BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT
Since emerging from Portland, Oregon in 2016, Blackwater Holylight have shaped a singular vision of heavy psychedelia — where doom’s gravity intertwines with shoegaze’s blurred melancholy and stoner-rock’s hypnotic thrum. Their self-titled debut (RidingEasy Records, 2018) introduced a sound rooted as much in introspection as distortion. With Silence/Motion (RidingEasy Records, 2021), they reached a new creative peak: an emotionally charged record born from personal upheaval, balancing shimmering vulnerability against riffs that hit like ocean waves in slow motion. Their most recent EP, If You Only Knew (RidingEasy Records, 2025), pushes further into that tension — sorrow wrapped in reverb, power carried by breath.
Founded by vocalist/bassist Allison “Sunny” Faris, the group’s evolving lineup strengthens the collaborative energy behind each release. Layers of reverb-washed guitars, spectral harmonies, and pulsating low-end create songs that feel intimate yet vast — heavy music draped in melancholy and mystique, always guided by emotional truth rather than genre confines. It’s heavy music with a softness at its core — dark, yes, but glowing.
WHAT TO EXPECT
On stage, Blackwater Holylight feel like stepping into a lucid dream. Songs drift between fragile calm and towering crescendos, blossoming into moments that are both crushing and achingly beautiful. Reverb blooms, the air thickens, and the audience moves together inside the haze — caught in a slow-burn spell that lingers long after the sound fades. Their concerts are not just heard, but absorbed — like a secret shared in the dark.
