Psychs Peak: A Weekend of Unforgettable Psychedelic Mayhem

Psychs Peak…where to begin? To encapsulate this in-capturable experience, full of inspiring talent and joyous debauchery, into verbiage on paper is a challenge I have been dwelling on for the past week. As the decompressing and processing of this glorious September weekend in Pine, Colorado, settles into reverent reflection mode, my soul expands with graciousness and gratitude to every single magical ass human who made this intimate but mighty gathering come to fruition for its fifth year.

Serendipitously scheduled on a full lunar eclipse and full moon in the psychic realms of Pisces, Psychs Peak truly was everything…and more. Organized and spearheaded by two local musicians and masterminds, Nate of Los Toms and Dave of Ploom, this ever-blooming festival has its sights set on keeping the true ethos of a community alive and thriving. Serving the realest and rawest in mountain music and art, this two-night escapade, located just over an hour outside of Denver, was a delectable treat to cap off a rockin’ summer and usher in the soothing crisp of Autumn’s touch.

Built from the ground up, every single detail and inner working of Psychs Peak was by the people, for the people. Carpentered and assembled on top of trailers, two stages side-by-side made for seamless transitions from band to band, and they were also exceptionally painted by Bitchflower’s own Brooke Van Buiten. The Lounge Stage served as the third scene for sonic happenings, decorated with hanging lampshades and surrounded by cozy seating areas for ultimate chill breaks in between the unending madness and magic.

The event was held on a private wooded haven, strewn with pines galore, plenty of shade, and options for all types of camper. Whether you wanted to be right next to the action or up on the hill with private views of Pikes Peak, the grounds themselves were the perfect breeding place for psychedelic baddies and grunge punks to allow the entirety of their souls to unravel for 48 blissful hours. Community artists brought their interactive art pieces and extensions of their creative brains to life throughout the grounds, with plenty to immerse your inner weirdo self in. As the woods began to fill with its weekend residents, the festival began to come to life. Volunteers checked people in, gave each car its own groovy stamp of admission, ran the merch booth, and made sure all attendees were buckled in for the ride of a weekend.

With an utterly stacked musical lineup of majority Denver and Fort Collins-based bands, as soon as Midnight For Now plugged in for the first notes of the charade Friday afternoon, the audible offerings did not cease until Rugburn shut it down early Sunday morning. Before we dive fully into the depths, let me preface this by saying every band that played PP 2025 is insanely talented, oozing effortless cool, igniting bodies to meld into dance moves you didn’t even know you had, and are all doing super dope things in their respective spaces and beyond. I highly encourage anyone who is reading this to check out whatever band name calls to you – go to their Bandcamp or social media channels – and support and engage with them. You will not be disappointed, and you will probably find some dope happenings to attend near you that will bring new life into your bones this spooky season and beyond.

Following fest kick-offers, Midnight for Now, Jaguar Stevens galvanized the crowd with their energetic stage performance, soup’d up 80s-core psych punk, and heartfelt interactions with the crowd. Denver trio, The Savage Blush, kept the wave cresting with their textured grooves, multicolored (and language’d) vocals, and inspired “Psychedelic Latin Garage.” As the sun began to make its downward departure on the western hemisphere, Denver Indie Psych trio, Wave Decay, blessed the sphere with their elevated melding of hypnotic riffs and dream-inducing lyrics, and a sinister, but sweet sound reminiscent of the softer side of The Black Angels (catch ‘em opening up for The Dandy Warhols in Fort Collins on September 23rd).

As mama Luna rose in her night-before-full nakedness, Jesus Christ also rose, “under the crimson nighttime shattering our very souls.” And by Jesus Christ, I am referring to Jesus Christ Taxi Driver, a genre-bursting and eccentric group that ignited something a lil’ freaky in every audience member. A risk-taking Rock and Roll ensemble, the JCTD set was unexpectedly epic – lyrics filled with humorous, yet real as fuck political commentary, spiritual transcendence of unfiltered sonic truth, melded with insatiable dance moves and shredding guitar licks. The Taxi Driver set was also the first time we got to see the immaculate visual artists display their crafts in full force – drippy, trippy, and yes, psychedelic projections infected the atmosphere (big shoutout to the epic V.A. team at Psychs Peak – Void Sunn Visuals, Newt Slabràt Visuals).

A nice palette cleaner was served up next with a Gio Chamba (solo) serenade caressing the airwaves. A gorgeous platter fused with Peruvian Cumbia, looped lullabies on guitar, and beloved covers, Gio Chamba brought his own taste of conscious-expanding psychedelia from deep in the heart of the jungle. Laced into this own tunes were the hits of Khruangbin, Childish Gambino, and Hermanos Gutierrez – and fun fact, this Houston, Texas, raised duo is in the works of producing an album with Texas forever “Queen of Tejano Music”, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez’s nephew, Svani Quintanilla.

Up on deck after Gio was FoCo’s unabashedly loved Bitchflower – a skull-crushing band that brings the damn vibes via flame straight to your brain. I had seen them the previous week at Denver’s dopest house party, Cowapoolaza, and had been eagerly awaiting a second dose of their unrelenting Psych Punk noise. With a jazzed-up crowd, Bitchflower brings an intensity that infects your innermost gizzards. Their lead badazz on vocals, Brooke, delivers direct eye contact and a distinguished stage presence that your mama always warned you about, while the band delivers unadulterated Punk Indie Garage glory. The Bitchflower set ignited the first of many Psychs mosh pits, crowd surfs, and silly crowd shenanigans that made this festival equal parts special and unforgettable.

Capping it off the first night, Kebab Rock sentinels Shwarma ushered their musical warmth onto the chilled bones of the Peakers. Ripping through an assortment of classified genres, this Denver five-piece brought their own blend of funky, doomy, dancey, brassy, bluesy, psychedelic weirdness in full force – complete with a tenor saxophone and a bass player who was in the crowd more than on the stage. As the musical billings officially ended on night one, it was safe to say people were getting comfortable – making new friends, shit talkin’ with old ones – and retreating either to camp or the nice multi-room dome tent complete with a handmade bar (shoutout Brian from Rugburn) to keep the goonies warm on the colder of the two nights.

Whether you got an actual night’s rest, a few hours of “sleep,” or raged all night, Saturday mornin’ greeted us with warmer temps, bluebird skies (for the most part), and a day full of astrological promise or eternal demise, whichever you prefer. The day also brought a full disc golf tournament, hosted by Another Round Denver, with custom discs made for the fest and a fun way to get the Saturday shakedown started. The musical tastings began with Honey Blazer, a good-time crew giving forth a welcome mix of folky twang, chill surf, and bluesy country – as fest guests delightfully laid in the grass, softly awakening with the new chance to welcome life, and themselves, at their best.

Vibin’ the Space Stage shortly after, Denver’s indie hitters Sour Magic delivered a supersonically groovy slice of musical paradise. Filled with smooth trumpet licks, dance-inducing bass lines, ethereal lyrics, and pulsating drum fills, this group awakened all senses and got the people off their booties and into the dancing mood. With back-to-back bands stacked on all three stages, it was impossible to catch every single one, especially with frisbees to be thrown, hot brats to be gargled, laughs with your campmates to be had, and fun outfits to be changed.

Plastik Mystik blew the cookie jar lid off the Time Stage, starting the chaotic rage off for the day – blending Psych, Rock, Post-Punk, and a really gorgeous pink satin-dressed bass player who truly brought it. Staying true to the culture, their music questioned our capitalistic society in a raucous and disturbingly iconic way. As impending storm clouds seeped into the sky and reminded us who is really in control (the earth, it’s mama earth), Wet Nights arrived right on cue and presented their unique blend of kaleidoscopic Rock and Roll infused with songwriting that brings you back when you fell in love for the first time. They also played CCR’s “Susie Q” and reminded me of DEVO, so that’s pretty neat.

Ever gone on a celestial spaceship ride underwater? Yeah, me neither, that is, until I started seeing the band Barbara. Three epic ladies, plus local staple guitarist Eman Alexander, took the crowd through dreamscapes laced in psychedelic drips and infectious musicianship, sporting tunes off their newest album “so this is living?”. Like Bitchflower, Barbara is a crowd-pleaser, and the Psychonauts truly were giving all their love to the Barbs, as they also were to Ploom, who brought a dignified, tight-knit but still loose, Psych sound all their own to the airwaves of Pine. A phosphorescent desert dream, and the perfect tunes to tune into while taking a much-needed break to eat and get rain-ready at camp.

Heading down the hill as Bluebook wrapped up their hauntingly gorgeous serenade of sounds, The Crooked Rugs hit the Space stage was quite an induction into the fact that this grand day was only going to turn into a more grand night. A signature Psych sound with retro riffs, fast-paced drum beats, and an undeniable beachside twang, these dudes really blew me away. Whether you were lounging in a chair soaking it in, or noodling up front feeling yourself, The Crooked Rugs have quite definitely solidified themselves in the scene, and I will quite definitely be catching them play any chance I get.

As the rain began falling, which apparently is a sign that Moonlight Bloom is going to play, the crowd set themselves free, and the full moon finally made her appearance as she rose behind the stage (also a sign of Moonlight Bloom?). Their experimental Jam-Psych overtook the physical spheres of influence and exuded pure eccentricism and organized mayhem. Bold-building symphonies from the rhythm section tailored perfectly with their fuzzy electrics and stirring vocals to make for a slice in time that will long be forgotten.

Shortly following, Chroma Lips did anything but lounge at the Lounge Stage, as the rain finally bid adieu, serving up their self-identified Krautgaze in full fashion. For real, these four play well and look even better doing it. Furthermore, they deliver their all-gas, no-brakes Psych Rock fuel straight to the tank while calling out the atrocities of today’s world, so really nothing can be more enjoyable than that. As we all dried ourselves out and changed into fantastical nighttime garb, the worm gods themselves, Los Toms, prepared to catapult our worlds.

These mystical weirdos really are such an important essence of Psychs Peak. For sure, because Nate, who co-creates the festival, is in the band, but also because of their absolutely creative and fun fan base who uplifts everyone around them – literally and metaphorically. Los Toms takes listeners on a melodic journey transcending space and time, melding hard psychedelia and euphoric dreamscapes, all while having two drummers facing each other, which you can’t really beat (spoiler alert – they do actually, in fact, beat the drums). As the cosmic woo-woo really took hold, seven-piece Fort Collins’ cuties, Horse Bitch, switched things up a notch or three. Otherworldly storytelling via really fun lyricism, incredibly welcome fiddlin’, tambourine harmonies, youthful angst, and vintage slide guitar licks makes this septet really blow minds and made us question how in the heck they all have time to arrange songs and perform at the caliber they do.

Taking a turn for the morbid beauty this life experience presents, Spokane, Washington’s Kadabra navigated us through a journey of full-on hedonism. Feverishly fraught from the weldings of classic Heavy Metal, this trio evokes only the best of the devilish depths of all things Doom and Stoner. The crowd wildly writhed through the dark ethers of air and the brooding quakes of the earth, as Kadabra weaved spells of magic through the magisterial realms. I can personally say I was buried 666 feet under the earth and rebirthed from the dead as the full eclipse peaked at Psychs Peak, and the time piece clocked midnight.

To close out the debaucherously brilliant weekend was none other than Rugburn, a band you cannot ever sweep under the rug. A hard-hitting trio of Psych Grunge rockers with a raw, forward-feeling noise that intoxicates all those in their energy fields. A band so fun and cool you can’t look away – and the reason I even made it to this epic weekend. If I hadn’t met these dudes in the pit at Frankie and the Witch Fingers at Underground Music Showcase in Denver in July, I would have no idea this world even existed – so infinite gratitude to the Rugburn crew.

What’s so great about camping festivals like Psychs Peak is that you can simply do whatever you want to do (within respectable means, of course). You can run back to your home base and giggle your life away under the canopy with your besties, you can heckle and love on strangers that instantly become new besties, you can play dress up 30 times in 48 hours and people compliment the shit out of you, you can go absolutely feral under the full moon and have people wholeheartedly embrace your energy, you can legit get married around a firepit to a girl you just met and then instantaneously have a divorce party, you can hurl frisbees, blow bubbles, and be your silliest, most authentic self, without a fucking care in the world. And you can do all this while discovering the best music, supporting local art, bolstering communities you didn’t know existed, and already be basking in anticipatory angst for next year’s Pscyhs Peak.

Sincerely, a big thank you to everyone involved in curating the magic that unfolded in Pine, Colorado, September 5-6, 2025. And if you weren’t able to make it or didn’t know about it, put Psychs Peak at the top of your radar for end-of-summer plans in 2026. It’s hard to make sure to include everyone involved, but bonus shout-outs to Evergroove Studio in Evergreen, who curated an epic raffle for artists to win prizes like studio time, production, and mastering, Kathleen Rose Creations, photo lead Silver West, and again to Newt Slabràt Visuals, Void Sunn Visuals, Brooke Van Buiten, and the dynamic duo, Dave and Nate!