The Bad Penny (beta)

Everyone planning to attend Psycho Las Vegas later this month is, naturally, expecting to swelter in the desert heat. But festival goers seeking one of the most scorching but under-the-radar sets would be remiss to miss the almighty Rifflord, the ultimate “band’s band.”

With their four band members living in three states, most of them many hours away from each other, they were accustomed to surviving as a band without the luxury of meeting up at a rehearsal space in the same city. By the time COVID hit, Rifflord had already mastered the ability to work remotely.

Rifflord’s show will be unique in that the members of the blistering heavy-rock gang reside in three states. Even more outlandish (pun intended), guitarist/vocalist Wyatt Bartlett lives in a teeny-tiny town in rural South Dakota, where he owns a successful painting business and enjoys a simple life. From that small town, Bartlett has successfully managed to keep Rifflord afloat since 2007.

After years of pining to participate at Psycho Las Vegas 2022, Rifflord will play at the festival’s kickoff pool party on Thursday, August 18, then again on Saturday two days later. You can probably infer what they sound like, at least to a degree, simply from the band’s overtly descriptive name. But theirs won’t be a run-of-the-mill desert-rock shows … Bartlett recently told The Bad Penny exactly why.