October was a big month for The Front Bottoms, as they dropped their 4th studio album, Going Grey, and kicked off a two-month U.S. tour in promotion of the release. 

Wednesday night, the duo from Jersey came through Dallas, TX, playing to a jam-packed House of Blues. They started their set with “You Used to Say (Holy Fuck),” the opener of their latest album.

The crowd was enthusiastic and engaged throughout their entire set, which covered all bases of their career. A few favorites were “Skeleton,” “Laugh Til I Cry,” and “12 Feet Deep.” 

Click here to pick up some tickets to see The Front Bottoms on their remaining U.S. tour dates (see below). They’ll be touring the states for another month before heading on a UK/European tour after a short break.

​Minus the Bear, an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, is currently on their fall North American tour with supporting acts - Silversun Pickups and The Velvet Teen.

On September 7th the band played for a packed crowd at Ace of Spades, Sacramento, CA. Their set started off with Drilling followed by Last Kiss from their most recent album, Voids. The band then ended the night off with, Throwin' Shapes, which is featured on their 2014 Album, Planet of Ice.

“If you come back, we will come back!” 

Hanson kicked off the U.S. leg of their Middle of Everywhere: 25th Anniversary Tour Tuesday in Dallas. The 1,000 capacity House of Blues was sold out, packed with long-time fans of the trio.

The brothers opened their two-hour set with “Already Home” from their 2013 album Anthem. The following 24 songs covered each studio album from 1997′s Middle of Nowhere to their latest release. The band really went back to their roots for this show, with nearly a third of their setlist coming from Middle of Nowhere, and backdrop and drumhead branding reminiscent of the 1997 release, as well. Drummer Zac even performed the spoken word part of “Man From Milwaukee” - come in, baby bird!

After an upbeat performance of “In The City” from 2000′s This Time Around, Hanson stepped off the stage for just a moment, before returning for a three-song encore.

They gathered around one microphone to sing an a capella cover of “Rockin Robin,” after explaining that their early shows in the 90s consisted of covers they’d memorized and few to no instruments. After a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Jonny B. Goode,” they ended the night with “I Don’t Want to Go Home” from their 2017 members-only EP release.

Taking Back Sunday is currently on the road in promotion of their latest release, Tidal Wave! They kicked off mid-July in New York and are touring the US through August 19. Support on this summer tour is Every Time I Die, Modern Chemistry and All Get Out.

Gas Monkey Live was packed on Monday night when Taking Back Sunday took the stage, opening with the title track of Tidal Wave. They continued on to play songs from all over their catalog, including 2002′s Tell All Your Friends, 2014′s Happiness Is, and even the closing track from an album that is normally forgotten - 2009′s New Again.

Mid-set, frontman Adam Lazzara reminisced about getting into music in his childhood, before going into an acoustic cover of Green Day’s “She.”

The night ended on a high note with a two-song encore of “Better Homes and Gardens” and “MakeDamnSure.”

Be sure to catch Taking Back Sunday on this summer tour! Tour dates are below.

Last weekend, Grammy-winning alternative band Switchfoot hosted their 13th annual ‘BRO-AM.’ The beach fest, sponsored by Hurley and iHeartMedia, took place along Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, California. The San Diego natives have been hosting the celebration since 2004, bringing together everyone in the community for over a decade for a day of surfing, contests, live performances, and much more! All proceeds went to organizations supporting local youth initiatives including VH1 Save the Music Foundation, Feeding San Diego, Challenged Athletes Foundation, A Step Beyond, StandUp for Kids, and Rob Machado Foundation.

Switchfoot brought along fellow rockers Jamtown and Lifehouse for a jam-packed beach party. Lifehouse and Switchfoot will also be embarking on tour together starting in July. The day kicked off with the BRO-AM Team Surf Contest and Bro Junior Surf Contest, led by Australian-American surfer Rob Machado. Jamtown opened for Lifehouse, who took the BRO-AM stage at 2:20pm. Their set consisted of several acoustic hits including fan-favorites such as “Halfway Gone,” “All In,” and “Hanging By a Moment.”

Just before Switchfoot took the stage to close out an incredible afternoon, Rob Machado brought up the winners of the contests earlier in the day. Switchfoot drummer, Chad Butler, even made an appearance throughout to congratulate the winners.

Switchfoot kicked off their annual performance with “Hurricane.” “This day isn’t just about us, it’s about all of you. It’s about all of us coming together to give back to our community. You made what today is, we’re just a part of it. Let’s rock!” frontman Jon Foreman stated before jumping into “Meant to Live.” The celebration continued strong, as over 17,000 attendees packed along Moonlight Beach into the VIP pit, to the General Admission area, to along the ocean shoreline. Switchfoot’s 75-minute set included songs such as “Love Alone is Worth the Fight,” “Dare You to Move,” “Float,” and “Where the Light Shines Through.” Several guests made special appearances throughout their set, including contemporary Christian artist Lauren Daigle, VH1 Save the Music Foundation, and Rob Machado during the encore of famed Beatles cover “Get Back.”

For more information on Switchfoot’s annual ‘BRO-AM’, visit http://broam.org/. Switchfoot’s latest album Where the Light Shines Through is available now.

Several stars walked the Red Carpet this past weekend on May 13, 2017 at 102.7 KIIS FM’s Wango Tango in Carson, CA. Among these included names like Katy Perry, Noah Cyrus, Halsey, Olivia Holt, Drake Bell, Aaron Carter, and more! 

For more information on Wango Tango, visit http://kiisfm.iheart.com/.

Curtis caught up with up and coming Country singer/songwriter Ruston Kelly backstage at Stagecoach Festival last weekend. Kelly recently released his EP, Halloween, this past year. Check out what Kelly had to say after the jump!

Amazing set, by the way! I was actually ecstatic that you reached out, and wanted to set this up because I was very keen on checking your performance out here. 

Definitely, man! Happy to do it.

So you released your debut EP, Halloween, this past June. What was the creative process like for that? Was it challenging, or did it all seem to flow pretty smoothly?

You know, I think with all things that you’re passionate about, there’s a great element of challenge, there’s an element of relief, there’s an element of ‘What the f--k am I doing?’ With [Halloween], it’s my first collection of songs that I knew I wanted to be a conceptual piece of work. I’m a straight consciousness writer, so everything comes from the wheel in the back. Letting your conscious speak for yourself. 

So it’s more important for quality over quantity.

Yes, exactly! Like for example, my ex-girlfriend’s address [1814B 6th Ave N] is the title of the first track. It ends with a lot of strange s--t happening which inspired the title of the record, based on the Pagan holiday of Samhain, otherwise known to westerners as Halloween.

Was there anyone who influenced the musical direction of the record?

Dave Matthews Band! *laughs* I’d probably say Jackson Brown, Gram Parsons, Charles Bukowski, Richard Wright, and Kurt Cobain. 

A man of his own time.

Dude, I mean, Kurt Cobain’s songwriting - it was so vile, disgusting, and beautiful. Almost like plastic surgery. He would pull from different areas of random writings and make it into one cohesive piece. I think it’s important for us to emphasize being in the arts. I think sometimes we forget or maybe even think we’re inclined to be in the entertainment industry, and that’s great, but there is something to be said for everyone to be true to their own artistic stroke. 

Agreed. Things don’t have always to be positive - they can be negative and that’s okay. It’s the reality of it. 

Exactly. Art is an abstract expression of reality, in my opinion. 

What’s your earliest memory? Maybe a prominent moment in time that brought you to become the person you are today?

That’s a great question. Honestly, my first memory was a dream I had where I was a baby in a sea of fire and there was a religious figure on the other side, holding a hand out. That was my first memory.

Whoa, that’s intense! 

It is intense. Well, I mean another memory was the taste of a f--king garden hose. But that’s boring, right? 

The first time you took that sip, it was everything! *laughs*

Literally, summer was born! *jokes* I mean, I could tell you that, but I’d rather tell you the truth. 

Many are easily discouraged because they don’t feel they have the confidence to succeed in their passions, especially when it comes to music. What advice do you have for those trying to break out into the industry?

Don’t stop. There’s always gonna be voices whether you’re a middle schooler, high schooler, or a virgin college student trying to figure out his/her way in the world. A human being is born with a seed of something true inside of them that’s unique to themselves. Sometimes that’s in the arts - or maybe a non-artistic way. Everyone has a calling. The more you dedicate yourself, the more people want you to ‘straighten out.’ It sends them in a circle and it’s a source of pain, but you just need to keep doing it. You’d be doing a disservice to the world if you stopped. We don’t need more people that do the same things as other people. Being yourself is sometimes hard, especially if you’re younger. 

Absolutely. I think a lot of people don’t realize that their diversity inspires a lot of other people. 

The mad ones, man! The ones that are possibly seen as crazy or rejects or outcasts. They typically have the best things to say because they’re not like the rest of us. These are the people that are gonna keep the world going.

When did you start playing? What created that spark?

My dad actually was in several bands in the east Texas folk music scene back in the ‘70s. He played steel guitar and taught me how to write, so I would fall asleep a lot of nights to that in simpler times. I thought [the songs] were galactic, like they came from another planet. That’s actually what brought us closer again, we didn’t get along for the majority of my life. I made some choices that threw me really far out of the family loop. Maybe I was doing it on purpose - to find myself. It was painful and frustrating, but love brought it back around. Music brought it back around. Now I take him on the road with me, playing dive bars and everything. He inspired me to start music and gave up that dream to raise a family. So to be able to deliver that sense of identity to him again, it’s awesome.

If you could have one thing to be remembered by, what would that it be?

That I was honest with myself in delivering a message to other people. 

  Last weekend, thousands flocked to the desert to participate in Toyota’s annual Stagecoach Festival. Each year at the end of April in Indio, California, Stagecoach brings fans from all around California to see some of the biggest names in Country music, including Dierks Bentley, Shania Twain, and Kenny Chesney topping this year’s headline roster. Other Country sensations performing over the weekend included Brett Eldredge, Maren Morris, Dan + Shay, CAM, and Thomas Rhett. If you’ve never heard of Stagecoach, you might be familiar with Coachella - Stagecoach’s much older cousin that takes place at the same Empire Polo Club just a few weekends prior. But make no mistake, the two couldn’t be any more contrasting.

  While Coachella yields more “partygoers”, Stagecoach brings a much more relaxed vibe. Its attendees are undoubtedly whole-hearted Country fans, who are less concerned about the fashion, and much more about the ambience and of course, the music. It also draws in a crowd of all ages, versus it’s cousin whose demographic is the current generation. Stagecoach celebrated its tenth anniversary this year and needless to say, went off without a hitch. Kicking off the first day of the three-day spectacle on Friday were artists such as Elle King, Anderson East, and Cole Swindell.

  Elle King brought quite a unique set to the desert, captivating her audience the entire time with her twangy sound and sense of humor. “This is a song about a guy who I told, ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ but it was really him,’” King joked. She performed a number of hits including “Speaking in Tongues,” “Where the Devil Don’t Go,” “Song of Sorrow,” and of course fan-favorite, “Ex’s & Oh’s.” She even managed to throw in a few covers, including The Beatles’ “Oh! Darling” and Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.”

  Anderson East held it down at the Mustang Stage with songs such as “Quit You,” “Only You,” and “Lonely.” Cole Swindell warmed up the crowd on Toyota’s Mane Stage with “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight,” “You’ve Got My Number,” and “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey,” before bringing out Dierks Bentley to close out the night.

  Dierks Bentley’s set proved to be one of the strongest sets of the weekend. Soaring through a setlist of hits including “Up On the Ridge,” “Say You Do,” “What Was I Thinkin’,” Bentley crafted one unforgettable set to close out the night. He even brought out some familiar faces to share the stage with him, including Elle King for their collaboration “Different for Girls” and Cole Swindell and Jon Pardi for “Drunk on a Plane.” Other highlights of the weekend included Willie Nelson and Family, who drew quite possibly the largest audience, with attendees overflowing outside of the Palamino tent just to get a glimpse of the country legend on Saturday night.

  Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Shania Twain headlined the second night of the festival and brought quite a few surprises with her, including pop sensations Nick Jonas and Kelsea Ballerini. Twain has been teasing new music for years after dropping off the radar nearly fifteen years ago, and fans have been wondering if this was actually going to materialize. She finally delivered in making that a reality on the Mane Stage with new single “Life’s About to Get Good,” off her new album set to be released later this year. Twain had the crowd on their feet the entire time, as she made her way through her iconic catalog of country-pop hits including “Rock This Country,” “Honey! I’m Home,” “You’re Still the One,” “I’m Gonna Getcha Good,” and closing out with “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.” This marked Twain’s debut Stagecoach appearance and she definitely didn’t disappoint. With incorporated elements such as pyrotechnics, dynamic costumes, and visuals, it was practically eye candy for diehard fans. Twain embarked on what she stated would be her final tour just two years back, but her Stagecoach appearance indicates she could be up for another round. “You all have been so welcoming and I can’t thank you enough. This is my first Stagecoach, and I can’t wait to come back!”, Twain proclaimed. It is unknown what Twain’s future plans are as of this moment, but if this was her last physical appearance in the public eye, it sure went out with a bang.

 Stand-out moments of Sunday included Kiefer Sutherland, who many might recognize for his role as federal agent Jack Bauer on Fox thriller series, 24. Playing to a packed audience in the Palamino tent Sunday afternoon, Sutherland showed off his vocal chops proving there’s much more than to him than the actor we’ve come to know and love. A true Country-rooted musician, he and his band performed several tracks including “Can’t Stay Away,” “Not Enough Whiskey,” and “Shirley Jean,” off their debut record, Down In a Hole, which was released last summer.

  Closing out the festival on Sunday was Kenny Chesney, who made his third appearance as headliner since 2007, respectively. While many other acts brought the fire and surprises, Chesney decided to wind it down for the final night, performing just himself and his band. He had the crowd singing to tracks such as “Beer In Mexico,” “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem,” “I Go Back,” and set closer “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.” Chesney proved himself to be a headliner in his own ranks, and it’s clear the crowd felt mutual. If this year’s fantastic lineup of artists are any indication for the future of the festival, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year. Tickets for next year’s festival typically go on sale later in the year, so keep an eye out and don’t miss the festivities when Stagecoach returns to Empire Polo Club in 2018.

“This has got to be the loudest crowd we have ever played for.... we will definitely be coming back to Sacramento” 

- Paul Jason Klein lead vocalist of LANY

LANY + Machineheart @ Ace of Spades in Sacramento, CA 4-24-17

Photos by @maxbakerphoto 

Simple Plan stopped at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California last week. The Canadian rock quintet played to a sold out crowd in honor of their ‘No Pads, No Helmets... Just Balls 15th Anniversary Tour,’ or ‘NPNHJB Tour,’ for short. From the moment the venue opened, 2,000 people came flooding through the doors filling up the main concert hall in minutes. The band brought along Set It Off and Seaway, who opened on all tour dates respectively. Set It Off got the night started with hits including “Don’t Worry,” “Forever Stuck in Our Youth,” “Upside Down,” and “Hypnotized.”

Just as the tour name states, Simple Plan crafted the perfect setlist, managing to perform every song off their debut album, and a five-song encore. Over the course of the night, highlights included a crowd-driven rendition of “Perfect,” “Addicted,” “I’m Just a Kid,” and encore pleasers “Shut Up” and “Welcome to My Life.” Their set was packed with production including impressive strobe lights and smoke machines throughout.

“You sold this s**t out, Anaheim! It’s been fifteen years since we’ve been made and started playing this record. We couldn’t have done this without you,” lead frontman Pierre Bouvier stated. Clad in his signature ‘Role Model’ tee, it’s clear the band hadn’t lost their roots along the way. The entire night was a everlasting moment of pure nostalgia, and the fans we’re enjoying every single second of it.

Simple Plan’s ‘NPNHJB Tour’ will pick up again when it hits Grand Rapids, Michigan this August. Set It Off will be opening for the second leg, just as they did respectively on first leg. Tickets can be purchased via Simple Plan’s website http://www.simpleplan.com/tour or Set It Off’s at http://setitoffband.com/. Set It Off’s latest album, ‘Upside Down’, is available now. 

 If you haven’t heard of DREAMCAR, you definitely will soon. To put it simply, it’s a collaborative new wave project between the members of legendary ska group No Doubt and alternative band AFI. Announced in early 2016, the band is composed of Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, and Adrian Young, and Davey Havok. But make no mistake - while ‘Dreamcar’ may have familiar members, their sound is nothing like No Doubt or even AFI.

 Only having released one hit single, “Kill For Candy,” several tour dates sold out almost instantaneously. Their first announced dates included the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which will mark their first festival appearances later this month. 

  Dreamcar embarked on their debut 2017 tour in April, with two sold out nights at the Constellation Room inside The Observatory in Santa Ana, California. From the moment the opener Dear Boy took the stage, the venue filled up fast. Observatory staff advised concert goers to fill in any available space, with even some attendees waiting outside the curtain near the entrance. Needless to say, it was a tight show. Dreamcar took the stage promptly at 9:30pm. “Hi, we’re Dreamcar,” frontman Davey Havok proclaimed followed by several attendees roaring and cheering. Despite most of the crowd being unfamiliar with the setlist, the band captivated their attention the entire time as they performed several hits off their debut record, out early next month. Crowd favorites included “Born to Lie” and of course, “Kill For Candy.” Dreamcar even managed to throw in an electric cover of Alice Cooper’s “No More Mr. Nice Guy.”

I’ve been lucky enough to see Australian duo Atlas Genius (made up of brothers Keith and Micheal Jeffery, along with a backing band) perform live 10+ times, so I was extremely excited to see that they were going to be supporting Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness’ Zombies on Broadway tour. The Indianapolis stop of the tour was at Egyptian Room in the Old National Centre. When you see the inside of the venue it’s almost reminiscent of a wedding banquet hall, but as soon as the band stepped on stage it was clear to see that you were in fact at a rock show.

They came out playing “Stockholm,” the third song off their most recent album Inanimate Objects, and then continued to keep the momentum going for the next 45 minutes. Maybe my favorite moment of the show was when they played “The Stone Mill” and had it flow directly into “Molecules,” just like it’s presented on the album. They also played songs from 2013’s When It Was Now, including their biggest hit to date “Trojans.” It’s hard not to love these guys, and you could tell the audience really were enjoying themselves, especially at the moments when Keith came out into the crowd with his guitar.

  Alternative Grammy Award-winning band Switchfoot brought their ‘Looking For America’ Tour to The City National Grove of Anaheim in Anaheim, California last night Wednesday, January 25, 2017. Rocking Orange County to its core, we were extremely impressed with their overall performance. The band announced the tour in the Fall of last year, co-headlining with Relient K. Initially set to end in November 2016, the tour was extended and split into two parts, referring to the second half as ‘Looking For America: Part II.’ 

  Switchfoot’s past production has consistently been nothing short of amazing. With interactive elements such as disco balls, bubble machines, and confetti, last night was no exception to that. Kicking off with “Holy Water,” off their latest record, Where The Light Shines Through, the energy was strong from the start. Following “Holy Water,” they broke out into “Meant To Live,” as well as Vice Verses tune “Dark Horses.” The San Diego natives have released nine studio albums over the span of twenty years, so it’s pretty much a given they can’t stick every hit into one setlist. That being said, they didn’t disappoint and managed to combine fan favorites from several albums including The Beautiful Letdown, Fading West, and Learning to Breathe. Frontman Jon Foreman brought plenty of audience interaction for emotional renditions of “When We Come Alive” and “Dare You to Move.” 

  The Anaheim stop was a bit sentimental for the band in comparison to other stops on tour, as they had a bit of history with it a few years back. “We made a movie called ‘Fading West’ a few years ago. It just so happens that we filmed the opening scene right here, at The Grove in Anaheim,” Foreman recalled.

  Switchfoot’s connection to their audience is something that’s unparalleled to any other band, primarily due to their spiritual background. Their performances bring a genuine sense of unity and celebration, and it’s worthy of noting. Switchfoot and Relient K’s ‘Looking For America Tour: Part II’ will continue on through February 18th, 2017, ending in Rochester, NY. Tickets can purchased at http://switchfoot.com/tour/, along with VIP upgrades. Switchfoot’s latest album, Where The Light Shines Through, is available now.

 Pop-funk band DNCE brought the fire to their ‘DNCE In Concert’ Tour when they made a stop in Los Angeles, California at The Belasco Theater last Wednesday, January 18th, 2017. The band brought along fellow rockers The Skins, who opened the show, respectively. As the first show of 2017, we couldn’t think of a better start to the year! The band’s entire set was a non-stop party, filled with Stormtroopers (yes, I said Stormtroopers), confetti, smoke, and lots of strobes. 

 DNCE, comprised of Joe Jonas, JinJoo Lee, Cole Whittle, and Jack Lawless, hit the stage promptly at 9pm, kicking off with “Naked.” Shortly after, they broke out into “Body Moves” and self-titled jam “DNCE,” from which the band derives it’s name. The setlist consisted of nearly every hit off their debut record, clocking in at just under an hour and a half. 

 If there’s one thing DNCE knows how to do, it’s how to bring a party and they promptly did so for the sold out crowd. “LA, you sold this s**t out quick, so thank you,” frontman Joe Jonas stated of the turn out. Within the 19-song setlist, they managed to hit all the fan-favorites such as “Toothbrush,” “Pay My Rent,” and of course the song that skyrocketed them to the charts off their 2015 EP Swaay, “Cake By the Ocean.” They even threw in a few nostalgic covers, comprised of a mash-up of Britney Spears’ “Oops!...I Did It Again” and Spice Girls’ “Wannabe.”

 DNCE is clearly a force to be reckoned with. If the out-of-this-world production on this tour is any indication for the future, we can’t wait to see what they bring next! Tickets for ‘DNCE In Concert’ are still available, but they’re going quick! You don’t wanna miss out on this tour! Tickets can be purchased here. DNCE’s self-titled album is available now. 

Day 3, SnowGlobe 2016

Day 2, SnowGlobe 2016