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Already the end of June and the holiday weekend of the 4th is close on the horizon (as is the summer heat!).
As we take a look at the last ten days of the month, there are some good shows, but also a few gaps in the week, probably giving you a deserved night off of rest, if you hit one of the many metro festivals the previous weekend.
Let’s take look at the Kansas City/ Lawrence KS metro musical happenings from June 22nd-30th.
THURSDAY JUNE 22
Dwight Yoakam w Aaron Lewis (Staind), Azura Amph, $39-$199
Yoakam has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, and he is a 21-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter. 12 gold albums and 9 platinum / multi-platinum albums, and 14 Billboard Top 10 singles, and oh, he acts pretty well too. We could go on but know he’s a classic artist that everyone should see at least once, despite the fact that he has not released any albums since 2016.
As the front man of hard rock vets Staind, the band built up a big name, but like Darius Rucker and others, band leader Aaron Lewis has managed to re-invent himself as a solo Country artist. Having recorded with George Jones, Willie Nelson, and Charlie Daniels, Lewis has put a traditionalist brand on his outlier country. His latest album, Frayed At Both Ends, offers the 15-million-selling workingman’s star at his most personal and unplugged.
Tyler Hubbard, KCLive!, $30-$80
Speaking of re-inventing, formerly half of Florida Georgia Line, Tyler Hubbard has topped the country charts
for the second time solo, taking “Dancin’ In The Country” to No. 1 as a single from his first solo and self-titled album. Its debut hit single, “5 Foot 9,” was released back in May 2022. Live, expect a couple of the duo’s big hits, including their collab with Bebe Rexha.
FRIDAY JUNE 23
iMom So Hard (comedy), Liberty Hall-Lawrence, $45-$180
Beginning as a popular web-series by real-life best friends, comedians, and moms Kristin and Jen, it sparked an online community of 2 million followers. The phenomenon created by Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley has since been in development by WB TV, they’ve sold-out two national tours, written an autobiographical book and children’s book, began a podcast, and taped a standup special for Amazon Prime Video.
Jon McReynolds, Madrid Theatre, - RESCHEDULED to April 3, 2024
SATURDAY JUNE 24
Fall Out Boy w Alkaline Trio, The Royal and the Serpent, Daisy Garage, Azura Amph, $46-$326.
Even if you did see them live at the recent NFL Draft, that was only a forty-minute live set, a mere appetizer for their full musical buffet! Fall Out Boy are back on the road, in support of the new album So Much (for) Stardust and as we saw in April, founding guitarist Joe Trohman has returned to the fold, to round out the full lineup. So Much (for) Stardust follows the 2018 album Mania. The new LP was released in late March and features the singles “Love From the Other Side” and “Heartbreak Feels So Good.” Three supporting acts make it an early start and full evening of tunes.
SUNDAY JUNE 25
MONDAY JUNE 26
TUESDAY JUNE 27
Dirty Heads w Yelawolf, G Love, Tropodelic, GrindersKC, SOLD OUT
The SoCal-based reggae-rock band is out on their eight-week Island Glow Tour 2023 and managed to sell out this outdoor show. Dirty Heads, who celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2023 and recently released the new single “Rescue Me,” will have Yelawolf (we caught him as part of Go Fest ‘15 in Minneapolis) serve as direct support for the start of the trek. We caught opener G Love just last Fall in Lawrence and the hippie headliners back in 2015 live as well
Alesana, recordBar. $27
Alesana have announced another album-centric tour, this time focusing on their 2011 effort, “A Place Where The Sun Is Silent “. That outing marked the second entry in the band’s ‘Annabel Trilogy’. This tour is the second in their trilogy of live runs celebrating the albums in that trilogy. Expect to find the Raleigh, NC post-hardcore band performing the album in its entirety on a nightly basis.
Vocalist Shawn Milke commented: "On the heels of the incredible fun we had last year playing The Emptiness, we are excited to announce The Trilogy Tour Part II. This time around we will be playing A Place Where The Sun Is Silent from front to back, which means there will be several songs that we have never before performed live hitting the stage for the first time ever.
Support on the run will come from LIMBS, Vampires Everywhere! and Across The White Water Tower.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 28
Free State Festival: An Evening with Boots Riley- Liberty Hall-Lawrence, $22
Join a moderated conversation with the filmmaker, activist, screenwriter, producer, poet, rapper, and speaker. Boots Riley is the founding member and lead vocalist of The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club featuring Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine on guitar. A community-based activist, Boots was involved with the Occupy Oakland movement and was one of the leaders of the activist group The Young Comrades. He is the author of the critically acclaimed collection of essays “Tell Homeland Security-We Are the Bomb.” His directorial debut Sorry to Bother You premiered to strong critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival. Preshow passholder reception at Sunflower Bike Shop (804 Mass St.)
THURSDAY JUNE 29
Righteous Brothers, Prairie Band Casino-Mayetta, SOLD OUT
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame duo The Righteous Brothers topped the charts for four decades. Now, Bill Medley joins forces with one of the most versatile vocalists in America, Bucky Heard, to continue the long tradition featuring a string of their biggest hits, including “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”, “Soul & Inspiration,” “Unchained Melody,” “Rock and Roll Heaven,” Medley’s Dirty Dancing theme “The Time of My Life”, and more.
Hailey Whitters, KCLive!, Free!
The rising Country artist is on tour to celebrate her latest album “Raised,” which is based on the singer- songwriter’s experiences growing up in a small town in Iowa and was released last March.
Originally from Shueyville, IA, Whitters has been performing live since she was 26 and for the last 16 years, she has pursued music in Nashville. “Raised” is her fourth album and her first to reach the Billboard charts. Whitters was also nominated for a Grammy award last year for Song of the Year with “A Beautiful Noise.”
FRIDAY JUNE 30
The Head and the Heart w The Revivalists, Jamie Wyatt, Starlight, $31.50-$127
The Revivalists have mapped out a 2023 North American co-headlining tour with The Head and the Heart in support of their new album, Pour It Out Into the Night which was just released on June 2nd via Concord Records and features the lead single, “Kid”. It marks the follow-up to 2018’s Take Good Care. In 2020, they released their Made in Muscle Shoals Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 Eps.
Our favorites, The Head And The Heart initially announced that former founding band member Josiah Johnson was returning to the fold leading up to their June 29 Red Rocks show, but Johnson regretfully posted last week that was no longer the case, and he was bowing out. But Charity Thielen and piano player Kenny Hensley will be sharing the same stage together since some 2019 absences, so that's something, and we hope we see them all back together in Kansas City, as it’s the first night of the co-headlining run. We saw them live last October, with 2022’s Every Shade of Blue still being their latest full-length album.
Nashville (via Santa Monica) New West Records Americana singer-songwriter Jamie Wyatt to open.
The Ongoing Concept w/Bloodlines, Lightworker, Tundra, The Rino, $15
The Idaho post hardcore metal band has returned with fourth album Again, which was released March 31 via Solid State Records and features lead single, “Feel Again”. Not only is this the first taste of new music from the band since 2017, but it also marks the return of the original lineup.
Guitarist/Vocalist Dawson Scholz shared the following: “Feel Again' was the first song we started writing and ended up taking the longest to finish. We were all rusty from not writing together in years, and this song really brought us all back and jump-started our creative flow. There was a lot of growing up and healing that happened between the time the original guys left and when they returned, and this song really showcases that, lyrically. It really brought us all closer and showed us all how much we have matured over the years and how much we missed creating art through our music.”
Three support acts made this a full night of rawk!
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