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Read more Kansas City Music Guide.
Getting close to tax time--
For those of use that still haven’t filed (cough, ahem), they’re only a handful of days left. In the meantime, hit up some live music or see a NASA pioneer speak or local jazz personalities, as there’s plenty to select from, for a short escape from the doom and gloom daily headlines.
Let’s take look at the Kansas City / Lawrence KS metro for thee musical and cultural happenings for April 7th-10th:
(ticket hyperlinks are embedded in each show’s headline)
MONDAY APRIL 7
TUESDAY APRIL 8
Kobie Boykins, NASA: Beyond Earth: The Quest for Life, Apr 8, Kauffman Theatre, $45-$68
Next up on their Changemaker Speaker Series, embark on a journey through more than two decades of space exploration with leading NASA Engineer Kobie Boykins. After working on all of the Mars Rover programs, he has set his sights on more distant frontiers with his most ambitious mission to date – a circumnavigation of Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon.
As Chief Engineer of this project, he has been leading a team of thousands to build and deploy a spacecraft that will take eight years just to reach its target, before it slingshots around Jupiter and gets into a two-year orbit of Europa. The goal? To find out if there is water under the icy crust. Where there’s water, there’s life. The mission launched in Oct. 2024.
Boykins is a principal mechanical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA, where he has worked since graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In more than twenty-five years at the lab, he has worked on every Mars mission since the Pathfinder mission, which took the first Rover, “Sojourner,” to Mars in 1996. In 2013, he received a NASA Exceptional Service Medal, one of the highest honors given to NASA employees and contractors.
Subhumans, Apr 8, recordBar, $25.49
The longtime U.K. punk band will make their return to the United States this month. Subhumans formed in 1980, as part of the UK’s anarcho-punk scene. They broke up in 1985 and reunited a couple of times in the ’90s before re-forming in 2004 and remaining active since then.
The trek just kicked off on April 4 at Minneapolis’ Uptown VFW, and it’ll conclude on April 18 with an appearance at Oakland’s BOB Fest. Subhumans'’ last studio album was 2019’s Crisis Point.
Jazz Alive- Common Ground Panel, Apr 8, Folly, $10-20
Discover the vibrant world of Kansas City jazz at the Common Ground Panel! This unique event brings together leading voices from the city’s top jazz organizations to discuss the future of jazz, its cultural impact, and how we can all contribute to its thriving community. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with passionate jazz advocates and be part of an inspiring conversation. Doors at 6PM, panel begins at 6:30PM. Admission includes one drink voucher and there is a BOGO deal on reg. $20 tix now.
Panelists:
B.J. Jansen – President of Kansas City Jazz ALIVE
Allyssa Bell-Jackson – Executive Director of Kansas City Jazz Orchestra
Dr. Dina Bennett – Executive Director of American Jazz Museum
David Basse – President of Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors
Rick Truman – Executive Director of Folly Theater
Anita Dixon – UNESCO City of Music KC
WEDNESDAY APRIL 9
Papa Roach, Rise Against, Underoath, Apr 9, T-Mobile Center, $34-$149
Papa Roach has joined forces with Rise Against and special guest Underoath for the first North American leg of the "Rise Of The Roach" Tour. In the tour parody video, comedian Bert Kreischer dropped the "big news" that he'll be hitting the road with PAPA ROACH next year. In fact, he even let fans in on a little secret — he's totally been in the band all along.
Both acts are celebrating 25th anniversaries, as P Roach will celebrate 25 years of their debut album "Infest" with hits and fan-favorite deep cuts from their entire catalog. In comparison, Rise Against also hit the 25-year mark since their formation and will be unleashing fan favorites and hits as well.
"We can't wait to bring the 'Rise Of The Roach' tour to North America next year," shares Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix. "RISE AGAINST are legends in their own right and will bring another dynamic to this tour. With both our bands celebrating our 25-plus-year legacy and deep catalogs, we are truly blessed to be able to put this show in front of fans."
Rise’s Tim McIlrath added: "After crossing paths with PAPA ROACH countless times over the years, we're stoked to finally team up and put our bands together on the same stage and our fans together in the same room. With the welcome addition of our old friends UNDEROATH, this will be the best damn tour of 2025. See you soon!"
Neal Francis, Apr 9, Knuckleheads, $29.50
The Chicago singer-songwriter has a new album, Return To Zero, following an almost non-stop tour schedule that found him playing nearly 400 shows from 2021 to 2024. Equal parts heady and hedonistic, pensive and euphoric, Francis’ third studio LP echoes both his deep-rooted psych-rock sensibilities and a lifelong affinity for classic funk. “I’ve always been intrigued by music that toes the line between funk and rock,” notes Francis. “In the past I’ve asked myself things like, ‘What would it sound like if Thin Lizzy cut a disco record?’ It’s something I’ve been fascinated with for a very long time, so I finally decided to really go for it.”
The follow-up to his 2023 double live album and concert film Francis Comes Alive, the new LP marks Francis’ first full-length studio effort since 2021’s In Plain Sight.
THURSDAY APRIL 10
Larkin Poe / Parker Millsap, Apr 10, The Truman, $29.50-$60
The blues rock duo has a new and seventh album, Bloom, which was release in January via their own Tricki-Woo Records. To accompany the new track, the Nashville-based sister act of Rebecca and Megan Lovell have also released an official music video for “Mockingbird” and are out on an expansive 2025 tour. We caught them live in Winter 2023 at nearby Knuckleheads.
“Mockingbird” follows preview tracks “Bluephoria” and “If God Is a Woman,” which were released in the summer, as well as 2023’s Blood Harmony, which won the duo a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
On the project’s true-to-life process, Megan explained that Bloom is about “finding yourself, knowing yourself, and separating the truth of who you are from societal expectations.” Rebecca adds that it calls for an embrace of “the flaws and idiosyncrasies that make us real.”
Arrive early for this solid double-bill to catch blues/roots musician Parker Millsap as well, who we caught live in St. Paul MN back in fall 2021.
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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