COLD WAVES celebration goes virtual

image credited to COLD WAVES

I was looking forward to physically attending this year’s COLD WAVES celebration at the Metro, featuring headliners Front 242 and My Life with the Kill Thrill Kult, but COVID-19 has prevented that from happening. Thankfully COVID-19 hasn’t completely ruined COLD WAVES. The celebration will continue virtually!

COLD WAVES “The Lost Weekend” Virtual Event will be streamed on Twitch starting September 18th. The three day event (Sept. 18th – Sept. 20th) will start every night at 7 pm CT. Each day will have different scheduled programs ranging from captured rare live performances, music sets from guest DJs, and commentary from artists and directors on classic industrial music-videos. The stream will also feature the first COLD WAVES concert and Eric Richter’s film “Last Call 2350: The Neo Documentary”. Every night will conclude with legendary drummer Martin Atkins (PiL, Pigface) presenting a “bedtime story”. Other featured appearances include Chris Connelly, Front Line Assembly, Test Dept, Front 242’s Richard JK and Patrick Codenys, Paul Barker, and so many more!

You can find more information and details here on the COLD WAVES website. You can also see items that are available for purchase on the website. During the celebration, all proceeds from purchased items will be donated to the staff at the Chicago Metro and the Darkest Before Dawn. That is so badass! Nothing beats helping out local venues and a program designed to help out those who offer their service to the live music industry. During the Twitch stream, you can also donate to further help out those at the Metro and Darkest Before Dawn.

COLD WAVES is a celebration of Chicago’s contribution to industrial music as well as the memory of Acumen Nation’s Jamie Duffy. The first COLD WAVES event was to help raise money for Jamie’s family as well as giving him a loving goodbye. COLD WAVES has continued annually bringing an atmosphere of unity from the harsh sounds and attitudes that Jamie admired. With that unity, COLD WAVES has continued to give life to the industrial music scene in Chicago.

If you are a hardcore fan of industrial music or just a casual industrial listener, this event is for you! The best part is that you can stream this event for FREE! As a fan of both industrial music and the industrial music scene, I am eagerly awaiting this event. This will rescue me from both the stress of school and the stress of 2020 in general. I am most excited to see “Last Call 2350: The Neo Documentary”, but every program is a must-see.

The entire detailed schedule for the celebration will be posted to the COLD WAVES website on September 17th.