Oblivion Access Festival announces 2022 lineup

After initial COVID delays, Oblivion Access Festival — formerly Austin Terror Fest — released the lineup for its 2022 debut on Thursday.

Originally slated for June 2020 and postponed following pandemic lockdowns, festival organizers took to their official Instagram to announce new plans for May of next year. The festival aims to celebrate “underground music and culture,” and its lineup of some of the biggest names in underground music is sure to do just that. As testament to how fired up fans were, all-access tickets for the weekend sold out within an hour of being up for sale.

Though some acts originally set to perform were unfortunately not featured — namely slowcore and noise veterans, respectively, Duster and Swans — the inclusion of more than several new acts makes up for this.

Taking Duster’s place are indie rock/dream pop heavyweights Blonde Redhead. Perhaps best known for “For the Damaged Coda,” those more familiar with their work know how much they have contributed to the indie scene beyond just one song. In place of Swans are notoriously strange hardcore band The Locust.

Rapper/producer turned singer Lil Ugly Mane, who threw fans for a complete loop with his last album and gave the festival its namesake with his prior album, is still set to perform for the festival. He will be joined by fellow underground favorites MIKE and AKAI SOLO, both of whom belong to New York’s contemporary abstract hip hop scene.

Several other acts not originally included in the 2020 announcement were among those revealed in the lineup: experimental band Xiu Xiu has several cult classics under their belt as well as more recent albums that have continued to spark acclaim; ambient music legend and Houston native William Basinski is an addition as strange as it is welcome; Armand Hammer and The Alchemist are coming fresh off the release of one of the most discussed hip hop albums of the year, Haram; and Hunter Hunt-Hendrix’s Liturgy project is responsible for some of the most forward-thinking albums in black metal of the last decade.

The festival will also host some of the most influential artists within their genres, such as death metal acts Carcass and Autopsy, punk’s Youth of Today, and rapper Kool Keith. Those who are fans of heavier music will have much to look forward to with the inclusion of some of the biggest names in underground metal in Converge, Blood Incantation, and Portrayal of Guilt, along with the aforementioned bands.

There seems to be something for all kinds of underground scene fans at Oblivion Access, even aside from what has already been mentioned. For fans of weird noise rock, Japanese band Melt-Banana has a career spanning almost three decades with plenty of material. Austin’s own Grivo and A Place To Bury Strangers are two of modern shoegaze’s best bands. Along with Blonde Redhead, Anika has been one of indie pop’s most interesting figures, albeit with a strange twist.

All in all, following the cancellation of Houston’s Day For Night Festival, it looks like Oblivion Access Festival will now be solidifying itself as Texas’ premier underground music festival. For more information, visit Oblivion Access’ website.