The Freaks Ball is an annual event hosted by the influential Yahoo! group the NYC Freaks. Over past years, the event has featured a variety of bands who would go on to gain national notoriety, including: Robert Randolph & The Family Band, The Benevento-Russo Duo, Apollo Sunshine, RANA, New Mastersounds and many more. A number of the musicians from the aforementioned groups will come together in late January when the event returns to New York’s Brooklyn Bowl on January 25 and 26.

On January 25, Bustle in Your Hedgerow will headline the Freaks Ball and Tom Hamilton’s American Babies will open the night. Bustle is a Led Zeppelin tribute project featuring Marco Benevento, Dave Dreiwitz, Joe Russo and Scott Metzger. Since Russo, Metzger and Dreiwitz are former members of American Babies, additional collaborations are entirely possible.

Then, on January 26 many of the same players will come together to headline the Freaks Ball’s second night as Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. Featuring Russo, Benevento, Dreiwitz, Hamilton and Metzger, the group will perform the music of the Grateful Dead (Russo currently drums in Furthur and the members of Bustle also served as the house band at a Levon Helm tribute which took place at the Bowl this past June). Tickets are now on sale.