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Read more Kansas City Music Guide.
May Day!, It’s May already!
Azura Amphitheater just opened for their concert season, with Starlight soon to follow, despite the recent rash of t-storms and tornado watches (welcome to the Midwest!). The concert announcements keep coming with Billie Eilish playing in mid-November, and on the sports front, Taylor Swift’s other half, Travis Kelce re-signed and got a raise for two more years, in hopes of a Chiefs Three-Peat!
Our heart and prayers go out to The Alarm’s frontman, Mike Peters, who we’ve adored for decades and has bravely battled cancer for 29 years. Their tour was soon to start with an anticipated May 7 date locally, but his cancer has returned, and the tour is postponed, he writes, in part:
“On Sunday morning April 21st, I awoke with a large swollen gland on the left side of my neck. The early results have determined that my Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) has undergone a transformation into a High-Grade Lymphoma.
I am awaiting to have both a PET and Heart Scan and also consultations with the team at the Christie Institute in Manchester before confirming the exact specifics of my new treatment regime.”
We wish him the very best and look forward to seeing him live again, soon.
Let’s take look at the Kansas City / Lawrence KS metro musical happenings for the upcoming week, from May 1st-7th.
(ticket hyperlinks are embedded in each show’s headline).
WEDNESDAY MAY 1
Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, May 1, Uptown, $80-$130
Former teacher and student come together for a shredding extravaganza coming your way as guitar masters Joe Satriani and Steve Vai are joining forces for a US co-headlining tour, this first live combination as a duo outside of G3.
Sharing his excitement in a press statement, Satriani said: “The Satch/Vai Tour is happening! I’m so looking forward to sharing the stage with Steve again. Every time we play together, it takes me back to when we were teenagers, eating and breathing music every second of the day, pushing, challenging, and helping each other to be the best we could be. I guess we’ve never stopped!”
Vai added: “Touring with Joe is always a pleasure and an honor. He is my favorite guitarist to jam with, and now we have another opportunity to take it to the stage. I feel as though we are both at the top of our game and that the show will be a powerful celebration of the coolest instrument in the world, the electric guitar!”
Wild Party, May 1, recordBar, $23.23
It’s their 10th Anniversary Phantom Pop Tour with Fox Royale, The Highwater.
Since the band Wild Party went on hiatus about seven years ago (we caught em live back in 2015 in Minneapolis), co-founder and frontman Lincoln Kreifels occasionally checked to see how its music was faring online.
“Spotify was a big catalyst... Over time, it just started to relate our music to music that was similar to ours, and it kind of snowballed from there.” So they put the band back together and hit the road.
The group —Kriefels, Ethan Kaufmann, Cary LaScala and Lucas Hughes has gathered all this attention about 10 years after the release of Wild Party's first album, “Phantom Pop,” (on Fearless Records) an anniversary the band will be now marking with a successful reunion tour.
In addition to touring, the guys are putting the finishing touches on their second album, which they hope to release early next year. “It’s going to have a different kind of taste and flair than the last album, which was more pop-centric, more pop-structured,” Kreifels said. “This time, we’re a little more experimental.”
THURSDAY MAY 2
Greta Van Fleet w Geese, May 2, T-Mobile Center, $34.50-$119.50
The Michigan rockers remain on the road in support of their latest album, Starcatcher, which debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart upon its release this past July. The shows come in support of GVF’s latest album, which has yielded the singles "Meeting the Master," "Sacred the Thread," "Farewell for Now" and "The Falling Sky." They’ve branched out from their initial Zeppelin soundalike style which we caught live back in 2018.
Later this year, they’ll embark on a UK/European tour slated for November and December as well as two dates supporting Metallica’s “M72 Tour” on September 20th and 27th of 2024 in Mexico City.
As for Geese (not to be confused with jam band Goose), they acknowledged that Foster Hudson had “decided to take a leave from the band to pursue his academic endeavors. Moving forward, Geese will continue as a 4 piece.
Earlier this year, the rockers released their second album, 3D Country, as well as the follow-up EP, 4D Country. The group formed in 2016 when most of the band was still in high school, and they were prepared to break-up as college approached.
Trampled By Turtles, May 2, Uptown, $18 (BOGO offer)-$67.
The pride of Duluth, MN and led by frontman Dave Simonett makes their way down from up North and in between tour dates with The Avett Brothers. The rock folk and bluegrass band that is so beloved in their home state also includes fiddler Ryan Young (who'd previously played drums in a speed metal act) and bassist Tim Saxhaug. mandolinist Erik Berry and banjo player Dave Carroll.
2022 saw the release of the band's latest called Alpenglow which was produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and having seen them live many times in MN, we suggest you and a friend take advantage of the BOGO ticket offer and check them out.
FRIDAY MAY 3
Knocked Loose w Show Me the Body, Loathe, Speed, May 3, Granada- Lawrence, SOLD OUT
The Kentucky hardcore band are on a massive headlining tour, and they’ve lined up an amazing group of bands to join them: Show Me The Body, Loathe, and Speed, this following a successful tour of the Europe and UK with Deafheaven. Tix for this local show have been sold out for a while and after an insane live appearance at this same venue last year.
Knocked Loose last released the A Tear in the Fabric of Life EP in 2021 and then put out two new songs last year and on May 10, will release the much awaited, You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To, so expect to hear a taste of the new music.
All support bands have hinted at new albums that we’re anticipating, but no official word yet. Loathe’s last proper album was 2020’s I Let It in and It Took Everything, Speed last released 2022’s Gang Called Speed EP and Show Me The Body last put out Trouble The Water in 2022, followed by a live album in 2023.
SiM w Fame on Fire & Within Destruction, May 3, Liberty Hall-Lawrence, $27-$49
You've heard the group and their song "The Rumbling" in Attack on Titan Final Season. You may have seen them live supporting Dance Gavin Dance on tour. But now, SiM is officially setting off for their first headlining North America tour, headlining 24 shows across the US and Canada as part of their PLAYDEAD WORLD TOUR SEASON 1, with Fame on Fire and Within Destruction supporting.
Hippie Sabotage, May 3, Uptown, $35-$45
Enter the Unknown - the EDM duo (Jeff and Kevin Saurer.) Hippie Sabotage have been making music together since 2005. Their music mixes the beats of traditional EDM with a more chilled-out mellow approach. Expect new music forthcoming after leaving their previous label last year.
Hip-Hop opener Kembe X has been touring with Hippie Sabotage after releasing their joint album together titled “Sleep Paralysis” and second opener pop artist Daisy Guttridge, is familiar for songs “ i found you,” and “Designer Tears.”
Slowdive, May 3, The Truman, $35-$70 (basically sold out)
Call us dedicated fans of the Reading UK shoegaze dream pop band, having most recently covered them in St Paul last October and also in Milan, IT earlier this year.
The fifth album, Everything is Alive, came out last fall, containing the duality of a familiar internal language mixed with the exaltation of new beginnings. Six years after the group’s self-titled album, the group—vocalists and guitarists Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead, guitarist Christian Savill, bassist Nick Chaplin, and drummer Simon Scott—are as musically strong as ever.
Mint Green, May 3, recordBar, $16.44
The Boston emo-pop band is fronted by singer and guitarist Ronnica, with Daniel Huang on drums, and Tiffany Sammy on bass, with the singer naming the band for her favorite color which she has described as, “not too loud, not too soft”, like their music.
They released two independent self-funded EPs before being signed to Pure Noise Records and releasing their first full-length LP, All Girls Go to Heaven in 2022, and brand-new song “Body Language” is on all streaming platforms.
Tori Kelly, May 3, Midland, $30-$35
With the critically acclaimed ‘Tori‘EP era behind her, Tori Kelly is moving forward to the ‘Tori‘album era, the new LP which was just released on April 5 following its first single ‘High Water’ and she embarked on her 12-date ‘Purple Skies Tour.’ This KC show is the final date on the leg.
Speaking of, we first saw her live way back in 2015 in Minneapolis, with Prince himself sitting across from us in the balcony.
Kelly has notably starred in the blockbuster animated series Sing and Sing 2 in addition to making appearances on Sesame Street¸ The Masked Singer, American Idol, Rugrats, and teamed up with Justin Bieber for “Name” from his #1 blockbuster album Justice.
Journey to Valhalla, May 3 and May 5, Kauffman Center, $39-$207
Experience the real Lord of the Rings! - Richard Wagner's legendary four-opera cycle, The Ring of the Nibelung, based on ancient Norse mythology, is one of the most significant achievements in music and opera history. The Lyric Opera’s new production, Journey to Valhalla, immerses audiences in Wagner's epic through the collaborative efforts of conductor Michael Christie, director Joshua Horowitz, and projection designer David Murakami, utilizing the illustrations of Arthur Rackham (we love Rackham’s art and style).
15 hours of operatic grandeur are distilled into a concise experience of less than 3 hours. This breathtaking journey through Wagner's orchestrations and music will transport you to a world of adventure and features the Kansas City Symphony alongside powerful Wagnerian singers.
SATURDAY MAY 4
Air Supply, May 4, Ameristar Casino, $68-$240
Though forming way back in 1975, they’re still not “All Out of Love”, nor “Lost in Love”, and are back their normal stop at Ameristar in KC. Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock met on the first day of rehearsals for Jesus Christ Superstar in Sydney, becoming instant friends and co-founding the longtime Australian soft-rock band.
Seven top-five singles later and Air Supply, at that time, had amazingly equaled The Beatles’ run of consecutive top-five singles. The albums Lost in Love, The One That You Love, Now & Forever and The Greatest Hits sold in excess of 20 million copies. They were the first Western group to tour China and Taiwan and are celebrating their 48th anniversary of making music.
Tech N9ne with the Kansas City Symphony, May 4, Midland, $45-$109
The Kansas City Symphony announces the collaboration with KC’s own hip hop star, Tech N9ne, at the historic Midland Theatre, which could prove a very interesting combination.
KC’s premier hip-hop artist, Tech N9ne broke all of the rules, subverted expectations, dumbfounded the system, and set a precedent for hip-hop and independent music often imitated (but never duplicated) by generations to follow. At the helm of his own Strange Music, based in KC since 2000, he has notched four platinum singles, eleven gold singles, and two gold albums. As a whole, the Strange Music catalog also houses 23 RIAA gold and platinum records.
He holds down the record for “most Top 10 albums” on the Billboard Rap Chart and staked a spot in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200 four times. After three decades in the game, the rapper landed “the biggest hit of his career” with 2021’s “Face Off” featuring Joey Cool, King Iso, and none other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Latest album was last year’s acclaimed BLISS, and also was the 1st hip hop artist in the 94-year history of the Plaza holiday lighting ceremony to flip the switch to kick off the Christmas season.
Free Comic Book Day, your local comic shop, Free!
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is the biggest event in the comic book industry—a single day when participating comic book specialty shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops!
Founded on the belief that for every person out there, there’s a comic book they’ll love, the annual event offers a huge selection of free titles designed to appeal to a broad range of age levels and their tastes.
Every year, on the first Saturday in May, the industry comes together to give away free comics and encourage both curious, first-time comic book readers and seasoned comic book fans to flock to the best place in the comic book community: local comic shops.
SUNDAY MAY 5
MONDAY MAY 6
TUESDAY MAY 7
MJ The Musical, May 7-12, Kauffman Center, $49-$229
The King of Pop lives again! Featuring a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and Tony Award®-winning choreography from director Christopher Wheeldon, MJ goes beyond the singular moves and signature sound of the star, offering an additional look at the creative mind and collaborative spirit that catapulted him into worldwide legendary status.
MJ was scheduled to premiere on Broadway in mid-2020, but this was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the production finally opened at the Neil Simon Theatre on February 1, 2022.
It would go on to be nominated for 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical, with the musical winning four awards, including Best Actor in a Musical, as well as Best Choreography, Best Lighting Design and Best Sound Design. The original cast recording was also nominated for Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Dance, sing, and shake your body down to the ground as two-dozen plus classic songs help tell the story of music’s unique wonder who will always have a place apart from all others.
Portugal. the Man, May 7, The Truman, $39.99-$85
The Alaskan alternative band have expanded their 2024 tour dates in support of their latest album, Chris Black Changed My Life with a Grim Generation Tour run that will finish in Montana in mid-July.
They’re multi-platinum and Grammy Award winners, and thanks to the success of their last album, have really broken through into the mainstream, but also promise digging deep into their catalog for the setlist of this current tour.
Latin / worldbeat group Reyna Tropical is set as opener, still shaken by the death last year of band partner Nectali Diaz. Their debut album, Malegría (which combines the Spanish words for “bad” and “happiness”), was just released at the end of March.
The Alarm w Jay Astin of GLJ, Belouis Some, May 7, Knuckleheads, POSTPONED
National Touring act coming to Kansas City, Lawrence, KS, Topeka, KS, or vicinity? Let us know so we can spotlight the appearance-email [email protected]
| john c ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ X / twitter.com |
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