Read more Kansas City Music Guide.
A bit of a chill in the air--
Mornings have become light jacket weather and a recent freeze warning, signaling that Rocktober is clearly happening in the autumn.
One of our favorite venues, Starlight Theater officially begins its upgraded enhancements which will include a huge canopy that will cover about half the seats by the following season. Beyond the new canopy, upgrades are to include a new truss, video screens and production light bridge above the stage. The east side will receive a larger kitchen. The west side will have a new entryway and expanded renovated restrooms with added changing tables and nursing rooms.
Construction is to occur in two phases, each to take place between October through April: Phase 1, this fall/winter, will focus on building two new towers created to support the canopy, truss and light bridge at the front of the stage.
Building the restrooms had originally been part of Phase 1 but was moved to Phase 2 because of the state’s veto of $5 million (Boo! Gov. Parson!!). Phase 2, from October 2025 through April 2026, will focus on installing the new canopy, production truss, light bridge and video screens. The new restrooms, entryway and kitchen are part of this phase.
Let’s take look at the Kansas City / Lawrence KS metro musical happenings for the upcoming week, from October 14th to 18th.
(ticket hyperlinks are embedded in each show’s headline)
MONDAY OCTOBER 14
TUESDAY OCTOBER 15
Lady Day at Emerson's Grill, Through Oct 27, KC Rep at Copaken Stage,$44-$70
Step into the smoky allure of this Tony Award-winning play and go on a spellbinding journey through the life and music of the iconic Billie Holiday. Step back into time and immerse yourself in the soulful atmosphere of Emerson’s Bar and Grill, where every note resonates with the magic of Lady Day.
Featuring a selection of Billie Holiday’s most well-known songs including “Strange Fruit” and “God Bless the Child” performed live, the magic of this night will echo through your soul as you experience the highs and lows of her journey. Don’t miss this experience that celebrates the enduring legacy of one of the greatest jazz vocalists of all time in a night of jazz, blues, and the timeless magic of Billie Holiday.
(Dark on Oct 14, 21, 22; Recommended for ages 14 and up due to adult themes.)
Chromeo, The Midnight, Girl Ultra, Oct 15, The Midland, $42.50-$48
Canadian electro-dance duo Chromeo is heading out on the road for the rest of 2024 with a co-headline trek with Midnight. Their co-headline started up Sept. 5 in Vancouver with shows in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, Toronto, Detroit and more. 
The tour supports Chromeo’s new album, Adult Contemporary, released back in February. The songs first premiered live at Coachella last year and were also played out on the duo’s recent headline run, “Funk Yourself.”
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 16
The Dead South w Henry Wagons, Oct 16, the Midland, $29.50-$59.50
The Dead South, a four-piece folk-bluegrass Canadian band renowned for their acoustic set and spirited performances, bring an air of frontier recklessness and a gritty approach to traditional genres. With a lineup featuring Nate Hilts' distinctive baritone, Scott Pringle on mandolin, Danny Kenyon with his whistling cello, and Colton Crawford on the banjo, their music escapes easy categorization, appealing to a wide range of audiences.
The Dead South’s Chains & Stakes picks up where their last LP, 2019’s Sugar & Joy, left off with thirteen tracks that lean toward hard-edged bluegrass and dark stories. The new music is a follow-up to 2022’s pair of covers EPs called Easy Listening for Jerks (Parts One and Two). 
Mannequin Pussy, Oct 16, Granada- Lawrence, $22-$25
The Philadelphia punk rockers are on a run of many sold-out shows, in support of their most recent project, I Got Heaven. The fall dates will wrap with one show at The Orpheum in Tampa (assuming all is ok from recent hurricanes).. Grunge act Margaritas Podridas will be along in support for many of the shows on the second part of the tour, including this one.
Gold Over America Tour Gymnastics, Oct 16, T-Mobile Center, $27-$500
It’s the G.O.A.T.G. featuring the G.O.A.T.!!! Spring over to catch an exhilarating acrobatic spectacle starring Simone Biles and some of the best gymnasts in the world. Top gymnasts including Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Hezly Rivera, Paul Juda and more are leaping into 30 arenas across the nation this fall on the Gold Over America Tour, that are sticking their landing.
Biles, the headliner, started the tour in 2021 as a way to “inspire the next generation of female athletes.” This high-flying concert-style performance by Biles and company promises athleticism and high-energy choreography.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 17
(we’re in Chicagoland – look for our review of Saga- Arcada Theater, St. Charles, IL soon!)
Dylan Schneider, Oct 17, PBR Big Sky Bar, Power and Light,$15
Dylan Schneider is on the road this fall on his headlining “Bad Decisions” tour. MaRynn Taylor will serve as support on the run. 
“I’m so excited to announce my ‘Bad Decisions’ Tour and that MaRynn Taylor will be joining me,” shares Schneider. “I’ve been hitting the road harder than ever this year. Starting the year off with Nate Smith, making my Stagecoach debut then going out with Kane Brown, I can’t wait to keep it going. I’m working on even more new music, and I can’t wait to see what you think!”
The Indiana native dropped his Bad Decisions EP to critical acclaim. The title track and namesake of the tour amassed over four million TikTok views and 10 million streams. In his career, he has amassed over 350 million streams and accumulated 1.8 million social media followers. The 24-year-old rising Country star has toured with Florida Georgia Line, Morgan Wallen, Scotty McCreery and more.
Juanes, Oct 17, Uptown, $49-$90
Latin rock icon and Twenty-Seven-time Grammy & Latin Grammy award-winning artist Juanes continues his highly successful Vida Cotidiana World Tour. The powerful rock guitar-driven tour will be both a journey through the career greatest hits of the Colombian superstar, combined with show-stopping live renditions from the artist’s 11th studio album- re-released in a new extended/deluxe edition.
Last summer in New York, over 17,000 fans stretched well over the length of a dozen city blocks, turning out at Central Park Summerstage hoping to see Juanes – marking “the first time in 30 years SummerStage was required to stop a concert in progress for a non-weather-related issue”.
“I feel this has already become my artistically strongest and most enjoyable tour. Having begun this creative cycle with all my core band members taking part in the recording process has brought extra levels of musical cohesion and sheer joy of playing to the stage, and the audiences have sensed this and joined us in the celebrations. We are genuinely looking forward to kicking some ass across North American stages early next year... and we know how!”, explains Juanes.
The album’s recent recognition by members of the Latin Recording Academy has also led to multiple nominations– including ALBUM OF THE YEAR, BEST POP/ROCK ALBUM & BEST ROCK SONG, and another performance invitation for last November’s Latin Grammy Awards. 
Braxton Keith, Oct 17, Liberty Hall-Lawrence, $25-$39
"I'm trying to bring back the traditional values of old-school country music, with a modern twist," says Braxton Keith, whose rootsy honky-tonk sound mixes contemporary hooks with the traditional twang of storytellers like Marty Robbins and Merle Haggard. It's a sound that's already taken hold in Texas, where the Midland native penned his first tunes as a teenager.
Since then, the rising songwriter has remained busy on the road (where he drives his own tour bus from gig to gig) and the recording studio (where his debut single, "Make Up Your Mind," racked up more than 1 million streams on Spotify, followed by viral hits like "A Little Bit Closer," "Cold Hard Steel Sand," and "Settle for a Beer").
Tech N9ne w/ X-Raided, Seuss, Silent Ave, Oct 17, Granada- Lawrence, $30-$35
KC hero and multiplatinum hip-hop artist, Tech N9ne recently shared his new single “Drippy Drop” feat. Skatterman and Snug Brim. He has also released the next offering from his Tech N9ne Collabos series entitled Cosm (Class Of Strange Music) via Strange Music in July.
Tech continues to break boundaries without compromise. Heavy-metal trailblazers Falling In Reverse recently tapped him and Alex Terrible of Slaughter To Prevail for the explosive “Ronald”, which has stacked up some 12 million-plus Spotify streams,
He’s come so far since co-founding Strange Music back in 2000. The KC rapper has gone from packed Midwest underground shows to the annual Forbes “Cash Kings” list multiple times, and national commercials for the Kansas City Chiefs.
He has scored four platinum singles, three gold singles, and a gold album. He has notched 23 entries on the Billboard Top albums Chart and remains the record holder for “most Top 10 albums on the rap chart.” Tech has also cracked the Top 5 of the Billboard Top 200 four times and even has his own craft beer Bou Lou—in partnership with KC’s Boulevard Brewery.
Catfish and The Bottlemen, Oct 17, The Midland, CANCELED
FRIDAY OCTOBER 18
Korn w Gojira, Spiritbox, Oct 18, T-Mobile Center, $39.50-$149.50
The longtime nu-metal band is celerbrating their 30th anniversary with a 25-date run of shows across North America. You MUST arrive early for GRAMMY-nominated French band Gojira and Canadian heavy metal group Spiritbox, and the tour wraps in St. Paul, MN at the Xcel Energy Center on October 27. 
Korn pioneered a genre with the release of their self-titled debut album in 1994. Since forming, Korn has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, collected two Grammys, toured the world countless times, and set many records in the process.
Gojira bend extremes to their whim, emerging as an entrancing enigma equally driven by intuition and intensity. Balancing metallic proficiency, primal grooves, and otherworldly melodies, the French quartet continue to facilitate heavy music’s progression into the future by burning down all boundaries. In support of their most recent studio album Fortitude [2021], they gained international acclaim by crushing it at the beginning of the Paris Olympic Games, playing from a building along the river Seine.
Spiritbox is Grammy-nominated and their recent EP, ‘The Fear Of Fear’, delves into themes of existential struggle and self-discovery, showcasing the band’s penchant for innovation and introspection. Led by Courtney LaPlante, they refuse to be confined to a single genre, embracing creative freedom and a commitment to personal growth.
The Fray, Oct 18, The Truman, $39.50-$80
Colorado’s The Fray have returned with their first collection of new music in over a decade, titled The Fray Is Back. The EP marks the start of a new chapter for the 4-time Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum, with vocalist/guitarist and primary songwriter Joe King taking over lead vocal duties alongside longtime guitarist Dave Welsh and drummer Ben Wysocki.
The EP arrives ahead of the 20th anniversary of their 2005 4x platinum debut album How To Save A Life, declared one of the best-selling digital debuts of all time. How the fans will respond to missing the familiar voice and presence of former singer Isaac Slade, remains to be fully seen.
“We didn’t start out with any definitive expectations for this new material,” says King. “We were just sharing ideas with each other and going on our own journey with the songs, and it became a unifying force that gave us new purpose and direction.”
“For us, to be able to pick up the conversation where we left off is an unbelievable honor” says Welsh. “The opportunity to start a new conversation is something you just can’t take for granted.” 
Kristin Chenoweth w Kansas City Symphony, Oct 18-20, Kauffman Center,$64-$104
Featuring Mary-Mitchell Campbell as guest conductor, the Tony Award-winning sensation returns to the Kauffman Center stage! With her starring roles in Wicked, Glee, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and more, she’s dazzled audiences with her powerhouse vocals and delightful stage presence. Be here for show-stopping selections and gorgeous orchestral arrangements with your KC Symphony musicians.
Chenoweth won a Tony Award in 1999 for portraying Sally in “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.” She was nominated for a Tony in 2004 as the original Glinda the Good Witch in “Wicked.” She won an Emmy Award in 2009 for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in “Pushing Daisies” and was nominated twice more for her appearances on “Glee.”
Labyrinth (film) in Concert, Oct 18, Uptown, $35-$99
Audiences are invited to experience an epic evening as Jim Henson’s musical fantasy film Labyrinth is presented on a large HD cinema screen. On stage, a live band will perform in sync with David Bowie’s original vocals, playing the songs and the score from the soundtrack composed by Bowie and Trevor Jones. The 30-city North American tour launched on September 24 – Jim Henson’s birthday.
Labyrinth’s loyal and steadfast cult following has grown for nearly 40 years since the film’s theatrical release on June 27, 1986. “I have always been a huge fan of the groundbreaking collaboration of Jim Henson, George Lucas, David Bowie, and Trevor Jones on this film, and bringing it to fans in a live concert screening experience is a dream come true,” says John Kinsner, CEO of Black Ink Presents. “Getting to hear Bowie’s vocals with a live band while watching the film is sure to give every Labyrinth fan goosebumps.”
Late Night In The Phog (feat. Lil’ Jon), Oct. 18, Allen Fieldhouse-Lawrence, Free
“Yeah!” “What?!”...”OK” – expect a lot of that and more at Allen Fieldhouse as Kansas Athletics has revealed rapper Lil Jon as the new headliner (replacing a troubled Nelly) for the 2024 edition of Late Night in the Phog. Beyond his featured role on Usher’s Grammy-winning song “Yeah!”, which he helped perform at the Super Bowl halftime show in February, Lil Jon is also well known for the 2013 hit “Turn Down for What” and as a producer on a variety of early-2000s rap hits. 
Following Phog Fest in the afternoon, Late Night will begin in earnest at 6:30 p.m., and the women’s scrimmage (7 p.m.) and men’s scrimmage (7:55 p.m.) and will be available to watch on ESPN+, the KU Athletics website and FB page.
This is free to attend, but tickets must be secured in advance via a reservation process that began on Sept. 18 with a window for student combo pass holders and HoF-level donors and continued until the public got access on Sept. 24. In other words, tix are likely long gone.
Houndmouth, Oct 18, Voodoo Lounge, $24-$34 (21+)
The New Albany, IN alt-blues rock band is led by Matt Myers (guitar, vocals) and formed in 2011 with its 2013 debut album, From the Hills Below the City, released by Rough Trade. On their latest album Good For You, they share a collection of songs set in places as far-flung as the Alamo and the Hudson River, produced by Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Hiss Golden Messenger) and mixed by Jon Ashley (The War on Drugs, B.J. Barham), 
Small Town Murder (live podcast), Oct 18, The Midland, $39.50-$69.50
Comedians James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman are taking their hit podcast, Small Town Murder, back on the road! Each week, they look at a small town, what makes it tick, and a murder that took place there. In depth research, horrible tragedy, and the hosts’ comedic spin on the whole thing. New episodes every Thursday!!
Roni Size, Oct 18, recordBar, $20
The producer and DJ legend began his journey in a Sefton Park UK youth club and became a household name when his drum and bass collective won the coveted Mercury Music Prize in 1997. The record New Forms redefined the genre by incorporating live instruments and vocals, and a jazzy-hip hop feel.
He went on to work with artists as wide-ranging as Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha, Wu Tang Clan’s Method Man and Beverly Knight, taking his live show to the world’s biggest festivals and DJing across the globe. Ticket price seems like a steal for a giant of the genre, so we recommend.
98 Degrees, Oct 18, Ameristar, POSTPONED
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