Mutants of the Monster music festival returns in June to downtown Little Rock after a two-year stint at venues in the Argenta Arts District. Organizer Christopher “CT” Terry, co-lead singer of Arkansas heavy metal/prog-rock band Rwake, said audiences can expect plenty of good times as they celebrate performances by Natural State rockers Pallbearer, festival namesake Black Oak Arkansas (the final track on their third album is called “Mutants of the Monster”) and about a dozen other bands united mostly by their heaviness.
The 10th iteration of the three-day shindig will spotlight Southern-fried metal, old-fashioned metal and whatever else is in between from June 5-7, at Stickyz, the Rev Room, Ron Robinson Theater, and the Old State House. Get day tickets and three-day passes for the all-age event here.
The festivities open on Thursday night with a party at Stickyz (107 River Market Ave.) featuring Exhorder, the influential heavy metal band from New Orleans, Madman Morgan and more. On Friday night, Black Oak Arkansas, Rwake, Royal Thunder, The Atlas Moth, Mr.Phylzzz and others will play on two stages at the Ron Robinson Theater (100 River Market Ave.) and Stickyz. The music transitions to the Rev Room (300 President Clinton Ave.) on Saturday, when Little Rock doom metal band Pallbearer, fresh off a European tour, will rock the house with Cinder Well and more.
Terry said Black Oak Arkansas — founded in, well, Black Oak, Arkansas, in the ’60s and going on to become one of the “highest grossing live acts in the United States,” according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas — will be the focus of a special event Saturday at the Old State House Museum (300 W. Markham St.). The group, fronted by Jim “Dandy” Mangrum, will receive an award honoring its achievements during a ceremony that will be free to the public.
Other acts set to perform over the weekend include experimental duo The Body (made up of Little Rock natives Lee Buford and Chip King), Sunrot, Slowhole and more.
“It’ll be great to see everybody get back together again and to hear people say they’re going to come back again next year, no matter what,” Terry said. “Everybody works so hard to pull this off.”
He’s looking forward to not only playing with his band, which has been touring its first album in 13 years, “The Return of Magik,” but performances by Exhorder and Pallbearer. “They’re just coming back from Australia,” Terry said of Pallbearer, “and then they’re going to head over to Europe for another leg of their tour. They’re going to play Mutants as soon as they get home from overseas.”
