11/13/2025
FINAL NSE FEST 2025 RECAP
After pulling into Fort Worth last Monday November 3 to start setting up the ridiculously large NSE merch table, getting about 3-4 hours of sleep each day last week, and finally arriving home at 2am on the 10th, I have fully recovered.
Sorry for the length of this recap. I just wanted to get this finished in one post. I just hope I don’t miss anyone (so apologies in advance).
I have a new found respect for the very few people in the U.S. that are currently running BDM festivals every year: Anthony Gutter (NY & NY deathfests), Sal Rodriguez (LA Extermination), Jade Day/Edward Spear (Gulf Coast), Les Watkins (Slam Dakota). The amount of planning, last minute changes, band cancellation’s and accommodation’s, merch, tickets, promotion, badges, registration, venue prep, and on and on and on. I know there are a few others but these are the ones I’m most familiar with. The amount of work that it takes to run these events is overwhelming. Definitely support these events, they are the ones keeping the BDM scene in the U.S. going.
When planning NSE FEST, I was debating between two or three days. Even though it was allot more work, I’m glad we held a three day event. I believe this is the first time in the U.S. that there has been a three day festival that only featured BDM bands (I could be wrong, if you know of one, please list it in the comments). After processing the weekend and listening to and reading the online feedback, I feel comfortable that the festival was a success. The following are the people who made these three days very memorable.
-Chaz Buchanon and the staff at the Haltom Theatre, Chaz is the most professional and easy to work with venue owner ever, his security team and support staff were amazing the entire weekend. Trevor, his sound guy is one of the best i have ever worked with.
-Shadow and Adrian from Seven Sins Printing and Embroidery went beyond the call of duty to make this festival a success…from passing out flyers months in advance, helping promote online, working registration, transporting bands to and from the airport, and running the door with the Haltom security team and Steven Moreno (who was outstanding). Thank you both, could not have done this without you guys.
-Clayton Meade and his lovely wife Lauren who ran the merch table all weekend, 120 plus feet of merch was allot to manage…thank you guys very much.
-Chae Heuer was the stage manager for the entire festival, his professionalism and expertise made everything run smoothly. Every day was on schedule and all three days ended on time. Chae was invaluable and will continue to be the stage manager for all future NSE events.
-Colby Rodgers from Astyanax for providing the drum backline for day one, coming in Wednesday for sound check, and helping with instruments for Limbless/Torsof**k. The entire band was very helpful all weekend…special shout out to Caesar Lesa as well.
-Bernardo Mendia of Necro Productions, was like a maniac all weekend, running around recording and taking photos of all the bands. I can’t wait to see everything he comes up with. He will be releasing allot of content from this festival through the end of the year. If you are looking for high quality recordings, definitely contact this guy.
-Nat Connor of Remorseless for providing the drum backline for Friday and Saturday, and just being a great guy and extremely helpful….thank you very much.
-Jesse Denten who helps with recruiting bands to NSE. He was very helpful recommending Squassation and Imperious Mortality to the NSE roster.
-Nora Friberg for helping with set up on Tuesday and organizing all the band and staff passes. Even coming all the way from Finland, she was willing to help get the fest going…thank you Nora.
-Stabbing and Coagulated for helping out at the last minute, both had amazing sets.
All the bands that played and took the time to travel to Texas, miss work, and dedicate the time and practice to perfect your sets. I feel fortunate that we have such a talented and amazing roster at NSE. I’m glad that the fans were able to see some of these outstanding musicians during this festival.
And of course…the fans…without all of you attending, there wouldn’t have been an NSE FEST. We had attendees from thirty three different states and fifteen different countries. It was great seeing so many familiar faces and making a few new friends as well. MANY THANKS!!! to everyone in attendance…including: Pusboil from Switzerland (Marvin, Remo, Sandro, Maximillian), Donald and Guillermo from Honduras, Byron Van Hoop from the Netherlands, and Yudai Matsuo from Japan. Special thanks to the two mega NSE supporters…Myles Harrar who has a massive NSE collection and Lee Peake (with the exception of the NSE archives) has the largest NSE collection in the world.
And last but not least, the individual who imagined NSE FEST over a half decade ago, I am very happy that I was able to help make his vision become a reality…that person is none other than NSE founder Daniel Osborn. Without Dan creating the greatest BDM label in the world this festival would have never happened. Thank you Dan!! NSE continues to thrive today as the worldwide leader in BDM because of your commitment, passion, and leadership to this genre that we all love and support.
In closing, I have been asked many times if NSE FEST will be a yearly event, unfortunately that answer is no, but this is not the end of NSE FEST….it will return once again. Starting in 2026, NSE will host and sponsor smaller one and two day events.
Thank you to all that attended and everyone who continues to support NSE, it is appreciated more than you know.
Stay Brutal,
Ryan Baker
Owner
