When AlienSPagan was eight years old, he stood at his uncle’s burial in France, surrounded by sorrow. But instead of fear, he felt a sense of wonder. Across the cemetery, a young gothic woman lay sprawled on a grave, reading a book as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“When I was young, the first image gothic people had was of the gothic girl in the cemetery,” he says. “When I saw the gothic girl lying on a grave, reading a book, it was so beautiful and peaceful. I kept this in mind, and it’s a cool name.”
That vision became the seed of The Cemetary Girlz, the band AlienSPagan founded in 2006. For nearly 20 years, its music has carried the atmosphere of that moment—eerie, melancholic, but strangely comforting.
On Sat/13, when The Cemetary Girlz step onto the stage of DNA Lounge, the venue itself will become a mausoleum of sound, part of the inaugural GLŌM FEST: a touring funeral procession of goth, deathrock, post-punk, and darkwave artists from both sides of the Atlantic.
San Francisco’s stop on the tour features The Awakening, Aeon Sable, Dark Chisme, The Royal Ritual, Soft Vein, and, of course, The Cemetary Girlz. It’s a bill designed like a nocturnal liturgy, where each act takes its turn, adding new textures to the night’s ritual.
“GLŌM FEST exists to give independent artists from across the world a shot at reaching audiences they’ve never had access to,” says chief creative officer Vara Pappas. “That kind of opportunity doesn’t come easy, especially in darker genres like goth, post-punk, and deathrock. These bands have loyal followings overseas but have never set foot on a US stage. We’re here to change that.”
For Pappas, bringing the performers to San Francisco was essential. “For a lot of them, San Francisco is the dream,” she says. “It’s a city built on rebellion, counterculture, and music that doesn’t play by the rules. There’s no better place to unleash bands like The Cemetary Girlz, Aeon Sable, The Awakening, and The Royal Ritual. Soft Vein and Dark Chisme are the local fire. They bring a raw, West Coast edge that ties the show to the Bay while keeping the whole night unpredictable.”
For The Cemetary Girlz, DNA Lounge will be more than just another venue—it will be a long-awaited appearance on US soil. “We never performed in America,” AlienSPagan says. “It’s the first time.”
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The band emerged from France’s graveyard of Cold Wave and post-punk traditions. “The French scene is very different,” explains AlienSPagan. “We had Cold Wave in the ‘80s. We had Corpus Delicti, an old goth-rock band from the south of France. We have cool punk rock bands and deathrock. We have more bands than people.”
Their songs, stitched together in multiple languages, carry the polyglot murmur of a cemetery walk. The lyrics shift, but the mood remains constant.
“When we play on stage, it’s episodic,” he says. “We don’t have a show like, ‘Hey, people, clap your hands.’ I want people to go deep into our music. We have feelings and emotions when we play, and we try to transmit them to the audience. It’s amazing.”
The Cemetary Girlz draw as much from American deathrock as they do from punk, metal, and new wave.
Touring with bands they once worshipped as fans, such as The Damned and The Chameleons, added new inscriptions to their own headstone.
“It was wild because I listened to those guys when I was young,” says AlienSPagan. “It’s incredible to play with them. I learned a lot from Mark Burgess, founder of The Chameleons. He has a strong voice and exudes a great deal of energy. Every concert is unique.”
Their invitation to GLŌM FEST felt like a call from beyond. “They contacted us and proposed we play in the US,” he says. “When examining Spotify, YouTube, and Instagram, the US is at the forefront. Most of our audience is in the US. It’s going to be the best concert ever.”
Every procession needs its symbols, and GLŌM FEST has chosen bats as its heralds. Partnering with Los Angeles Bat Rescue, the festival will raise funds for conservation through exclusive merch, ensuring that these winged creatures of myth are protected as fiercely as the music they inspire.
“We created a song for a compilation dedicated to bats years ago,” AlienSPagan says. “Last week, I visited an animal sanctuary and took care of bats. We gave them food. Raising money for that is fantastic.”
The Cemetary Girlz are also chiseling new lines into their own stone. They’re currently working on a new album, set for an end-of-year or early 2026 release, which the band’s vocalist describes as containing darker, shorter songs with a catchier sound.
Even in their daily lives, the cemetery remains close at hand. “My other passion is cemeteries,” says AlienSPagan. “I want to make a book of photography of the best cemeteries I’ve been to—with the strangest graves and stories.”
In Paris’ Père Lachaise, he often encounters tourists in search of Jim Morrison’s grave. His own project seeks to turn their eyes toward the forgotten tombstones, the overlooked monuments.
That wide-eyed energy, that fascination with discovery, mirrors the festival’s ethos. GLŌM FEST isn’t just bringing bands across oceans—it’s staging a keening where sorrow turns into celebration, where bats take flight over soundscapes as vast as cathedrals. For one evening, the cemetery comes alive, and the shadows themselves will sing.
GLŌM FEST Sat/13. DNA Lounge, SF. Tickets and more info here.
