Upcoming Shows

The Cold Stares, Candy Cigarette

TodayNovember 21, 20258:00pm $20.00

For almost ten years, The Cold Stares had toured the world relentlessly as a duo, blowing away audiences across the US and Europe with a fierce, blistering live show that belied their bare bones, guitar-and-drums setup. In 2023 the band began embracing a whole new kind of chemistry and launched into their next chapter,....

The R&B Cadets NEW DATE

TomorrowNovember 22, 20258:00pm $25.00

The Ike Reilly Assassination

TuesdayNovember 25, 20258:00pm $20.00

Ike Reilly is a punk-poet-troubadour and the leader of the ferocious musical outfit The Ike Reilly Assassination. The former doorman and gravedigger hailing from the seemingly idyllic town of Libertyville, Illinois is the subject of the award-winning documentary Don't Turn Your Back On Friday Night. The film, from....

Recently Added Shows

The Sleighriders

MondayDecember 22, 20257:00pm $25.00

Forty of the best, most experienced, most professional musicians of the Milwaukee music scene join together again for the annual Sleighriders show and charity auction! These musicians join forces in one gigantic rockin' band. It's a very special holiday event that you don't want to miss and a true Milwaukee tradition. For....

Mike and Friends, Wagon Roots, Chip Cruz

SaturdayJanuary 10, 20268:00pm

Something shakin' on Shank-Down Street! Mike & Friends returns to Shank Hall in Milwaukee for an old fashion Grateful Dead party! Time to turn on your lovelight, and dance like nobody's watching you! Mike Scieszinski - Guitar, Vocals Josh Harty - Guitar, Vocals Barrett Taske - Organ, Vocals Rick Becerra - Bass Matt....

Terrapin Flyer

FridayJanuary 16, 2026$20.00

For the past 25 years Terrapin Flyer has been touring with the finest in the Grateful Dead community of musicians and has become a fixture of the national music scene, playing regularly at venues around the country and appearing at music festivals. The band has a dedicated following among fans of the Grateful Dead and....

Spiders From Milwaukee - Music of David Bowie

FridayJanuary 23, 20268:00pm

Milwaukee native Singer/Songwriter Brian Lee Wurch gives an astounding performance of David Bowie with The Spiders From Mars with an ALLSTAR Group!!

Failure To Launch, Lovin' Kind

SaturdayFebruary 7, 20268:00pm $10.00

Failure to Launch is a popular high-energy cover band that have been rockin' together for over two decades. You can expect to see a dynamic show of some of the most upbeat and danceable pop, rock, hip-hop, and country music of the past 60 years! Made up of three incredibly talented and engaging vocalists, an impressive....

C.J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band

FridayFebruary 13, 20268:00pm $25.00

Clayton Joseph Chenier is Creole music royalty. His father, the legendary Clifton Chenier, invented the style of music we know today as Zydeco and was the first Creole musician to be recognized with a Grammy Award. Raised in this indigenous American culture with its' own distinctive language, cuisine and music, C.J.....

Socks in The Frying Pan

MondayFebruary 23, 20268:00pm $25.00

Socks in the Frying Pan, a multi-award-winning trio from Ennis, County Clare, Ireland--the mecca of Irish traditional music--was formed in 2014. Forged together by a fire of pure joy and passion for their art, the band comprises Aodan Coyne on guitar and lead vocals, Shane Hayes on accordion, and younger brother Fiachra....

Wheel, Sound & Shape

TuesdayFebruary 24, 20268:00pm $15.00

Dave Hause and The Mermaid

SundayMarch 1, 20268:00pm $25.00

Mindy Smith

SaturdayMarch 21, 20268:00pm $20 advance / $30 door

A good rule of thumb when going to a Mindy Smith concert, bring a hanky, a tissue or an extra sleeve. Your tear ducts don't know the difference between laughing tears and crying tears and you'll likely be doing both. "Humor is how I compensate for singing so many sad tunes back-to-back," says Smith. Mindy Smith is a....

The Meteors

FridayMarch 27, 20268:00pm $20 advance / $25 door

The Meteors started forty-five years ago as a reaction against the soft rockabilly that was popular at that time. They have now evolved to become the acknowledged "Kings of Psychobilly". Their audience has continually expanded, and includes not just psychobillies, but everybody from rockabillies and punks, to bikers,....

The Rangers, Dan Lepien

SaturdayApril 4, 20268:00pm

The Rangers are a fire‑brand honky‑tonk band fusing traditional and high‑energy styles with authentic country storytelling. Their "Cowboy in a Bottle" tour spans Midwest to Mountain West, building grassroots buzz. If you're drawn to boots‑on‑the‑ground country vibes, they're a must-watch act on the touring....

Red Rum Club

SaturdayMay 9, 20268:00pm $20.00

Liverpool sextet Red Rum Club continue their upward curve, charging into 2025 with relentless momentum and a sound that's become unmistakably their own -- bold, brass-fueled, and bursting with ambition. With their signature "Mariachi Merseybeat" drawing fans from Merseyside to Mexico, the band are showing no signs of....

Alternative Concert Group Presents

Samantha Fish, Jon Spencer, Cedric Burnside

FridayDecember 5, 20258:00pm

At the Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets on sale at here.

Samantha Fish, Jon Spencer, Cedric Burnside

SaturdayDecember 6, 20258:00pm

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

Tickets on sale at barrymorelive.com or by phone at 608-241-8664 (Mon-Fri noon-5pm).

Ryanhood

FridayDecember 19, 20258:00pm

At Linneman's Riverwest Inn An evening of songs and storytelling, heartstrings and laughter, A Winter's Evening with Ryanhood is a live holiday touring show based on the duo's record, On Christmas, that showcases the high-energy, big-harmony, dueling acoustic guitar approach that R....

Pete Correale

FridayFebruary 6, 20268:00pm $45

At the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, Brookfield, WI.

Tickets on sale at here.

Shaun Cassidy

TuesdayFebruary 17, 20267:30pm

Meyer Theatre, Green Bay, WI

Get tickets

Shaun Cassidy

WednesdayFebruary 18, 20267:30pm

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

Tickets on sale at barrymorelive.com or by phone at 608-241-8664 (Mon-Fri noon-5pm).

Gregorian Pure Chants World Tour featuring songs of Enigma

WednesdayMarch 18, 20267:30pm

At South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets on sale online, at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center box office or by phone at 414-766-5049.

Quick Calendar

The R&B Cadets played their first gig shortly after New Year's in 1980 and their last in the summer of 1986. In that time they got a lot of folks out on the dance floor, playing a distinctive mix of of deep soul cuts from Paul Cebar's massive record collection and some sparkling originals, written by John Sieger, often in tandem with Michael Feldman, a friend and now longtime host of Public Radio's Whad'ya Know?

Splitting lead duties with Sieger and Cebar was the lovely chanteuse, Robin Pluer. Owner of one the lovelier voice heard in the midwest, Ms. Pluer was a dollop of sweetness at the top of the band's deep range. Rounding out the lineup was Mike Sieger, John's brother and vocal doppelganger, who played bass. Original drummer Cy Costabile, was later replaced by Bobby Schneider and the saxophonist Juli Wood was replaced by keyboard/sax man Bob Jennings.

In it's prime, the band had a large following in Milwaukee, where they were pretty much the house band at the late, lamented Century Hall. They travelled well too, with fans in the Twin Cities, Chicago, Madison and even New York where they played legendary clubs like CBGB's, The Knitting Factory and The Lone Star. Their only record, Top Happy, came out in 198-. It featured a song produced by Nick Lowe, a fan who had stumbled across them after playing a show in Milwaukee. The record got great reviews and could have been the start of even bigger things, but like many bands, people were pulling, and being pulled, in different directions.

The positive result of their breakup was two, then three very vital and entertaining acts. There was Semi-Twang, which concentrated on John's songs and did a record, Salty Tears for Warner Brothers that gathered more love than sales. John later moved to nashville and had many of his songs recorded by artist like Dwight Yoakam, Flaco Jimenez and The Bodeans.

Paul and Robin continued with the beefed up and ever-popular Milwaukeeans, releasing a record in the 1990s on Shenachie that got radio play around the country. That lineup stayed around until Robin bid adieu. Tired of touring and now married, she headed to New York for a while, before returning. She has carved out a special niche between soul, swing, standards and the French chanson that she loves, and is still performing today.

In 2009 Semi-Twang reunited and have released two CDs, both of which garnered raves. Paul has continued non-stop, his latest was out last year with his most recent moniker, Tomorrow Sound. The three headed beast has been in rehearsal, tightening up songs old and new. The crowd at their first reunion gig in many years was up and dancing at the first down beat, you probably will be too.

"Davina Sowers creates her own Americana mishmash -- a little Amy Winehouse-worthy neo-soul here, a little Great American Songbook-influenced songcraft there." Rolling Stone Magazine

"Davina and the Vagabonds combat heartache with sugar and sass." DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE

Davina Sowers and the Vagabonds have created a stir on the national music scene with their high-energy live shows, level A musicianship, sharp-dressed professionalism, and Sowers' commanding stage presence. With influences ranging from Fats Domino and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Aretha Franklin and Tom Waits, the band is converting audiences one show at a time, from Vancouver to Miami and across Europe.

Much like the music, the story spurns era, expectation, and classification. The often unbelievable, sometimes harrowing, and wholly inspiring journey of Davina Sowers gave birth to her eponymous band Davina and The Vagabonds in 2004. As the tale goes, she grew up in the economically depressed Allegheny town of Altoona, PA, which she now describes as "awesome in the industrial era, but horrible for high school." She was adopted by her much older stepfather when he was in his 80s; he passed away when she was just 13. Through him and his Edison phonograph, she first heard The Ink Spots, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong and Louis Prima, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and many others. "Great man. He was my angel and still is," she says.

On her own, she vividly recalls hours in front of the record player where she religiously spun Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Simon and Garfunkel records belonging to her folk singer mom.

To this day, Davina still refers to music as "my first and eternal love." Despite early dalliances with classical piano and guitar, she developed a heavy drug habit in high school, which morphed into heroin dependency, left her homeless, sent her in and out of jail, and brought on all manner of trouble. Kicking dope on the streets, she "got clean, started the band, and worked [her] ass off every day since."

Davina and the Vagabonds shine every time they play. To date, they've performed in forty-five states, twelve European countries, and two Canadian provinces. Not to mention, they've earned feverish acclaim from the Chicago Tribune, NPR, and more in addition to performing on BBC's international favorite late-night program Later... With Jools Holland and appearing on PBS's Bluegrass Underground.

With a guitar slung over his shoulder and the amps turned up full tilt, Anthony Gomes electrifies blues and rock at a 21st century crossroads of his own. The Canadian vocalist, guitarist, songwriter and producer wails with all the force of a hurricane in the Mississippi Delta and enough fret-burning fireworks to leave his strings in flames. Over the years, he's toppled the Billboard Blues Chart at #1, earned the endorsement of legends such as B.B. King, tallied tens of millions of streams, and packed shows on multiple continents. In April 2025, Anthony Gomes is back with his much- anticipated 14th studio album, Praise the Loud, set for release on Rat Pak Records.

"I've learned how to embrace my voice as a guitarist and as a singer," he states. "I understand who I am, and I use my strengths to my advantage. I have a blues soul and a rock 'n' roll heart. I love to jump back and forth between both with a modern day approach. When I play rock, it's got a little more dust on it."

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, he fell in love with music as a kid, listening to everyone from Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix to Jeff Beck and Eddie Van Halen. At 14 years old, Anthony gravitated to the guitar and his relationship with the instrument was born. After grinding it out, his chops caught the attention of B.B. King's bus driver at a jam night. Blown away, the driver introduced him to B.B. who invited him to open up a string of tour dates in 2005. Gaining invaluable knowledge from "The King," he went on to share the stage with the likes of Buddy Guy, Robert Plant, Joe Bonamassa, Heart, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and more. Along the way, his concert attendees have included Academy® Award winner Morgan Freeman, John Goodman, and Vince Vaughn as well as Eric Clapton, to name a few.

2022's High Voltage Blues vaulted to #1 on the iTunes Top Blues Albums Chart, #1 on Amazon Music's New Release Blues Chart and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues chart. It remained on the Billboard Blues chart for 58 consecutive weeks, landing on 'Billboard's Top 15 Blues Albums of the Year' for both 2023 and 2024.

Meanwhile, Total Guitar listed Gomes as 'One of the 100 Greatest Blues Guitarists of All Time' in 2024. Guitar World readers voted him one of "The 30 Best Blues Guitarists in the World Today" in 2019, and the publication noted, "Gomes is another power player who is at his best when his gear is in the scorched earth between blues and rock."

Anthony's latest release, 2025's Praise the Loud, delivers 12 fresh studio tracks that showcase Anthony's musical evolution while staying true to the no-holds-barred sound that has earned him a global fanbase.

Reflecting on the new album, Anthony shares, "On Praise the Loud, we pushed our musical boundaries in every direction. We wanted it to rock harder than anything we've done before, but at the same time, we wanted it to have a deeper, more soulful blues feel. When people ask me what I sound like, I say, 'If B.B. King was in AC/DC, that's what it would be'. That's Praise The Loud in a nutshell."

Gomes cites the track 'Rock & Roll Bluesman' as the thesis of the album. "My favorite line on the album comes from the song 'Rock & Roll Bluesman': 'I don't care if they love or hate us, gonna turn it up so they won't forget us.' That lyric captures the spirit of the album-- declaring that we're playing blues rock on our own terms, no matter what."

From the powerful rhythms of the album opener "Praise the Loud" to the ZZ Top-inspired groove of "Netflix & Chill," Anthony tackles a range of emotions and topics with his signature blend of layered harmonies, infectious rhythms, and blues-infused grooves. Tracks like "Meet My Maker," "Black Diamond Heavy," and "Electric Blues Crusade" highlight his ability to stretch his creative boundaries and expand his lyrical scope, while songs like "Love Song Gone Wrong" and "In the Name of the Blues" showcase his unmistakable blues guitar mastery. Produced by Peter Carson/Anthony Gomes and mixed by Chris Collier, Praise the Loud packs the punch and energy fans have come to expect from this world- class blues artist.

In the end, Anthony Gomes is just the kind of guitar hero we need for today.

"I still believe in a world of guitar heroes," he smiles. "I strive for a world where you don't have to be 19 years old to sell a lot of records and tickets and to make a statement. I'm one of those people who doesn't think rock, or the blues is dead. I'm looking for fresh ways to bring them together. I'm at the table rolling the dice all in the name of blues and rock 'n' roll. I know there's never been a more exciting time for music, and I'm here for the journey."

Critically acclaimed singer songwriter and rising Country music star, Adam Doleac, is taking the Nashville scene by storm, blending traditional Country elements with modern production and heartfelt songwriting to deliver a unique signature sound.

Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Doleac's journey into the music industry is a story that is still being written. As a talented athlete, Doleac earned a baseball scholarship to the University of Southern Mississippi to chase his big-league dreams. Playing in the College World Series in front of 30,000 fans as a sophomore, Adam became accustomed to the pressure of performing under the big lights but soon realized his true calling was creating music. Self-taught on multiple instruments, Doleac became proficient in guitar, drums and piano while crafting songs with fellow teammates and challenging himself to play shows at local venues. His strong work ethic and dream-chasing determination instilled by his parents fueled his passion for the industry and he decided to leave the sports world behind to pursue a career in music.

After a self-written song posted on YouTube propelled him to viral success and helped him secure a publishing deal, Doleac took a leap of faith and made the move to Nashville to begin his journey. Before stepping into the spotlight as a solo artist, he spent several years sharpening his craft and penning lyrics for some of today's most notable names in Country music including Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Dan + Shay, Nate Smith, Gabby Barrett, Darius Rucker, Hootie & the Blowfish, and more.

Half a decade after relocating to Music City, Doleac released his self-titled debut EP in 2017 and began building a grassroots fanbase while touring the country in his pickup truck, while also scoring a rare GOLD-certified song with the independently released "Famous."

In 2022, Doleac released his debut album, Barstool Whiskey Wonderland, an 18-track record that captured something beyond Country's ordinary thematic cycle. Using his heartbeat as a pulse, emotional lyrics, and instant-classic hooks with his soulful sounding voice, he delivered a new take on modern country. Following the release, Doleac embarked on his first-ever sold-out headlining tour, bringing his charismatic stage presence to audiences across the U.S., and joined Old Dominion, Zac Brown Band, and Carly Pearce as a special guest on their respective tours.

Doleac's most recent album, about: TIME, was released in 2024. The 8-track project takes the listener through some of his milestone moments in life with the universal message that time is love, and how we spend it is a reflection of who (or what) means the most to us.

Now in 2025, Doleac has hit the ground running with new singles "Bye Heart," "Dream House," and now "Bar Named Jesus" featuring global Country superstar Thomas Rhett. Written by Doleac along with Josh Jenkins and Chris LaCorte, the powerful track explores themes of redemption, forgiveness, and finding solace in faith while discovering a sense of belonging in a place of spiritual refuge -- represented as "a bar named Jesus."

With north of half a billion on-demand audio and video streams to date, Doleac's soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics have won over a legion of fans and audiences across the globe. With the release of "Bar Named Jesus," the critically acclaimed Country troubadour is poised to continue the momentum toward an undoubtedly monumental 2025. Doleac is currently gearing up to release more new music, and fans can expect to catch Doleac on the road as he continues to solidify his place as a leading voice in Country music.

Teenage Bottlerocket was formed in Laramie, Wyoming in 2000 by twin brothers Ray and Brandon Carlisle, following the dissolution of their previous band, Homeless Wonders. The band's music is heavily influenced by guitarist and co-vocalist Kody Templeman's other band, The Lillingtons, and punk rock acts such as Ramones, Screeching Weasel, Green Day, The Bouncing Souls, and Misfits; Their music has been referred to as "Ramones-core", "Weasel-core" and "leather jacket punk".

Boris The Sprinkler were formed the night of the 1992 ShopKo fireworks in Green Bay. Veterans of numerous local bands (including minor Beer City sensations Suburban Mutilation), they opted to forgo most then-popular musical routes -- long-stale hardcore, vaguely melodic emo-esque muttering, dull strummy plugged-in acoustic guitar crap -- for the then highly-unpopular music they grew up playing: The punk rock of the late 70's and early 80's.

With vocalist and Maximum RockNRoll columnist Rev. Nørb (once memorably described by Ben Weasel as "a grown man who resembles a gigantic grasshopper") flailing around the stage in a variety of increasingly ridiculous costumes and mighty guitar titan Paul #1 acting as a sonic anchor amidst the high-energy lunacy, punk rock inexplicably got big again -- that wasn't exactly Boris's doing, but it floated their boat accordingly.

When label-shopping the band's first album -- 8-Testicled Pogo Machine -- proved to be too slow and annoying a process for the band's liking, Nørb launched Bulge Records, thereby releasing Boris product himself and bypassing the whole record label bit entirely.

Now augmented by the madcap drum antics of Paul #2 -- a man occasionally led to the stage in chains while clad in nothing but a wrestling mask, trunks, and boots -- the band released their second album, Saucer To Saturn, and exported their thoroughly Midwestern hijinx to a nationwide audience on a summer tour with the Riverdales and the Mr. T Experience.

With charming science-nerd bass whiz Ric Six entering the picture for the band's third album, Mega Anal, the classic Boris lineup was complete, and the Earth wobbled on its axis to the group's cheese-punk clamor.

Figuring (somewhat correctly) that punk rock wasn't a particularly stable gravy train for thirty-somethings to permanently hitch their wagons to, the band never quit their day jobs. This neverending cycle of forty hour workweeks and weekend road gigs led to a high turnover rate among band members; amidst overly-frequent lineup changes and flagging enthusiasm, the band sputtered to a halt in 2003, leaving a legacy of five albums, nearly twenty 7-inches, a double live record, and Ramones and Circle Jerks tribute albums.

In 2009, the classic lineup of the band was cajoled out of retirement for an appearance at Insubordination Fest in Baltimore; in 2017, they started playing more-or-less annual shows. In 2019, they found themselves (under mysterious circumstances) in a recording studio together, with Vespa To Venus being the result. The band enjoys socks, soup, and most polkas.

On their Don Giovanni debut, Home Movies, Rodeo Boys are upping the ante. Their music owes as much to the twang of country as it does to the fuzz of grunge, and it's a winning combination.

Lead single "Sugar" sits somewhere between Bully and SPICE, a gritty slice of feedback-drenched rock 'n' roll that immediately makes it clear where Rodeo Boys' passions lie--in loud, crunchy, catchy alt rock. "Dog Leg" plays out like a supersized take on classic rock, all roaring solos and guttural hooks, and epic closer "Tomboy Radio" is a proggy masterclass in dynamics.

Home Movies hardly lets up all through its 40 minutes, the space folk of "Hail Mary" allowing a couple minutes to breathe, but it all seems to zip by. Vocalist Tiff Hannay says Rodeo Boys' goal as a queer blue-collar band is "to give a voice to young queer people in small towns," and what a powerful voice it is.

If you need a night out and a full heart, here's your chance to see Stephen Kellogg and his band. For more than two decades, this wordsmith, TEDx speaker, stand-up comic, and author has delighted audiences around the world. This time he's joined by a full band as they count down to Stephen's 3,000th performance. Backed by a powerhouse ensemble featuring members of his long-time touring operation The Sixers, he will serve up a musical retrospective that spans 14 albums and 25 years. Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz says of Kellogg, "There are few people in rock n' roll who are just so great." His latest release "To you, old friend." features Lori McKenna, Javier Colon, Chad Stokes of Dispatch, Danny Black of Good Old War and Duritz himself. Don't miss this tour. There won't be another one like it.

gutter sinatra is the music you'd expect to start blaring out of an abandoned 1982 Ford Bronco. A bit dusty, nostalgic and melancholy. Like Jackson Browne meeting up with Beck for coffee.

COVID put us all on our heels. After a minute, Don Miggs started writing songs again. No agenda, no artists coming in, no labels with demands.Just the constant sounds of "yacht rock radio" that his wife was playing all day long swirling around his brain. Get an idea, walk out to the studio, play some drums, drop in a bassline and see what tomorrow brings. Suddenly there were 3 or 4 ideas taking shape but they were songs for no one. Just something to do.

On a whim Miggs asked his friend, legendary Bob Clearmountain, if he was available to mix a few things. Turns out Bob had a ten day window coming up fast. Ten days, ten songs. A song a day. Easy. All that waiting around and now he's in a hurry. Of course. But a burst of inspiration later and the record was completed.

The world opened back up. Miggs sought out famed photographer Randall Slavin to take publicity shots, did a video for the track "I Kind Of Want To Call You" and then his other project, Whole Damn Mess started charting and he put gutter sinatra away. For 5 years.

He explains, "After a while it all just felt too personal. Like something Bob did just for me when we didn't know if anyone would ever make records again. Maybe it was best to keep it for myself. I got busy making other people's records and time just passed. Then the fires in LA took Bob's house and studio and I realized that every day is precious and we won't be here forever. We did this thing and I want to share it. My mantra is 'conceive, create, commit, continue' so I had to take my own advice and let this record go."

Miggs goes on to say, "These songs were going to sit in the trash before Bob. Him saying yes gave me the courage to push through. "Now I'm ready to tour and see how they hold up live. It's exciting and scary and I can't wait!

Charismatic leaders. These are the dictators, demagogues and false idols who, around the world at this very moment, are stoking division and igniting war in the name of nothing but self-gain. They're also the unmistakable target of Wheel's latest album of the same name: a seven-song prog metal opus that strives for all things right in a world gone wrong.

Since forming in 2015, Wheel have swiftly grown from underdogs of Helsinki, Finland, to an international tour de force. The angular riffs, unforgettable melodies and adventurous scope of the trio's 2019 debut, Moving Backwards, was instantly adored by fans of megastars from Tool to Coheed & Cambria. Then, 2021 follow up Resident Humanreceived rave reviews from publications across the planet, praising its sonic evolution and bravely dystopian themes.

Charismatic Leaderswas meticulously crafted to meet Wheel's ever-heightening benchmarks. Its songs date as far back as 2020,and recording with engineers/co-producers Daniel Bergstrand and Fredrik Thordendal (Meshuggah) stretched from August to December 2023. The end result, mixed by Forrester Savell, has consolidated all the gains of what came before: singer/guitarist James Lascelles, lead guitarist Jussi Turunen, bassist Jere Lehto and drummer Santeri Saksala's third album represents their heaviest and most conscious music to date.

Already, Wheel have toured the world with such prog metal idols as Epica, Leprous, Vola and Soen, and it's easy to imagine the irresistible hook of "Disciple" or the explosive guitars of "Submission" only amplifying the excitement of their shows.

Wheel's TheDark Side Tour 2026will take fans deep into the band's musical universe, showcasing songs rarely heard on stage next to classics from their catalogue. Wheel will revive hidden gems, creating an intense and immersive live experience. This tour promises a unique journey for longtime followers and a thrilling discovery for newcomers alike.

2022's Disaster Medicine saw Nashville-based rock trio Sound&Shape channeling the best aspects of their prior records into a thoroughly captivating and heartfelt odyssey full of rich melodies, insightful lyricism, and inventive yet accessible instrumentation. Evoking the soothing vibes of Dredg, Katatonia, A Perfect Circle, and Biffy Clyro ("Filament and Spark," "Gods," "Four Pale Horses") and the epic energy and musicianship of classic Queen, Porcupine Tree, King's X, Dead Letter Circus, and Chevelle ("Heirlooms," "Quiet Wars," "How the Light Gets In"), Disaster Medicine was a triumphantly introspective and orchestral statement of purpose that any band would have a hard time surpassing.

Sound&Shape isn't just any band, though, and with their latest LP -- Pillars of Creation -- they've set a whole new benchmark not only for themselves, but for the genre as a whole. Recorded in just eight days at their Nashville home studio alongside Grammy-winning producer/engineer "Greazy" Wil Anspach (Metallica, Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Killer Mike), the grippingly affective and symphonic opening title track symbolizes how the sequence finds frontman/songwriter Ryan Caudle, drummer Ben Proctor, and bassist Pat Lowry taking listeners on an even more impactful, cohesive, and ambitious ride.

From the adventurous arrangements and daring complexities of "Look For Me in the Sky'' and "Is a Wilted Rose Still Red?" to the sing-along folk splendor of "Peace in Destruction''; the majestic lusciousness of "Sun Haired Sky Mother"; and the fierce changeups of "Dance Neath the Fairest Moon," Pillars of Creation ups the ante by fusing the group's already winning chemistry with a double dose of the baroque/prog rock sophistications of The Dear Hunter, Dirt Poor Robins, and The Reign of Kindo.

Beyond being Sound&Shape's magnum opus, Pillars of Creation is an awe-inspiringly meaningful and multifaceted journey that's destined to be hailed as one of 2024's greatest albums.

Born and raised on a small farm in Lee County Iowa, a love of the land has always been an important part of William Elliott Whitmore's life. An appreciation for nature and its cycles being taught from an early age. That awareness of birth and death is a constant theme in the songwriting, through a lens of hopefulness and acceptance. These things unify us as people, a theme that is often explored in the music. With a banjo, guitar and kick drum, Whitmore seeks to convey these ideas. For over twenty years he has traveled the world, performing everywhere from Rome, Italy to Rome, Georgia. He's played basements, backyards, festival stages, and Carnegie Hall, and has no plans to stop anytime soon. "Life is hard, nasty, and unforgiving at times", Whitmore says, "but it's beautiful too, and music can be a reminder of what we all have in common, a desire to keep putting one foot in front of the other."

As they began working on a new batch of songs, Adeem the Artist was busy thinking about the way a lifetime of experiences can pile up in a person's brain. "Traumatic events and warm events leave psychological imprints -- there's this pattern to it," says the Knoxville, Tennessee-based performer. "Different moments and different impressions throughout our lives will ripple out and demand repeated engagement. They play out in little holidays that we celebrate over and over."

Those patterns and markers of time are a crucial thread running through Adeem's new album Anniversary, due out May 3, 2024 via Thirty Tigers. Recorded live to tape over five days at The Butcher Shop (Nashville, TN) and produced by Butch Walker (Taylor Swift, Frank Turner) with the master musicianship of Megan Coleman (Jenny Lewis and Allison Russell), Nelson Williams (Jake Blount), Ellen Angelico (Wheeler Walker Jr.), Jessye DeSilva, Aaron Lee Tasjan, and Katie Pruitt, the 12-song collection is a stunning statement of empathy, humor, and deep introspection.

The groundwork for Anniversary began in earnest after Adeem met Walker for coffee, having caught the producer's attention with some spirited shitposting on social media. Adeem had been a fan since Walker's solo album Sycamore Meadows, which they heard while living in the Syracuse, New York, area after high school. "I was absolutely obsessed," they say. "I was a Christian worship pastor and having all these doubts. The religious questioning and soul searching Butch was doing on that record was so important for me."

Walker's ability to blend sounds from classic to contemporary, commercial to experimental, gives Adeem license to play with a range of musical styles on Anniversary, while still remaining tethered to country and roots music. Fittingly, Anniversary also arrives on the date of Adeem's marriage to their spouse Hannah, bringing with it a heightened sense of intimacy and urgency from a songwriter whose work is characterized by fearless, incisive lyric writing.

"This one feels a lot more personal and earnest -- a lot of it is very close to the chest," Adeem says. "This record is a marker as well as a collection of individual markers. I'm saying, 'This is who I am as an artist and this is the world I want to try to help create.'"

Album opener "There We Are" weds a 13-year-old poem written for Hannah to an arrangement that sounds like indie-rock Ennio Morricone and recalls vivid imagery from early in their romance. "We went on a run of tour dates in my dad's old Pontiac," Adeem says. "I put it to music like a month and a half before we did the record with Butch and Hannah was like, 'That's it. That's gotta go on there.'"

"There We Are" is immediately followed by "Nancy," a surging rocker that looks at our shifting understanding of mental illness. "Hey, you know this world is crazy/It ain't you and me, baby," they sing, pointing a finger at a society that emphasizes the most brutal forms of competition without offering any aid to people ill-equipped to function in that environment. "It's not so much that people are increasingly mentally ill as it is that people are forced to fit in a society that's so inhuman and unlivable that it produces these results," Adeem says. "What I wanted to do was normalize the idea of having a protagonist in a song who has borderline personality disorder, but who also isn't exactly virtuous or heroic."

Adeem looks inward in the shimmering folk-rock tune "Part & Parcel," seeing how their "timelines interweave, creating patterns" that are laid out across their life, from childhood to marriage and childbirth. By "One Night Stand," they've slipped into radio country clothing for a blushing ode to a guy who comes home for a hookup and stays for life. "It's very Nineties camp country," Adeem says. A few songs later, "Wounded Astronaut" employs a John Prine-style acoustic guitar melody to wrestle with the outcomes of misogynistic societal norms.

Adeem also looks at parenthood as another important personal marker on Anniversary. "Carry You Down" makes a promise to be a sturdy presence, adding some lovely horn shadings in the middle section. "Rotations," which was almost the album's title, presents a tender take on aging and the passage of knowledge that plays like a lullaby until a muted trumpet solo turns it into something magical and cosmic -- an extra infusion of "woo-woo juice," if you like. "It felt necessary to color in the caricature of Adeem the Artist that people have become acquainted with," they say. "My kid was born on my Saturn return. Our next Saturn return, we'll be synced up. When I turn 60 and go into my second Saturn return, my kid will be going through their first one. There's something interesting to me about that sense of timing."

Adeem's incorporation of brass into their sound goes full blast in "Socialite Blues," which mixes a Piedmont progression with rowdy second line horns out of New Orleans. Lyrically, it was written as an ode to Hannah, but it taps into the rich tradition of country and blues that mingled in the region of Adeem's ancestors; drawing influence from Blind Boy Fuller & Brownie McGhee. "So many blues songs act as lamentations," Adeem says, "and I thought it could be fun to give language to Hannie's need to go out less now that life demands so much extroversion of us."

The passionate activist side that has been a hallmark of Adeem's work from the beginning is still very much present on Anniversary. In the heart-pounding anthem "Nightmare," featuring Katie Pruitt, there's a palpable sense of outrage and defiance over the wave of anti-trans legislation in this country. Adeem, who is non-binary and pansexual, flips the "don't tread on me" sloganeering by right-wing types on its head by posing a hypothetical about their beliefs. "Suppose some senators decide your worship is obscene/All ages Sunday service is suddenly a felony," they ask in one verse. "I used that language to be like, 'Can you see how you are, in a real and tangible way, actually doing the thing you're so afraid of somebody doing to you?'" they say.

In the uptempo, guitar-driven "Plot of Land," that defiance turns downright joyful as Adeem dreams of a future where it's possible to buy a little house with blueberry bushes out front. "It's what so many people are looking for, to buy out of the second-class citizen loan system we're born into and live a life of consistency and joy," they say. "So many people are just living in survival mode."

The album ends with a devastating one-two punch of "Night Sweats" and "White Mule, Black Man," showing Adeem's deep reserves of empathy and insight into how human patterns play out on a massive scale. "Night Sweats" was penned about observing nightly images of war on TV when the US invaded Iraq in the early 2000s, but could've been written yesterday. "It's about seeing the lifeless body of a child and the effect that has on you psychologically and the way you perceive good and bad and right and wrong and justice," Adeem says. "People think it's about what's going on right now, but this just keeps happening over and over again."

"White Mule, Black Man" packs a century of Knoxville history in three verses, from a superstitious belief in a curse to brutal, unjust killings of two Black men, one of whom was a high school student, a hundred years apart. In both cases, their killers didn't even pause to hear their last words, leading to a conclusion that will stick with you long after the record is over. "I'm drawing a connection between these two men's pleas to be heard and how all these people keep saying, 'I don't know, I guess we're cursed because of that mule,'" Adeem says. "Obliviousness is akin to criminally negligent here."

Delivering impossibly heavy and deep subject matter in an empathetic and humane way, that's the beauty of Anniversary-- Adeem always digs deeper to find the complicated truths that are contained within.

Dave Hause had an epiphany rewatching Goodfellas. "There's that scene in the beginning where Henry Hill says, 'As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.'" The Philly-bred, California-based singer-songwriter always longed to be in a different kind of mob.

"This record is my realization that, as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be in a rock and roll band. This record is that rock and roll band distilled into 10 songs."

This record is ...And The Mermaid. And those 10 songs offer a welcome shock to the system, blending Hause's signature lyrical elan and gift for surging melodies with his keening vocals and some deliciously sharp musical elbows courtesy of the titular group.

"I had made a couple of records in a row in Nashville, and I was super happy with the outcomes," says Hause of 2023's Blood Harmony and 2021's Drive it Like it's Stolen, both produced by Will Hoge with top-flight session musicians. While they certainly had their muscular moments, those records were more in line with the Americana-tinged music Hause had been making as a solo artist. He ended up on several solo tours, as well as some duo outings with his brother and collaborator Tim, which necessitated stripping the songs back. "It occurred to me how far I've come from my roots," he says. "Punk rock just isn't where my muse has been for the last couple albums."

But as he pumped electricity when playing those solo songs with his occasional band The Mermaid at his celebratory weekend festival Sing Us Home in Philly the last few years, he realized, "I was just missing plugging in and turning up. I was missing the energy that it takes to deliver that show."

While the former leader of beloved Philly punk rockers The Loved Ones has been no stranger to going to 11, it had been a minute since The Mermaid -- whose current iteration includes brother Tim Hause on guitar and vocals, bassist Luke Preston, keyboardist Mark Masefield, and drummer Kevin Conroy -- had done a proper tour. And they'd never recorded together.

"This is the first time I've taken that band into the studio and been like, 'No matter what, damn the torpedoes, we are going to sound the way we sound. I'm not going to Nashville and getting the murderers row of players. This is our sound,'" says Hause of the mission statement for ...And The Mermaid, which is being released on Hause's Blood Harmony label.

Nearly 20 years into his career, the collection also represents a number of other firsts. It is the first album in his solo career where the entire band has been invited to contribute to the songwriting process. It contains Hause's first cover on an album of originals, a harmony-laden rendition of "Bible Passages" by Tim McIlrath of Rise Against -- "I finally was just totally comfortable enough to put a song I believe in that someone without the last name Hause wrote on my record." And it's the first time he's recorded outside the U.S.

With a little help from the Canadian government (in the form of a grant), The Mermaid decamped to Vancouver in January 2025 to co-produce the album with Jesse Gander (Japandroids, White Lung) who also served as engineer and mixer. "Jesse is about my age, so he's just as fired up on Minor Threat as he is on Bryan Adams," says Hause of the obvious kindred spirit, with whom he had been chatting over the years. "The sonic references were really aligned, and I love his acumen and his approach. It's also a great studio, in one of my favorite towns, with tons of gear."

The band and Gander tracked over 20 songs in two weeks, and Hause found himself grateful for the varying point of views that having other voices in the studio offered, even as he retained final say as bandleader. "It went really well," he says of the creative collaboration. "We've cultivated a ton of trust and transparency. I would be an absolute fool to be this far in and assume that an idea shouldn't at least be considered. The older you get, the closer you can stay to the river of creativity, the better your life is. I had full faith that these four people that I've been working with in various iterations over the years are trying to do just that."

Hause says that venturing into -- and being fully embraced by -- the Americana/singer-songwriter space for a few years ended up leading him back to a version of where he began. "It gave me enough confidence to come back to the rock and punk thing and be like, 'I got nothing to prove. I'm just going to do me.'"

Fortunately he is not doing it alone and is eagerly looking forward to taking these songs and his band on the road, plugging in and turning it up and reveling with an even bigger gang, his fans.

"The band is called The Mermaid because being in a band has always felt like something I've had for a moment, and then the whole myth of it just swims away. If that keeps being the case, I want a musical document of the time we spent together."

He hopes those fans have a similar epiphany when listening to...And The Mermaid that he had in making it: that being part of something larger than yourself can bring a different sense of meaning to your life.

"I hope people take away the belief that we can do things that are greater than ourselves when we decide to work together," he says. "That's what a band promises. That's what a live music event promises. It's what a festival promises. It's what relationships promise. If you can work together, it's better than being isolated and living in fear. It's messy. It can be ugly. You're going to get into arguments. Somebody's going to get the last piece of cake and you're going to give that person shit but, hopefully, there's enough goodwill in the mission that you can forgive each other and know 'This is greater than I could do on my own.'"

Moonshine Bandits, the California duo of Dusty 'Tex' Dahlgren and Brett 'Bird' Brooks, are back with their new album Pour Decisions. The duo continues to champion their signature sound of backwoods bravado, country soul, keg-thumping beats, and hip-hop fusion. Pour Decisions is the grittiest, most spirited, and distinctly grassroots release of their sixteen-year campaign of musical badassery.

"Let's face it, our fans love to party and so do we. With the amount of partying we all do, poor decisions can be made," said Big Tex with a chuckle, referring to the inspiration behind the album title. "We flipped it to 'Pour Decisions' to coincide with our new Bucked Up Whiskey brand. Now you can make the right 'Pour Decision' when you choose to pour a shot of our whiskey. Cheers!"

Pour Decisions takes its inspiration from the struggles and successes of America's extraordinary era when dreams were being made while hunting for that elusive precious gem.

"This album is nothing like our past albums because we wanted to level up from the songwriting to the recording. We really stepped up our game in singing and songwriting on this project and it shows," said Bird about the new sonic direction. "The overall sound of the album is big and has a lot of energy. We used more live instrumentation than ever before, we even had a choir come in and sing on a track, everything was meant to sound bigger when we created these songs. I think the fans will see we all stepped up our game."

Big Tex adds, "We didn't cut any corners. In the past, we would have to worry about touring or timelines, but we're finally in a spot in our career that if we can 'dream it', then we can make it happen. We weren't rushed, and we had the finances to do whatever we wanted on this album. We took our time with this and made sure to put the cherry on top of each song."

Pour Decisions features tracks like "I'm A Rebel," "I'm A Problem," "Silhouettes In The Sun," "Chasing Ghost," and "Can't Take My Hometown." The album showcases the Moonshine Bandits' signature style, with the tracks taking listeners on a journey filled with good, bad, and even some ugly experiences. Thematically, Pour Decisions pays homage not only to the band's career journey but also, and profoundly, "a journey about the people we have come in contact with. The people that inspire our songs."

The album is an ode to the brick-and-mortar, mom-and-pop's, local friends, and corner watering holes that provided the foundation of everyday life, culture, and economics in America. Pour Decisions features 15-tracks that continue to show Moonshine Bandits paving their own lane. There aren't stops or boundaries, and with Pour Decisions, they prove that they still live by their code.

This is a genre-bending album from the featured guests to the sound and displays the band's versatility with some special guests. Weed kingpin Afroman joins the group on "Roof Back" to fire it up for the West Coast, Josh Todd of Buckcherry unleashes some crossover rock fury on "Wild," and then American pride crashes head-on with hip-hop swagger on "I'm A Problem" featuring Canadian Juno Award-winning rapper Madchild. Somehow, it all comes together in one musical Molotov cocktail that Moonshine Bandits provide the spark for.

"We are very grateful to all of these super stars to take time out of their schedule to be part of an album that we truly believe in. We got wide variety of guest from Adam Calhoun to Krizz Kaliko, to Demun Jones, Brandon Hartt to help us bring out all the different influences. It feels like and old-school rap record where guys like E-40 or Tech N9ne would just have their friends jump on the album with them. This album is a stacked lineup of all-stars."

Since their formation in Los Banos, California, in 2003, the Moonshine Bandits have continued a campaign of crossover genre-bending musical mayhem that appeals to the eclectic, color-outside-the-lines tastes of listeners. Their musical style has always been full-throttle and in your face. Just like the rumrunners, bootleggers, smugglers, and outlaws of old -- the Moonshine Bandits provide a supply of goods for the demand, defying the mandates and trends of mainstream pop-culture.

Pour Decisions is rebellious, anti-establishment, and a little bit symbolic of an elusive time when there actually was Honor among thieves. For the Moonshine Bandits, Pour Decisions is a lesson learned from experience, and it's their way of doing things.

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