due to ongoing health concerns, venue capacities and international travel issues as a result of COVID-19. It has since been rescheduled for September 24-26, 2021 with a to be announced lineup.

Founder Jason Novak wanted to resurrect the fan favorite weekend in this virtual model and says, “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.”

The virtual weekend activities will be organized as follows:

Friday, September 18: Kick-Off Party

Saturday, September 19: The Main Event 

Sunday, September 20: Closing Ceremonies 

Final programming details, along with more information, will be revealed on the “Car Con Carne” show with James VanOsdol on Thursday, September 10Tune in HERE.

In addition to special auctions and rare band merchandise for sale throughout the weekend, COLD WAVES will release an exclusive limited-edition compilation album with 15 tracks and remixes from festival alumni, including a cover of The Cure’s hit “Burn” (from The Crow soundtrack) done by Stabbing Westward. The album will have a limited CD pressing and will be available on the COLD WAVES website and the Cracknation Records Bandcamp page.

Proceeds from all sales will be donated to a GoFundMe set up for the staff of Metro Chicago as well as the Darkest Before Dawn charity, providing support to the nightlife communities. A donation button will also be available throughout the streaming activities for those that wish to donate further. 

About COLD WAVES

COLD WAVES is a celebration of Chicago’s relationship with industrial music, the memory of a fallen brother, and a fundraiser for suicide prevention charities. In the summer of 2012, Chicago lost one of its most loved and respected sound engineers and musicians, Jamie Duffy. His work ethic and ingenuity in the local music scene was a gift to many musicians. His abrupt passing had a profound effect on the electronic and metal music families he meant so much to.

In need of healing and hope, COLD WAVES brought 14 bands together for one magical night that year to raise money for Jamie’s family and say goodbye. But in the end, it was more of an awakening... a rebirth... a breaking wave. The success of the show pushed the team to build it into an annual event, stretching over a weekend and moving it to Chicago's iconic Metro.

COLD WAVES aims to shake the pillars of heaven by collecting the bands, styles, sounds and attitudes that Jamie held dear, and cement the sound of a Chicago institution alive and well. From Wax Trax! and Medusas to Uncle Al and Chicago Trax, this is our history and our future, the melding of man, woman and machine, the sound of melody, muscle and hate, basking in the glow of attack ships on fire down the shores of Pluto.

http://www.coldwaves.net/

https://www.facebook.com/coldwavesfestival