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Maryland Deathfest | |
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Genre | Heavy metal, death metal, doom metal, thrash metal, black metal, grindcore, experimental, hardcore punk, stoner metal, progressive metal[1] |
Dates | 22–25 May 2025 |
Location(s) | Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
Years active | 2003–2019; 2022; 2024-present |
Founded | 2003 |
Founders | Ryan Taylor & Evan Harting[2] |
Website | www |
Maryland Deathfest (often abbreviated to MDF) is an annual American extreme metal music festival founded in 2003 by Ryan Taylor and Evan Harting. The festival is held in Baltimore, Maryland during Memorial Day weekend, and it features many bands from around the world that vary from a wide range of heavy metal subgenres. It is the biggest event of its kind in North America, attracting attendees from more than 40 U.S. states and 25 countries every year. More than 800 bands from more than 40 countries have played at MDF since 2003.
The concept of the event is "To bring to the world the best and most extreme bands the underground has to offer. Never conforming to trends, or being limited by genre restrictions, we want to showcase what extreme music, both new and old, is capable of."[3]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MDF was cancelled in 2020 and 2021, but returned on May 26–29, 2022.[4]
Shortly before the 2022 festival, the organizers of MDF stated that the event would not happen in 2023. On August 2, 2022, it was announced that MDF will return for its 19th edition on May 23–26, 2024.