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Where the “rubber hits the road”, this is maybe the busiest weekend of concerts of the entire year in the Kansas City metro- Rocktober lives up to its name and no excuse for not seeing some live music this weekend (Chiefs are even playing on Thursday, which frees up Sunday).
Let’s take look at the Kansas City / Lawrence KS/ Topeka KS metro musical happenings for the upcoming weekend, from October 13th-15th.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 13
Odesza w Big Boi, TokiMonsta, QRTR & Olan, T-Mobile Center. $39.50-$109.50
The EDM powerhouse is out on the much-anticipated follow-up to 2022’s The Last Goodbye Tour and the Kansas City date features rare support from former Outkast rapper Big Boi,along with TOKiMONSTA, QRTR & Olan.
ODESZA and the nonprofit REVERB are continuing their partnership to reduce the environmental footprint of their tour and take action on the climate crisis. In addition to a comprehensive tour sustainability program, the band will be supporting REVERB’s climate portfolio which funds projects that measurably reduce greenhouse gas pollution, address climate justice, and directly decarbonize the music industry. Fans will have the ability to join the effort at every show.
ODESZA’s live performances have become a modern wonder, mixing stunning visuals, musicianship, pyrotechnics and an immersive environment to transform whatever venue they are at, into a true experience. Last year’s tour sold over 450k tickets throughout its amphitheater run with numerous sold-out, multi-night runs including in their hometown of Seattle.
Chase McDaniel, PBR Big Sky, $15 
Raised in the small town of Greensburg, KY by his grandparents, the 28-year-old was recently signed to Big Machine Records/Big Machine Label Group. A few weeks ago, on National Daughter’s Day, his smash Country hit, “Your Daughter” was re-released as new versions, to great success.
The emerging artist took to TikTok to announce the new versions - “We just put out two new acoustic versions of “Your Daughter” Today, one called the “Acoustic Wedding Version” and one called “Willow’s Version,” in honor of National Daughter’s Day,” he said.
Billy Strings, Oct 13-14, Cable Dahmer Arena, Independence, $22-$70
Since his 2017 debut, the bluegrass wunderkind has been awarded Best Bluegrass Album at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards, Artist of the Year at the 2022 Americana Music Awards, and Entertainer of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2022 International Bluegrass Music Awards.
Last November, Strings released ME/AND/DAD, a new studio album on which he and his father — fellow musician Terry Barber — performed songs they played together during Strings’ childhood. He also performed a live cover of Johnny Cash’s “Cocaine Blues” with an unlikely duet partner, Post Malone. Don’t expect Posty for the two nights in Independence, but do expect some expert playing.
Charlie Berens, Uptown Theater, $39 
His Good Old-Fashioned Tour has kicked off and Berens is known for his laugh-out-loud sketch comedy and Midwest humor. He also is an Emmy Award–winning journalist, musician, and author of the New York Times best seller The Midwest Survival Guide.
Kansas City Ballet presents Jekyll and Hyde, Oct 13-22, Kauffman Center, $34-$149.
The North American Premiere!
Witness the psychological torment and self-destruction of Henry Jekyll, a morally upright and well-mannered doctor, as he struggles against the vile urges of his alter ego Edward Hyde in Victorian England. Val Caniparoli’s newest ballet (first performed by the Finnish National Ballet in 2020) focuses on the eternal struggle of good versus evil as it plays out within one man.
The ballet’s narrative is framed as a hallucination of the novella’s actual author, Robert Louis Stevenson, as he imagines the tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. As the story progresses, the lines between reality and fiction become blurred, with the world of the mental hospital returning and Stevenson realizing he has unleashed a monster, the dark side of all of our better selves, through his writing of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Parental discretion is advised.
The Glorious Sons w The Velveteers, The Madrid, $25-$49 
Following the release of their brand-new single “Mercy Mercy” (which quickly became the most added song at both Alternative and Active Rock radio), the two-time JUNO Award-winning Kingston, ONT rock band is out on their Glory Tour, from their album of the same name, released just last month.
Of the single, lead singer / songwriter Brett Emmons shares, “Mercy Mercy is my own quiet little prayer. It’s me fighting through some twisted process of self-forgiveness and acceptance. It’s a glimpse into my inner dialogue, however hilarious or concerning that might sound. A friend told me that this album sounds like someone at war in their own mind. In that context, I think this song is about faith in oneself, and one’s future—even if the past is always still there.”
You must arrive early for The Velveteers, who killed it on their support slot for Black Keys earlier this summer, in support of 2021’s Nightmare Daydream (on Easy Eye Sounds, Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach’s custom label) and the big sound can be attributed to dual drummers Baby Pottersmith and Jonny Fig and singer/ baritone guitarist Demi Demitro. Our prayers for a KC return are answered!
Outer Reaches- Bombino, recordBar, $24.36
Day 1: Bombino w/The Philistines, Saving Miles Lemon, Teri Quinn
Outer Reaches is an annual live music festival that showcases left-of-center, under-the-radar artists pushing boundaries in their respective genres. Day 1 features the world-class Taureg psychedelic desert blues artist from Niger as headliner, who we’ve seen several times. On a world tour for his new album Sahel, he continues the momentum of 2018’s Deran which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 14
Ashnikko, Uptown. Sold out. 
Sold Out AF for months and months! On the Weedkiller World Tour featuring singles, “Worms” and the aggressive nu-metal track “You Make Me Sick!” from the debut album, released June 2. “I can’t believe this is happening. my debut album is finally coming. two years ago” Ashnikko said, “I wrote a short story that has expanded to become this album.”
Fans can also expect to hear material from the 2021 mixtape, Demidevil, which featured tracks like “Daisy” and “Slumber Party”.
Shovels and Rope, Knuckleheads, $30
“It’s not heavy metal, but in our guts, it feels a bit like Heavy Metal,” says Michael Trent of the band’s newest album, Manticore. 2022 marked ten years since folk rock duo Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent released their debut album O’ Be Joyful, the first formally billed as “Shovels & Rope.”
Carbon Leaf, Knuckleheads, $22.50 
Also at Knuckleheads! The longtime Richmond, VA, indie-folk band has half of their four-part Gathering series released, which finds the long-running quintet stripping their sound back to its organic, acoustic core as they reckon with our ever-conflicting desires for unity and independence.
Noah Gundersen, Bottleneck-Lawrence, $25-$110
The acclaimed Washington-based singer-songwriter is turning a new leaf with the release of his seventh studio album, If This Is the End, just out which deconstructs a particularly challenging and transformative chapter of his life.
The 11-track LP finds the 34-year-old grappling with past failures while building a quiet yet fulfilling new life for himself. As he heals from the scars left behind by the ever-shifting music industry, a newly-married Gundersen finds comfort amidst life’s unpredictability. Support from Casey Dubie.
Kathleen Madigan (comedy), Midland. $29.50-$59.50 
The veteran comedian’s 33-year career shows no signs of slowing down, now on an all-new tour, “Boxed Wine & Tiny Banjos." The St. Louis native has risen from performing in comedy clubs to selling out shows at marquee theaters. She has over 40 appearances on late-night talk shows and multiple comedy specials on Netflix, Comedy Central and HBO. Madigan also hosts a popular weekly podcast, “Madigan's Pubcast," which currently has over 3 million downloads on all outlets.
Granada 90th Anniversary Block Party, Downtown Lawrence, 6-11p, Free
The Granada Theater in downtown Lawrence is celebrating a big milestone, and it’s inviting the whole community to the all-ages block party. Originally constructed in the 1930s as a silent movie theater, they are celebrating 90 years, and 30 years as a music venue.
It will benefit Downtown Lawrence Inc., the “nonprofit organization dedicated to the enrichment, preservation, and promotion of Downtown Lawrence as the cultural and commercial heart of the community.” The event will feature live music and entertainment, kids' activities, and more than 20 craft beers, wines and spirits available for purchase, according to a news release.
SUNDAY OCTOBER 15
MercyMe, Cable Dahmer Arena- Independence, $23-$90 
MercyMe brings their Together Again Tour to Indy- The multi-platinum selling, GRAMMY® nominated, multiple American Music Award, Billboard Music Award and Dove Award winners were recently named Billboard’s Top Christian Artist of the 2010 decade, In 2014, single “I Can Only Imagine” surpassed 2 million digital downloads, making it the first song in Christian music to go platinum and double-platinum in the digital domain. Their eleventh album, ALWAYS ONLY JESUS, is available now.
The Happy Fits w Windser and Small Crush, Granada- Lawrence, $25-$28
Starting as high school students in 2016 in Pittstown, the NJ band, consisting of lead vocalist and cellist Calvin Langman, drummer and vocalist Luke Davis, guitarist Raina Mullen and guitarist Graham Orbe, is celebrating their third and most recent album, Under the Shade of Green, released on August 26.
Arrive early for the openers including Windser, who were all kinds of fun when we saw them in town in 2022 and have a new single, “TV.” It’s been an exciting year, releasing the track “Belong,” the theme song of the new limited series podcast, Academy as well as the acoustic EP Panoramic Sessions, and a performance at Lollapalooza this past August.
Bitch, recordBar, $15 
The queer icon ‘rides’ her broomstick onto stage to star in a one-woman performance detailing her life story, woven together with synths and violin-forward pop songs from her most recent album “Bitchcraft,” which came out earlier this year on Kill Rock Stars.
Bitch is a trained violinist, first appearing with her band Bitch and Animal. The band went on tour with Ani DiFranco who they met while playing a pizza shop in Provincetown. Since going solo, Bitch has toured with The Indigo Girls, produced two albums of her folk Idol Ferron, played herself in John Cameron (Hedwig and The Angry Inch) Mitchell’s “Shortbus,” and collaborated with Margaret Cho, Joey and Faith Soloway, God-des and Logan Lynn.
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]
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