In Tempe, I met up with the guys Eve 6 as the came out of hibernation for Innings Festival, 2026. This one gig stood alone in a blank calendar from October to April, and although rehearsal time came at a premium, the band sounded as good as ever. Entering year 31 of the bands storied careers, Eve 6 continue to impress anyone with ears. Max Collins (bass), Jon Siebels (guitar), and Ben Hilzinger (drums) took some time after their slot to discuss their early days playing gigs at small cafes all the way to a racetrack.

Logan Melia: This is my first time seeing you guys it was an absolute blast you’ve been on my list for a while This set, this environment, a little baseball combination, is this a unique environment? Have you played anything similar to like this guy before? 

Max Collins: I’m trying to think if we’ve ever played anything baseball. 

Jon Siebels: I don’t know. We did something. We did some NASCAR thing years ago. 

Max: We played in Rochester in that baseball field. 

Jon: Oh, yeah. But I think that was just in the field though. I don’t know if that was like a theme. 

Ben Hilzinger: That’s true. Oh, so this is a theme? 

Max: Yeah, this is a theme. This is the kickoff of spring training. 

Logan: Well, for Friday, Sox Cubs. Sox be from like 11 to 1, I think. So we’re off to a good start here. Did some research, on you guys and you played some really cool gigs way back in the day. Cobalt Cafe and Coo’s Cafe. Does that sound familiar? Back in LA, do you remember anything from those days? 

Jon: I remember Coo’s Cafe. 

Max: Yeah, I remember when that Jason guy pepper sprayed our friends. 

Logan: What happened there? 

Max: We were like in high school and people started moshing and he got like afraid, I think. 

Jon: For us, like for the band?

Max: I don’t know. And yeah, he pepper sprayed. 

Logan: Do you have any venues that you’ve loved playing since any any standouts in your mind?

Ben: I actually like the Middle East, the downstairs. It’s the downstairs, the bigger club of two venues in Boston. And it’s almost like there’s a ramp next to the stage and some people are kind of… It smells like poo. Yeah, it smells very bad. They have good, what is it? 

Jon: Indian food. 

Max: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Really good food. But it smells like this, but it’s always like a very punk venue. It’s cool. 

Logan: Nice. Are you guys big foodies on tour? Are you checking out local spots in the city as you go? 

Jon: It sort of depends I guess uh we don’t do a lot of like long tours now we’re doing really like stuff like like this like one-off stuff yeah so we just stay by the hotel yeah you know and just eat like the airport yeah. 

Logan: That’s what life’s all about right there is eating junk food and sitting in a hotel. When you’re sitting in a hotel what’s on the TV are we are we talking Pawn Stars, Cash Cab, Family Guy? 

Ben: No TV ever in a hotel yeah I never really watch TV in a hotel TV always is turned off 

Jon: Yeah if anything I’ll watch it like a show on on my iPad or something. yeah I never actually turn on a hotel room TV really well

Ben: I definitely doom scroll and focus on my phone I love the Forensic Files is is definitely on HLN Network absolutely it’s just like an old school like half an hour who done it stuff. 

Logan: If you’re in and out, you get the answer within a half hour, which I don’t like those long docuseries that are four two hour things. I want to know who did it now. When you guys are on the road, are you writing at all or are you just like there to do the show? Or does inspiration strike? 

Max: I mean, the way that we do things now, when we’re doing shows, we’re there to do the show and writing is a different thing that we do when we’re back in our respective homes. ‘Sweet Pea’ starts with… Jon, ‘Sweet Pea’, makes like tracks and beginnings of songs, basically, and then we get together and lyrics and stuff, and then plays all of them. But yeah, so that’s all happening when we’re not traveling. 

Ben: I guess we’ve always sort of been that way. 

Logan: Really? It’s two very separate things. 

Jon: Sometimes like if you have like a new song or whatever, like sometimes we’ll play something at soundcheck or whatever, but we’re not really working on it. 

Logan: What is the first thing you guys play when you pick up your instruments? Either alone, as a group, what’s the first thing? 

Max: I mean, for me, if I’m picking up a guitar before a show, I’m playing, what’s it called? 

Jon: Little Red Light. 

Max: Little Red Light by Fountains of Wayne. That’s been my warmup song for probably, I don’t even know how many years now. 

Logan: Really? What about some good warmup for you? Is it just getting the wheels turned? 

Max: It’s a really nice place. It’s in E. It’s, yeah, it’s just, it’s a great song. I don’t know, it gets my, it moves, and it moves my voice from kind of a low range to kind of a higher range. It’s a good warm-ups. 

Jon: Oh yeah, what about the rest of you guys? I think Tom Petty riffs just always naturally come out when I pick up a guitar. 

Ben: Yeah, I guess for me it depends on if I’m doing a… show like this, I’m just trying to figure out that kit because usually we fly with no kit, so I have to learn the kit. So I’m doing just like six stroke rolls to kind of see where I’m at with everything. But if it’s like an actual, like my kit, probably Fool in the Rain by Led Zeppelin, that kind of shuffle. Because you can dictate, I know where I’m at. If my shuffle feels good, then it’s going to be a good day.

Logan: What do you do if it’s a bad day? What do you feel off and you got to show that night? Do you do anything to correct yourself? 

Max: Red Bull. Two to three Red Bulls. And large ones, not like the baby ones. 

Logan: Tallboy Red Bulls. 

Max: Well, I want to keep it a buck here. If it’s a large Red Bull, I’m going to do, if it’s like the really big one, I’m going to do like maybe one and a half. But if it’s a small Red Bull, I’m doing three. But today I only did one Red Bull before the show. 

Jon: Because the freeze dried espresso. 

Max: But we also had freeze dried espresso right before that. So I was going to say, I had a good show on one Red Bull, and so maybe I don’t need three anymore, but I didn’t weigh. You don’t freeze dried. I didn’t weigh the conclusions. 

Jon: Let’s not be rash. Yeah, it could be a one off. 

Ben: This is actually like some baseball player stuff. Like, yeah, like if they like, you know, pitcher like wins a game, he won’t like change his hat or like won’t shave or whatever. 

Jon: “He thinks flies are lucky”

Logan: We’re talking numbers real here, real quick here. I saw in an old interview, you said, ‘we were too young to be calculated’, in referring to your very early years. Do you guys feel as though you have a calculation for these shows now, or do you still fly by the seat of your pants a little bit? Do you think there’s a bit of an equation now?

Max: No, I think when we’re like making music, together, it’s just very much about that moment, moving ourselves in that moment and not, I don’t know, I guess when I think of the word calculated as it relates to like making music, I think of, oh, we want to try to make this to have this outcome or something like that. Like we know what the outcome is going to be. 

Jon: And I think for shows, it’s like we’ve been playing some of these songs for so long that there’s just little things that naturally evolve, but we don’t ever sit down and be like ‘hey, you should say this at the point of the set, or anything like that’. It’s just sort of evolved over the years. 

Logan: How does the rehearsal process look like going up for one-off here?

Max: A what?

Logan: A rehearsal process? You got me, you got me. Do you guys get together beforehand, or do you guys just say, Hey, we’ve been playing these songs for a good long time? 

Jon: No, not much. 

Max: We don’t rehearse. We don’t need to rehearse. I mean, there’s on occasion, Ben is a working drummer, he plays with other artists sometimes, so if we need to bring in, if he’s on a tour, we need to bring in someone we’ll do a rehearsal but I mean we’ve all been playing these songs for a long time now they’re it’s just

Jon: Yeah we did yeah we did like a anniversary tour uh in 2018 so like we were playing the full record so a lot of songs that we’ve like basically never played yeah so we rehearsed like for two days for that. 

Logan: Two long days.

Jon: A skinny 2 days. Yeah, it was forty-eight whole hours. 

Max: Yeah, that’s the thing. I’m using the word conspiracy incorrectly. But it’s um okay I don’t think I don’t think bands need to rehearse really I mean especially if you have a soundcheck yeah you want to run a new song or something like that run it a soundcheck why would you need to go and the thing is too is if you show up knowing your own personal material it just takes one little run through and we’re like cool a lot of people show up and just assuming rehearsals just like where you learn the song yeah and then it’s apparently that’s the British way you heard that no I forget who was telling me that like yeah that in in the UK when you go in no one’s expecting you to have learned the songs you like learn all the shit in rehearsal. 

Ben: Interesting I mean I do like that way better because right now in America I have there’s so many days of learning songs that are not paid for yeah sometimes people tell you like a like a few days worth of day that’s a good point that’s probably why yeah yeah it’s like I’m not on the clock learning these songs but now I do it just because it’s so a good gig so scarce so I’ll say yes to whatever you all yeah I’ll work for a week for free just learning songs yeah absolutely yeah it’s the industry 

Eve 6 were alive at Innings Festival, hitting five tracks from their self titled record. The crowd was loving this 3-piece outfit as they threw everything they had at the wall for this one-off gig. The California rockers will be hitting the south with Fastball this April for a handful of gigs, you can find tickets here. Their latest record “Dream Fist” is out now and you can follow Eve 6 for future updates.

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Marked on folks calendars for the past six months, Luke Combs announced his “My Kinda Saturday Night Tour” in October spreading across North America and Europe over the span of 23 nights. These shows have been selling out quickly, becoming one of the hottest tickets of the year, and for good reason. The country star has showcased his iconic sound across the worlds biggest stages, introducing countless audiences to the genre. Coming off the heels of a busy year with headlining slots at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, and more, there’s never been a bigger time for Combs. Three weeks removed from his sixth record’s release, The Way I Am, this wave has been high for the singer/songwriter.

Appearing from the tunnels in the north end zone of Jack Trice Stadium came Luke and his band underneath the deluge of cheers as “Ain’t No Rest For the Wicked” played. Making a pit stop for a quick drink before his entrance to the stage, Luke and his Wild Cards all stepped up to their stations. Shaking the stadium from the start, Combs began with the song sharing the titular honors with the tour “My Kinda Saturday Night” as the crowd jumped to their feet. There was no slowing down in Ames, hitting qiuck with “Lovin’ on You” and “Hurricane” following it up. After, Combs dialed back the speed but not the hits, “She Got the Best of Me” brought all 60,000+ voices into one.

Coming in at #1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart this past week is “Sleepless in a Hotel Room.” Combs’ 20th song to reach that milestone proves he still has the secret recipe for a hit after a dozen years in the industry. “Sleepless in a Hotel Room” was one of ten songs performed from his latest record The Way I Am, holding over a third of what was played that evening. Tapping into other tunes from the record like “Back in the Saddle” and “Be By You,” these were some of the most entertaining numbers in the show. For the third night on the tour, the band made these weeks old songs sound like staples in the set.

Although there was a heavy dose on the new album, Combs didn’t forget what songs got him to stadiums. Sweetheart’s favorite jam “Better Together” was a catalyst for fans holding each other close and swaying as the temperature dipped into the 50’s. In the middle of the set, Combs and his band took to some barstools on stage as they sang some more heartfelt ballads. Speaking about the range of emotions it takes to write a song, these introspections were a welcomed addition to the set. Whether tapping into the love in his heart for his wife, or a sadness that sometimes feels paralyzing, this honest chapter in the night was a nice breath. “I Ain’t No Cowboy” and “Wish Upon A Whiskey” were absorbed into the crowd at Iowa State during this breakdown.

The lovey-dovey and sadness eventually scampered off and Luke was back to his rocking chart-toppers like “1,2 Many” and “When It Rains It Pours.” During the former, a Luke Combs tradition is following the lyrics of the song to a ‘T’ and shotgunning a beer. Joining the 2019 Country Artist of the Year was Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball legend Georges Niang to blaring applause. The Indiana Pacers draftee of a decade ago was an eager participant and it was delightful to see him back on home turf. While there was no competition on loudest song throughout the night, closer “Beer Never Broke My Heart” would have taken the gold medal. A killer end to the main set, Combs had the audience in the palm of his hand.

The encore was a trio of arguably Combs biggest songs. Beginning with his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” bringing the crowd back down to earth after that bombastic finale. Chapman’s tune was first covered by Combs in 2023 for his record Gettin’ Old. Tracy came out for her first live performance since 2015 to accompany the North Carolina native on stage at the 2024 Grammy’s, where Chapman has walked away victorious four prior times.

Luke Combs finished the extensive evening with “Where the Wild Things Are” and his song for Twisters, “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma.” The finale was grand and included all the jostling a song about tornados in the home of the Cyclones should cause. Despite the threat of rain, all 5 performers put on a knockdown show at Jack Trice Stadium.

Dierks Bentley

This was very much a country concert. Every musician was country, everyone was dressed country, but if I had to put Dierks Bentley into a genre, it would be ‘Dude Rock’. The definition of ‘Dude Rock’ is very vague, but the main idea is that its just a dude who rocks. And let me tell you, Dierks rocks. Hitting 14 songs spanning his 23-year career, there was everything a super fan, casual fan, and soon-to-be fan could want in the set. Classics like “Drunk On a Plane” and “Free and Easy” got the crowd going by the fourth and final opener of the evening. There was a invigorating and joyful energy put into the air by Dierks and his band as their banter and bits kept the smiles coming in between songs. Dierks Bentley will be on the road this year for his “Off the Map Tour“.

Ty Meyers

The youngest performer on the docket was Texas’ own Ty Meyers. At 18 years of age, there is a long and exciting road ahead of the “Thought It Was Love” singer. With a beat up stratocaster in hand, Meyers pulls on bluesy influence for the lead licks in his songs. His 2026 record Heavy on the Soul made up almost half of his setlist. Other notable plays included two covers, “Valerie” and Tyler Childers’ “Feathered Indians“. A busy year awaits Ty Meyers as he will continue a mix of opening sets and headlining dates across Europe and North America.

Jake Worthington

A little honky tonk never hurt anyone, and Jake Worthington is a prime example. Another Texas native was the second to hit the stage on Saturday, bringing his southern charm to Iowa. We heard four tracks from his 2025 record When I Write The Song including his closer “It Ain’t The Whiskey“. Worthington has already created an extensive collaboration list, including Miranda Lambert and Marty Stuart. This brief look into the the musicians young career was catchy. You can take a much deeper dive into Jake Worthington as his headlining “Intent to Tonk Tour” takes flight later this spring.

Thelma and James

The first band of the busy evening was faced with a slight rain delay, although that didn’t shake Thelma and James. Their hit “Happy Ever After You” spurred them into the spotlight as the two songwriters looked into their own careers on the stage much more seriously. The duo has one album out, Starting Over, released in 2025 and are just over a week removed from their latest single “Alternate Ending” dropping. A fun and sweet sound that welcomed folks as they filed into Jack Trice Stadium. Thelma and James will continue opening for Luke Combs on the rest of his North American dates throughout his “My Kinda Saturday Night Tour”.

Throughout all 5 artists, big and small, there was an energy pulsing in the stadium that was a joy to be apart of. I hope more artists will take advantage of the massive stadiums on college campuses, along with their passionate fan bases. Artists like Luke Combs, Zach Bryan, and Coldplay are paving the way for more collegiate stadium shows in a time when high capacity venues are selling out in minutes. Luke Combs will continue on his “My Kind of Saturday Night Tour” for the remainder of the spring. Jack Trice Stadium will host Post Malone in July.

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2424 N Lincoln Avenue has worn many hats. Originally opening as a nickelodeon in 1912, the aptly named Fullerton Theatre (for its adjacent street) was a house of art until 1915 when it became an autoshop. It later returned to its creative ideals becoming The Crest Theatre, 3 Penny Cinema, and a sniper’s location on the night the FBI killed mobster John Dillinger in 1934. After multiple iterations of theatres and a shootout, the building opened in 2009 as Lincoln Hall under the Schubas brothers’ ownership. Since then, it has become a staple in the Chicago scene. Giving spotlight to local favorites and nationally touring acts, it is a landmark for any Chicago band to play. 

Six Foot Blonde has recently stepped underneath that ever growing umbrella. Chicago is undeniably a music city. Over 250 licensed music venues in the city limits, not including the innumerable house shows and pop ups that occur every night, you can’t walk anywhere without hearing a few notes. Normally known for the blues, Chicago has quickly become a launching point for rock bands in recent years. Friko opened for Modest Mouse and The Flaming Lips, Ratboys are headlining The Vic Theatre in April, Lifeguard joining Grizzly Bear for their reunion at The Salt Shed, and countless others. These are Chicago bands making waves in the city, and across the country. While crowded, Six Foot Blonde has made their way into the scene with their 2024 record “Ask Me How I Am”.  

Ahead of Six Foot Blonde’s wonderful performance, Violet Crime and Pretoria opened up the evening. The former went first, hitting long time staples in their set like “Bad Habit” and “Home”. Mixing their horn section with groovy and grounded piano, it was a pleasent and welcoming sound to start the evening. Taking in their set from the balcony, I watched people walk into the room drawn to the sound. Throwing in a cover of Maroon 5’s “This Love” also helps. Kevin Nagel, lead singer of Violet Crime, reminisced about playing a gig at Schubas in 2024 with Six Foot Blonde. One of many Midwest indie rock reunifications that Lincoln Hall and Schubas have housed.  

Pretoria approached the stage, shuffling past an expansive collection of amps and guitars. I made my way to the floor for this performance that was sandwiched in the middle of the night. With minimal physical space, they explored the sonic space like a Jeep in an empty desert. Building an expansive sound with three guitars, it was a joy to hear this harmonizing leads cut through a great rhythm section. I will admit, I was a little hesitant about the three guitars at first. I know of very few bands that have three guitarists in the band and not just touring. Combat comes to mind as they have immersive and layered guitar tracks, and Pretoria followed their lead but with a little calmer of a voice. Proving my bias of a three guitar band invalid, Pretoria belongs to be on a stage whenever they please. With poetic lyrics and bouncing instrumentation, I will be looking forward to their next Chicago gig eagerly.  

A new house is difficult to make feel like a home immediately, but Six Foot Blonde put that thought to the side. Raising the energy of the crowd like a broken thermostat. “Carmilla” was the first song on the setlist for the evening that got the crowd moving. After a quick hello during the bridge, 4 songs went by before we got a non-musical hello from Julia, Dom, and the band. Tearing through their set with passion and vigor, I don’t think there will be anything stopping this band from continuing up this Chicago ladder. A big landmark for bands is an Audiotree Session, which Six Foot Blonde had released in March of 2025. They continue to strut through each venue, dominating the space that they are in and creating new fans with each bend of a guitar and trill on the saxophone. This sweeping set included a cover of MGMT’s “Time To Pretend” which is a very fitting song for this band to play. A song that emphasizes the naiveness, dreams, and heights of youth being sung by a band whose members are all in their 20’s and hungry to keep pursuing this dream of theirs. New hits like “Kindergarten Crush” and one of their earliest tunes “Callin to Karma” to close out this lively gig, I heard everything I wanted to hear and more from Six Foot Blonde. I am impatiently waiting for their new record and a hopeful tour to come along with it.  

This gig was a transition of eras. Six Foot Blonde’s final headlining gig, before they began recording their second record, felt like a much earned victory lap. Flaunting their collection of singles and their debut LP, this 20 song set homed a (for now) career spanning set. Hitting heavy on the old and dabbling in the new with two unreleased tracks being played. The news of the second album was teased throughout the night but was not confirmed until the two song encore. A saunter back on stage for Julia to make the announcement felt like a red carpet. The crowd, still in full attendance, erupted in cheers. Mentioning how the couldn’t keep it a secret any longer, and  congratulating themselves as Hoosier alumni on a Peach Bowl victory over Oregon. I give my props to the Indiana University natives as Indiana manhandled the Ducks throughout their set, as members of the band and the crowd dawned the crimson and white. This gig was a housewarming party of the best kind, and a pleasure to be invited. Six Foot Blonde will be supporting The Nude Party for select dates in March, and just announced their return to Chicago on May 1st supporting The Back Alley at Lincoln Hall. You can find tickets and updates from the band on their website.  

Throughout the month of January, a group of Chicago venues (Lincoln Hall, Schubas, Metro, GMan Tavern, Sleeping village, Hideout, Color Club, Ramova) create a warmth of music that is dearly missed in the winter months. Through 20 years Tomorrow Never Knows Fest has brought artists like PUP, Big Thief, and Geese into smaller rooms than you’ll usually see them play. This year was no exception, sprawling over four weekends and holding a true knock-em-dead lineup. Featuring the likes of Brigitte Calls Me Baby at Schubas, two nights of Racing Mount Pleasant (formerly Kingfisher) bookending their tour at Schubas and Lincoln Hall, Jeff Rosenstock’s project Antarctigo Vespucci, and dozens of other artists and comedians, it is a pillar of the arts in Chicago.

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Reaching 73 degrees earlier that day, the last place I wanted to be was inside. But only once in my life have I ever woken up knowing I was seeing Bob Dylan that night, which quickly overrode the former feeling. March 25^th has been marked on my calendar for months, as Dylan quietly announced 6 weeks on the road on December 8^th, 2025. Never one for showmanship in recent years, or even a social media post promoting the tour, this gig still sold out in moments. Dylan often moves in silence, online and onstage. His Instagram, lacking any and all publicity for upcoming shows, has become a bulletin board for things he has recently enjoyed such as boxing highlights, over an hour of audiobook from Aaron Burr’s “On the Art of Survival”, and whatever he has been jamming with lately. Dylan is arguably the king of casual posting, and heavy is the head to wear that crown.

One extra note about his online presence, he has started a Patreon. In all honesty, I had finished this piece and was giving it a day to come back and edit with a fresh mind. I opened up his outlandish Instagram after re-reading this portion to find he has published a handful of posts under the title “Lectures From the Grave”, original short stories from famous characters in history. Bob has always been heavily interested in the past of America, especially considering his nearly 17-minute song “Murder Most Foul” about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I will not be spending the money to find out what Bob has marinating in his mind, but feel free to invest the $5 if that’s within your persuasions.

Once inside the venue, phones were immediately placed into sealed pouches by venue staff. This was not the first time I have experienced this, but it was by far the strictest. In previous experiences with phone pouches, it has been done before entering the seating area of the venue, but because of this policy’s immediacy I entered into a talkative and lively Hancher lobby. This capacity crowd was shuffling into their seats around my arrival at 7:45 for the 8:00 show. No openers, not pre-show performance, just Bob.

Starting at right at the hour, there was no razzle-dazzle to Bob’s appearance. Put roughly 25 feet back from the edge of the stage, Bob Dylan waddled on stage preceded by Bob Britt and Doug Lancio on guitar, Tony Garnier on bass, and Anton Fig on drums. Donning an all black outfit with a matching baseball hat layered with a hooded gray rain jacket, there was nothing visually flashy about this performance. Large beige curtains towering the peninsula of the stage with an extremely basic lighting rig that did not change once. The lighting was so bare bones that the houselights were left on for the first two songs of the set, “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” and “Man in the Long Black Coat.” I am glad they were soon turned off but would not have been surprised if it was an ‘artistic choice’ by the Golden Globe Winner.

Dylan’s musical setup was minimal as well. A keyboard in the middle of this barren layout being used as a tabletop for four cups, two harmonicas, and a songbook for the nights setlist. Not all of the cups were used, not every sheet of music played, but both harmonicas were in circulation near the end of the set in “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” and “Every Grain of Sand.” There were no words spoken by Bob besides a muttered band introduction succeeding “Soon After Midnight.” He did have a small arsenal of ‘rockstar moves’ that included standing up while playing the piano and bending his knees to return to that beloved seat not long after that primary move.

This tour features his 2020 record heavily. Rough and Rowdy Ways is a solemn piece of work, where Dylan reflects on his final chapter being written. There is a balance between the self and world on this record. “I Contain Multitudes” feels like a journal entry of a man who knows the path he has walked down, and wouldn’t turn back for anything. “There is no love left behind,” Dylan croons near the end of the song with a serenity that some can only dream of. This record, although filled with lyrics reminiscent of what made Bob so famous, can be a little rough on the ears. His vocals have long been a barrier of entry to his work, and 60-plus years of touring and recording have not remedied the roadblock. This may truly answer the question of why there are so many Bob Dylan covers. From The Rolling Stones to Billy Strings, generations have taken this timeless tracks under a microscope to view what makes the songs so contagious and create their own version with the same inflections.

Was this a bombastic rock and roll revue that left the walls shaking?

No.  

Was it extremely cool to see this incredibly storied musician live as a bucket list act?

Yes.  

From The Traveling Wilburys to the Basement Recordings with The Band, Bob is arguably the most seasoned musician of the modern world. The infinite artists he has influenced and the thousands of covers he has been the author for, the world of music would not be the same without Bob Dylan. He is not high on my priority list to see again, but I am glad I was there. Dylan continues his Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour throughout the 2026, more information can be found here.

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The Grateful Dead were yet to consistently reach my ears until 2024. It was winter. The sky was dull and covered with clouds, the enjoyments of an elusive sun as far away as ever. Underneath a vitamin D lamp in my room, I held my phone and a notebook side by side trying to type in the exact dates and songs that I had been recommended. A friend made me a list titled “Ithica ‘75,” which I followed precisely. That name was picked after a back and forth of trying to figure out which versions of which songs I should start with. With a gliding swoop of a blue sharpie, it had been placed on that page. It was made very clear to me that the studio recordings were good, but there was so much more than that. I found it almost humorous the sheer number of shows available, not to count the innumerable bootlegs of gigs Deadheads had on vinyl and cassette. I’m a huge live album guy, they’re some of my staples. I think about The Rolling Stones’ “Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out!” or The Band’s “The Last Waltz.” These records have given me the closest experience possible to being at these shows decades prior to my first breath. The dozens upon dozens of live albums were daunting. Yet this back catalogue, while intimidating, has become a playground for me.

Finding The Dead in the cold months was interesting. Deadheads have spoken of their music being the soundtrack to summers of a countercultural Americana that has become hidden away, a lack of seatbelts, cigarette ads in magazines, 8 tracks and cassettes in the glovebox not collecting dust. It holds a butterscotch paste in the sky hearing Jerry and Bob noodle, never constrained by traditional music theory rules. They don’t play in keys but rather chase the notes in the chords being played. That’s freedom. Listening to the serenades of the Bay Area and the release of the western expanse double down on this feeling. But here I was in the Midwest during the winter, bumping shoulders with strangers on the brown line. As tight and compact as I was, the music in my ears transported me to that space I’d yet to see with my own eyes.  

My Dad received the news of Bob’s passing ahead of the Bears wild card game against the Packers. A historic and exhilarating match that had the Bears on the verge of breaking a 16 year drought without a playoff victory. During this cardiac episode inducer of a game, Jim Melia was texting back and forth with some old buddies from grade school. The messages rarely mentioned the game. One of his longtime friends, Bill, became a Deadhead at the hands of my father. He still remembered the moment he first heard the Dead. It was sophomore year of high school on a snowy Saturday night, finding it in the gloom of winter like myself. Underneath the Melia’s roof in Park Ridge, Illinois, Bill caught a sickness. Like any plague, it floats through the air. It sticks with you. Implants in your nervous system. Flows in your bloodstream. This is exactly what the Dead were. An infection of the best kind. Bill got sick, and he refused every cure possible. 

Throughout a disappointing first half, their group chat traded stories back and forth, speaking of landmark gigs and songs that followed them around. People were often trailed by certain tunes throughout their Grateful Dead shows. Songs have always meant more than the words on the page or chords being played, but the Dead more so. There’s a feeling that barricades itself in to you. The Dead thrived on the feeling. The feeling of Jerry’s non key conforming solos or Phil Lesh’s avalanche of a bass line, the kind of feeling you soak in. If the Dead’s music was like driving on the road, there were no guard rails. The lines were faintly painted, if at all. There was a map in the car, but only with a destination circled. How they got there was going to be figured out at some point, but they were in no rush. The major blues scale that Jerry held so dearly in his leads, intwining with the minor tear drops to make his music talk. It sounded so good because it was layered over the chiseling rhythm guitar of Bob Weir. Giving the words sung syncopation and flow, it became that contaminating sound.  

I wish I had the chance to see any of it, even Dead and Co. I was who it was meant for, people who weren’t able to experience “the real thing”. I never made my way to a gig. A screenshot of the prices for their 2023 gigs at Wrigley Field haunt me in my camera roll. $55 is what it would have cost me for nosebleeds and a crisp $188 for the coveted field admission. I don’t remember where I was on June 9th and 10th, 2023, but I know where I should have been. Luckily, both shows were released on streaming and I’ve listened to them many times. The covers of the records, when put together, make a beautiful picture. Two skeletons towering over the front marquee of Wrigley, one with a bat and one with a glove, ready to play two. These skeletons are giants. Daunting. Statuesque. Present. Every Deadhead I’ve spoken to has said the Dead and Co. gigs aren’t even close to the magic of the original band, but retained some of the moutainous life it once breathed. I still wish I would’ve caught them. Missing out has added to the mystery of it all. Here is this group, and its iterations, shadowing over the world live shows, and all I can do is watch its shadow. Never seeing the real thing but tracing its movements. Watching it dance and sway on the green. It’s beautiful in a way, knowing that I’ll never know. It lets me dream a little bit more about it, creating these images from the stories I’ve been told and the music. Maybe it would have never been as good as my dreams, or maybe somehow it would have been better. I just don’t know. 

I don’t know what’s next. Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann are still alive and well but seem doubtful they’d do anything. Maybe John Mayer will tour playing Grateful Dead tunes. He is the living Dead to many right now. A band so timeless that it was always bound to outlive Weir, and now Mayer, myself, and generations to come. I’ll go catch one of the hundreds of Grateful Dead tribute bands, feel the grass on my feet, and if I close my eyes while listening for that sound, I just might find myself the closest I’ll get to seeing The Dead. It feels like the goal posts keep moving farther away from “the real thing”. But whatever I see, and whatever I feel, is much closer to The Grateful Dead than it is to feeling alone.  

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Wednesday evening was exactly what I wanted, a rock and roll show. Isbell and his band did not hold back throughout the evening, and without an opener there was no time to blink. Touching on four records with The 400 Unit and all four solo LP’s, this was a career spanning performance for the group. Through Isbell’s first solo hits like “Dress Blues” from 2007’s Sirens of the Ditch through his latest record Foxes in the Snow with the tune “Bury Me,” it all felt as though these musicians had all been playing these tunes for decades.  

This concert was an approachable and engaging performance as someone who has never seen Isbell before, showing me a mix of the entry points I knew, and the deeper cuts that kept fans coming back. The show felt close, as though you were in the same rehearsal space as the band as they discussed the ever-changing setlist on this tour. Iowa City was treated to a heavy dose of Weathervanes with five tracks making an appearance compared to a few nights before in Pittsburgh where they received only 3 in exchange for some more Drive-By Truckers tracks. Isbell recently reunited with the Truckers for a performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert after his departure in 2007, and showing even more love as every night on his recent leg covering “Decoration Day.”  Near the end of the set, the icing on this very sweet cake was a cover of Paul McCartney’s “Let Me Roll It'” which fit The 400 Unit’s voices nicely, echoing the same force The Wings had when it released in 1973. This was the first time Isbell and The 400 Unit have ever played this live, but it sounded like a classic from the cabinets of their discography.

The casual and laid back approach Isbell and company had is what I loved so much about this gig, as they dabbled in more jam band tendencies than most. Songs with solos lasting upwards of 3 minutes as the musicians on stage traded bars back and forth. Jason Isbell taking plenty of solos for himself, sauntering around the stage with a rotation of a red Fender Telecaster, gold Gibson Les Paul, and a sunburst Gibson ES-335. While these beautiful instruments made the soundtrack to the evening, an circular gold plate caught the attention of most. Multi-instrumentalist WIll Johnson, Isbell’s latest edition to the band, was shadowed by a gong for the show. While jumping between drums, guitar, and whatever else the band needed, the gong remained untouched. That was until the back half of the setlist, when Johnson graced bronze ring to the satisfaction of the crowd and band alike. Isbell went on to calm and hopes that this would be a recurring instrument stating “if you hit the gong more than once, you’re not hitting the gong, you’re playing the gong.” I can’t fight that logic. 

Headlining the 1,800 seat palace was not the only feather in Isbell’s cap during his time in Iowa City as he spoke of his placing third in Tuesday Night Trivia at Joe’s Place. He let out some frustration that bronze was all they got, claiming a few folks may have been googling answerers on competing teams. These are serious allegations leveled to the patrons of Tuesday Night Trivia, but I can confirm there were far too many phones out for a fair competition. Nevertheless, trivia and a headlining gig sounds like a good 48 hours to me. Isbell and his band were electric in Iowa City once again, and I hope its much less than 30 months before we see his return. Jason Isbell is touring throughout the rest of the year, you can find tickets here.  

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It was the warmest day in two weeks, and people were enjoying it. Southbound from 3145 North Sheffield was a stream of hundreds of people. Whether the meteorologist was calling for rain, sleet, or worse, it wouldn’t have stopped this dedicated string of folks. Each one with at least one shared intent, to get as close to the stage as possible. The layered tiers inside quickly filled up as the crowd filed in, making split second decisions on which side of the sound booth they would go around. Within minutes, you could hardly move. Adorned with a red curtain and a circle of lights, the anticipation grew amongst the masses. 

On that stage would be Evan Honer and five of his best friends as they brought their It’s a Long Road Tour to The Vic Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. The Arizona born artist loaded up the sunshine from his southern state to a packed Vic in a vibrant format, blasting through 25 songs to his adoring fans. Honer is halfway through his 33-stop tour across North America in promotion of his latest record Everything I Wanted making his way from east to west. He gave love to new and old, playing nine songs off the latest venture and three from his debut LP West On I-10. A first-time listener would not be able to tell what tunes were new and old as fans belted every word from throughout the venue.  

Honer began his set the way he ended it, with a backflip. This might have been my first backflip on stage that I’ve seen, and for sure my second. That was a great prologue to the type of night Honer was about to give the crowd. Switching between a Martin acoustic and a cherry red Gibson ES-335, Honer took us along the journey of his catalogue whether sad and slow or animated and loud. These songs bleed honesty and experience, even in Honer’s young age. “Mr. Meyers”, the fourth track off Fighting For, tells the tale of watching a man lose himself in his own losses. Directly after in the setlist was the second song from the same record, “Brother”, discussing Honer’s difficult time understanding his own brother’s mental illness. A song that encapsulates the hands tied feeling of not being able to help someone you love.  These songs rip each chord out of your heart and try to plug it back in oh so delicately. An artist able to evoke such strong feelings from a crowd of 1,000+ is someone to not take for granted. 

He couldn’t let sadness linger in the air for too long, so Honer made the great call to bring man’s best friend on stage. Ushered on to thunderous applause was his dog, Leroy, accompanied by an all-to-brief cover of “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” by the legend Jim Croce. A quick dance with a bulldog lightened the mood as the band began a sprint to the end, hitting classics “Foolin’ Ourselves” and “Too Far Gone” from his first record. Sandwiched between those two was the first seed to Honer’s fame, his cover of Tyler Childers’ “Jersey Giant”. Honer’s maiden release from 2022 was an elusive track by Childers’ that does not have video of a performance from the author until 2025. With some synchronized choreography, a capo on the first fret, and a breakdown in the bridge, Honer the nearly impossible by making a cover sound like his own.  

Jersey Giant was not the only cover of the night, as the well-earned encore contained the 9x platinum single “Sugar We’re Going Down” by Chicago pillars Fall Out Boy. When I think of Evan Honer my mind does not immediately jump to From Under The Cork Tree but this faithful rendition shows his bands versatility and the dynamic voice he carries. His closer, “IDK Shit About Cars” left the crowd wanting even more as the house lights flared up. Clocking in at almost 2 hours, Honer’s set was well worth the price of admission and gives understanding as to why there are so many repeat customers at his gigs. 

The crowd was treated to Chicago native Michal Leah to begin the evening. Leah released her debut album Universe this past October with a deluxe edition, including three more tracks, in December. Alongside just her guitarist, she led the crowd through a showcase of her new discography, giving the audience a first listen to songs soon to be added to their playlists. She later reunited with The Vic, joining Honer for a rendition of “Waiting Ain’t Easy”. The combination of their voices felt like a fresh set of sheets as it wrapped around the whole theatre. In the audience was her father as well, who gifted the singer-songwriter flowers near the finale of her set. Leah provided a soothing, intimate, and strong performance to her hometown. You can follow Leah for updates here. 

The tour name implies the truth, there are many more nights of the It’s A Long Road Tour left for Evan Honer. Looking beyond this tour seems silly, but what lies ahead is exciting. This summer Honer will be hitting the road with the poet of his first release, Tyler Childers, on Childers’ Snipe Hunt Tour. This busy season is also sprinkled with headline dates and opening slots for Darius Rucker and The Head And The Heart at Red Rocks. As an independent artist, Honer has established himself and his record company, Cloverdale Records, as important pieces of the modern industry. You can follow Evan Honer for updates and find tickets for his upcoming shows here.  

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On a dreary and windy Sunday afternoon, I strolled past a green river in the direction of Elston Ave. Strolling though discarded plastic gallon bottles from the Jewel with faded and smudged sharpie inscriptions like a foreshadowing “Borg Dylan”, I found the towering salt girl adorned on top of the 96 year old structure that housed thousands of pounds of salt for close to a century before thousands of people since 2023. This landmark houses not one, but two, of America’s greatest music venues, aptly named “The Salt Shed”. Somewhere that quickly made its way to the top of my favorite venues list, boasts a sleek and new place to watch the greatest bands touring today. Later that night, The Salt Shed would expand its impressive resume of artists as Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls came to town.

On the final night of their North American tour, co-headlining with Descendents and supported by NOBRO, I spoke with Frank Turner before this voltaic finale. This conversation danced from books to harmonicas in Green Room E before it became inhabited by NOBRO. Touching on his ever-growing library and taking a stab at guessing his most played songs, Turner spun tales of what the past has meant and what the future will hold.

Logan Melia: So last day of work, like you’re holding up all right. 

Frank Turner: Yeah, it’s been a fun run. I mean, I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. I grew up listening to Seven’s music and we’ve been friendly for on and off over the last kind of 10, 15 years, but like, This whole tour is quite funny, like, car headlining is kind of a good thing to do in general, and my booking agent was asking me for suggestions advanced to car headline with, and I suggested Descendants, and he was like, I don’t know if it’s going to work. And I just bugged him, and I said, look, me and Stefan are really good friends, and I know the other guys as well, and I said, it’s worth a Hail Mary. You know what I mean? Send the e-mail, see what happens. So he sent me an e-mail and he called me about a day later and was like, you’re never going to guess, but they just said yes. And I was like, what? So yeah, very, very stoked about it. It’s a huge honor for me to be on this tour. And it’s been a great tour. I mean, we’ve covered a lot of ground in a short period of time. We started here, actually, but we’ve been to Connecticut and Florida and Southern California. And do you know what I mean? We’ve done a lap. So there’s been a lot of sleeping on bumpy tour buses. But yeah, we are done after today. As much as I loved it, I’m quite stoked about that. 

Logan: Oh, absolutely. Put the feet up in the same spot two nights in a row, you know? 

Frank: Yeah, exactly. You know, and I’ve actually been away from home for 10 weeks now because I did a tour of South America before this as well. So I’m very much looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. 

Logan: Absolutely. Yeah. When you have a day off on tour, are you just crashing the whole day or are you… Are you trying to see the sights and sounds of the city? 

Frank: Not so much seeing the sights and sounds, because more often than not, we have days off in kind of like a, not quite a truck stop, but pretty middle of nowhere places, because we’re generally between A and B. But I mean, I keep busy while I’m on tour. I’m mixing some records at the minute, just keeping up with work and correspondence. writing, whatever it might be. So we have a thing that on days off we call it slug life. And slug life means you wake up, you get into the hotel room, you put on the dressing gown, you put your phone on do not disturb, you order Uber Eats, and you just don’t speak to anyone all day. And given the kind of intense sociality, if you like, of what I do for a living, because I’m talking to people all day, Apart from my client, obviously, but beyond that, like on a day off, I quite often don’t talk to anyone. And that’s a good feeling. I’ll watch some Netflix really work for everybody. 

Logan: Have you been watching anything good or read anything good? 

Frank: I’m reading Christopher Clark’s History of the Outbreak in the First World War, which is very good. I’m a history nerd. That was a period of history I thought I knew quite a lot about, and it turns out I didn’t. So that’s been cool. I’m watching a TV show called Animal Kingdom at the moment, which is fun. It’s pretty disposable. It’s not profound, I wouldn’t have said, but I watched it and I watched the Pee Wee Herman documentary recently that was really poor. I can’t remember his real name now, but that was a really… Weirdly moving, actually. I really enjoyed that. 

Logan: Do you have any pieces of media that you’ve held with you your whole life? 

Frank: Yeah, I mean, the obvious thing is obviously there’s tons of records which are hugely impactful for me. I mean, that’s the thing I talk about pretty regularly. In terms of other types of media, I mean, I I read some poetry, not loads, but some. And actually recently, I’m learning Spanish at the minute, and I’ve been reading Spanish poetry, which is, I’ve been reading a lot of Spanish, which is challenging, but a good way to learn the language for sure. I mean, I read incessantly. I’m a bibliophile. My partner is always horrified by how quickly I read. And you know, recently I’ve read, I was reading John Los Passos, USA Trilogy, which is a sort of foundational American novel that’s incredibly long and hardgoing, but I enjoyed it. I think in terms of things that stayed with me over time, the book I always have to mention is Cultural Amnesia by Clive James. I think that book probably changed my outlook on life, politics, and art more than anything else I’ve ever read in my life.

Logan: How so?

Frank: I just think that Clive James has long been my favorite writer. He sat down to write a cultural traces of the 20th century and the number of people he could even think to do that is pretty limited. And I’ve read it a few times. The first time I read it, I just had a notepad out and I was like, I’ve never heard of him, never heard of her, never heard of them. Do you know what I mean? 

Logan: You got homework.

Frank: Yeah, totally. And then I went and read a whole pile of books that he was sort of discussing or citing or whatever and watched films that he was talking about and listened to records he was talking about. And then sort of reread it again and had a better idea of what on earth he was talking about. But he had a kind of, I don’t know if this is quite the right way of putting it, but a kind of muscularly and humorously, but sort of self-deprecatingly sort of liberal view of the world and about sort of the need to resist totalitarianism, wherever it might come from, and all this kind of thing. So it definitely kind of gave my view of the world some sort of like hinterland, should we say? 

Logan: Yeah, oh, for sure. Do you have a big library at your place? 

Frank: Yeah, I do. When my partner and I moved in together, the boxes were arriving, and she was just like, this cannot be more books. And I was like, I’ve got terrible news for you, but it is. Yeah, I have a lot of books and I love them, I love keeping them there. I mean, one could argue how many, what’s the point, how many times I’m going to re-reference things. And there are a few that I do, but it makes me feel nice. I like to kind of stroke my bookshelf. 

Logan: Exactly. It’s furniture, you know, it’s something for the wall. 

Frank: Yeah, exactly.

Logan: A lot of books. Do you think you’ve crossed like the 500 book threshold, the 1000 book threshold? 

Frank: Oh yeah. I mean, I started keeping a list of everything I read in 2020. I read an average of about 60-70 books a year. And have done since I was like 10. I don’t, unfortunately, I wish I’d started keeping this. I’m quite sort of like meticulous about stuff. I mean, you can see it from the way I count my shows and everything. Like I just, I like keeping lists of things I’ve done. 

Logan: Now, speaking of kind of shows, the number I’ve written down is 3,131. Does that sound right to you? 

Frank: That’s going to be tonight? I actually think it’s 3,134 tonight. I think we’ve got it. I mean, the thing about that is there are some people who think that I retain that information in my head. I absolutely don’t. It’s written on the set list. But I wrote the set list just now. So and it’s written in quite a bit. When I first did it, it was in really small letters, and I kept finding myself doing this on stage and squinting at the ball. And eventually my tour manager was like, You know, you could make that bigger. And I was like, Oh yeah, that’s a great idea. But yeah, I mean, the whole show list thing, I started doing beginning. My old drummer in my old band kept a list of our shows, and I always thought it was a bit weird while the band was together, but when we broke up, I was very glad that he did, because it gave me an overview of what we’d done. It’s amazing how quickly you forget things when you do as many of them as I do. And then also the early days of my solo touring, there was no one else there. It was just me. I was hurling on the train, I had a rucksack, I had a guitar. And so there’s no one I can call to be like, hey, what were we doing in February 2006 or something? Because there was no one else at all the shows. So I started coming to the list, put on my website. We got to show 1000 and I organized a show for it with some friends of mine in London. And I said, look, it’s my thousandth show and they were like, what? How would you know? What does that even mean? And I’m like, and I sort of explained this to them. So that one, like not that many people were on board. By the time we got to show 2000, it had become a thing that people were keen on. And we just did, we did like a 2000 cab venue in Nottingham, England, my favorite venue, Rock City. And it sold out very quickly so when it got to show 3000, we went, let’s do a big statement show. We booked Out of Sound Palace, which is like 11,000 people, thinking, maybe we’ll get it sold out by the time of the show. And then it sold out in 24 hours, and it was just like, what the what? So that was pretty cool. And now we’re on our way to 4000, and the first e-mail I had asking me where and when Show 4000 was going to be was about two days after Show 3000, and I was like, this is going to take a minute. And when I say a minute, I mean, probably about 8 years. Eight years. So, because I mean, I have done a lot of frenetics in my life. I don’t talk quite as high as I did in my sort of 20s and early 30s anymore, which is a function of age to a degree. And it’s a function of the fact that me and my band and crew, everyone’s got families now and kids and homes that they live in. I mean, back in like 20, sort of like 2010 till about 2016 was just manic. I think we did 13 months without going home at one point. And now we get to the 3 1/2 week mark and everyone’s like ‘ugh’, And then, like I say, that’s a function of getting older and it’s a marathon or a sprint. I don’t want to kill myself pretending that I’m 22 for forever. So it will take a little longer to get to the next mark, but we’ll get there. 

Logan: Do you find yourself writing any differently in your new age? Do you? 

Frank: Yeah, definitely. I think, I mean, writing as a concept is a very… broad and complicated and ineluctable thing. And I think that it should change. I’ve never really had a methodology for it. Songs kind of arrive and I grab at them when I can and then I spend time hammering them together. I’m sort of keen not to repeat myself, which necessarily implies change, maybe not in a methodology, but I don’t have a methodology, but like, you know, I don’t want to rewrite Love Ire and Song. I wrote that. It’s already there. Yeah, and we still play a bunch of songs with that record live. So I don’t need to write them again. You know, I’m constantly looking for ways to change what I do. And yeah, getting older does, it changes your subject matter, it changes your taste musically, all that kind of thing. So these things evolve over time. I mean, right now, it’s way too early to actually talk about this, but I’m in a very kind of like trad folk place at the moment. The last couple of records I did have been kind of punk rock records, which I love, and we’re on tour with Descendents, so happy days, but I’ve been really kind of deep into kind of old school kind of folk and country again lately. It’s been a minute since I was deep into that stuff. So we’ll see what happens. Maybe there’ll be a grind core record. I don’t know. We’ll find out.

Logan: What old kind of folk records are you listening to? 

Frank: I’ve been A lot of kind of like I’ve got the Smithsonian collection of kind of field recordings of Tran-American stuff, which I love, and the Cecil Sharp House collection. as well, which is sort of the English fluent, the same thing. So I’ve been listening to all of that again. And you know, Phil Ox and stuff like that, and early Dylan and that kind of stuff. I mean, I’m not saying that I’m about to try and recreate all of that. 

Logan: You’re not writing Blonde On Blonde next.

Frank: I would go early at that. I’d say more stuff like Another Side and times are a changing kind of era. I’ve been doing a lot of full band stuff lately, which I love, and I love my boys, and they’re the best band in rock and roll as far as I’m concerned, but there has always been a strand to what I do that is sort of centered around the kind of idiom of one person with an instrument. And I feel like I haven’t kind of paid too much attention to that in recent years, and I’d like to kind of refocus on it. But we’ll see. Like I said, I changed my mind radically in between albums. So there was one point when Positive Songs to Negative People was going to be a white solo album, and it absolutely isn’t. And I think everyone’s quite glad about that, but I had this moment in time when I was just listening to white soul like all the time, Style Council, whatever else, and just thinking, ‘Yeah, I want to do this’, and then, in the end, I went that, and I think everyone’s pleased. 

Logan: You mentioned, you know, the number of shows you play is crazy. According to the set list out of time, I wrote down your top three most played songs and how many times you’ve played them. Do you want to take a guess as to what these three songs are and to how often? I mean, these numbers are probably wrong, but the rough estimates. 

Frank: Well, I think my top three most played songs will probably be Recovery. 

Logan: That’s #3. 

Frank: That’s #3. My God. I Still Believe?

Logan: Number 2. 

Frank: Number 2… Photosynthesis?

Logan: Number one. 

Frank: Oh my God, look at that. I mean, the thing about that, that’s interesting because obviously to some degree it’s just about how long songs have been around. Photosynthesis is a much older song than recovery. That’s fascinating actually. In terms of numbers of times, I mean, the problem with it is I’m vaguely familiar with the work in the set list of FM. And somebody’s uploaded my kind of list of past shows onto it, but like the vast majority of the early ones don’t have a set list. Because no one was writing it down. And I mean, I’m sure I was writing it down. Do you know what I mean? And it’s a surprising thing. A friend of mine who runs a, there’s a festival in England called 2000 Trees, which is sort of like my home festival. I love that place. And James sent me a photo of my set list, which was written on a paper plate from like 2007 or something. And I was like, ‘huh I played that? and also in that order?’ that seems mad to me now. But, I mean, that’s one of the things that to get philosophical for a second, a show is an ephemeral thing. It happens once in one place with one stage with one group of people. And that’s one of the things I like about it. It’s not a bottleable commodity in a way, you know, it’s a moment in time. That’s what they do for a living, I create moments. And so that made sense that day. My memory of that show to the extent that I have one is that it went quite well. So good for 2007, me. The numbers of times, I mean, Photosynthesis has got to be more than 1000, right? 

Logan: All three of these are over 1000. And I’ll say, one and two Photosynthesis, and I Still Believe, are only three plays apart. 

Frank: That doesn’t enormously surprise me. I mean, 2000? I don’t know. 

Logan: Photosynthesis 1666, I Still Believe 1663, Recovery 1377. 

Frank: I mean, this is the thing. I’m actually pretty sure I’ve played photosynthesis more times than that because that song’s on my second record and I’ve played it so many times. And indeed, without giving too much away, we’ll be playing it tonight. But, and it’s a funny thing, like, I mean, there are times when people go, doesn’t that get boring or whatever. The answer to that is obviously not. I mean, it gets boring in rehearsal, because, I mean, to be honest, when we’re running a set list in rehearsal, we usually get the first instance. I play the intro and everybody goes don’t need to run that guy

Logan: Yeah, we know how to do this one. 

Frank: Again, a show is not an isolated event. The whole point of it is it’s an exchange of energy and ideas with an audience. And the audience is different and tonight there’s going to be a different audience to any show I’ve ever played ever. And they will react in a slightly different way. And that means that playing this song is not boring. It’s interesting. because I mean, ultimately, if you were in a band where it didn’t matter who you were playing to, I think you’re doing it wrong. Do you know what I mean? It’s like it should absolutely matter. The audience should be part of the show, otherwise you’re basically talking to yourself. Do you know what I mean? Like, it’s a strange thing. 

Logan: Yeah, Chicago. Great place. We got a Green River right now. Did you catch that? 

Frank: Oh, no, I haven’t. To be honest, this is the nature of touring. I have not been anywhere other than the bus so far today. You’ve got terrible weather today as well. 

Logan: Yeah, we do. We tend to. 

Frank: Yeah, which we’re all a little nervous about because everyone’s supposed to be flying home tomorrow. I love Chicago, though. I mean, it’s a city I only know through touring. It’s a funny, It’s funny, some, you know, my friends back home be like, Do you know Chicago? And it’s like, I know the Aragon Ballroom. Yeah, I know the area, the Aragon Ballroom, the Metro, and blah, blah, blah, and the areas around them. I mean, this is our first time at Soul Shed. This place is rad. 

Logan: This place is incredible. 

Frank: It’s really cool. I mean, at the risk of sounding a tiny bit Aerosmith, like the backstage is delightful. Like they’ve, and you know, they’ve got notes for everybody on the note paper. 

Logan: Yeah, custom coasters. 

Frank: Yeah, custom coasters, the whole 9 yards. So, which is a nice way to finish the tour. We were in Davenport, Iowa yesterday, and everybody there was lovely, but the venue was a lot more spit and sawdust, should we say? 

Logan: I’m from Chicago, that’s why I’m here, I’m a spring break now. I go to the University of Iowa, and I’ve been to the Capitol Theater a few times, and this is quite the establishment. 

Frank: Yeah, it’s a different vibe. But at the same time, one of the things I always prided myself on, there’s a lot of British acts who played a handful of shows in Boston, New York, Philly, Chicago, and LA, and then go, we tried to break America and it didn’t work or whatever. And it’s just like, it’s because you barely went. 

Logan: There. Well, you are in Davenport, Iowa. 

Frank: Yeah, and I’ve done all 50 states. I did them all in a row. 

Logan: 50 days. 

Frank: Yeah, which was a terrible decision, but it’s now in the past. And we’ve played a million shows in Ohio, and we’ve been to Mississippi, and we’ve been to Portland, Maine 10 times probably, and all the rest of it. Occasionally, I do talk to friends of mine who are like, ‘how is it that you have a career over there?’ and it’s just like, dude there’s only one answer to that question, which is craft. It’s a continent. That’s like saying, Oh, we played Berlin and we didn’t break Europe. There’s more of it, you know what I mean? You’ve got to put the hours in, which is one of the things I’ve always liked about America. It’s kind of built for touring and there’s so much of it that you can just sort of keep playing around kind of indefinitely. 

Logan: Yeah, for sure. My first time seeing you in 2023 at Riot Fest here in Chicago, electric set. I was waiting for Pup, which is a great little Canadian punk band. 

Frank: I remember we took them on their first European tour. 

Logan: Are you serious? 

Frank: Yeah, I love those guys. 

Logan: Yeah, and I was so stoked for them, but I got them early and I saw you, and I have a picture of me, giving them a little recap, and it’s like, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, like my new favorite band. 

Frank: Oh fuck yeah.

Logan: And it was just sick as hell. And I don’t remember very specifically that show you brought out Jaret Reddick. I’ve talked to before. He’s brought them up. You brought them out to, I think, play harmonica or something like that. Do you bring people out a whole lot? Do you remember that show in particular? 

Frank: I do remember that show. I remember that weekend. The show itself, I remember, again, this is the thing, I remember the show going well, I remember coming off stage and feeling good about it. Do you remember that weekend where my guitar tech being an absolute, getting drunk and being an absolute terrorist backstage. He found a massive shoe, one massive shoe and put it on and just started limping around the place and the security decided that he was genuinely disabled and started carrying him around and it was just complete bedlam. I saw Tomahawk play, which was awesome. I saw Postal Service, which was cool. And I saw, actually one of the highlights that weekend is I got to watch Snapcase side of stage and I grew up with that kind of music. So I kind of vaguely know the Snapcase guys a little bit, at least Darrell. It was just, that was such a cool thing because I mean they’re not the biggest man in the world, but the lineup of people watching Snapcase from Side of Stage was impressive. It was like Ben Gibbard was there and I was there and the guys from Rise Against were all there and everything and everyone was just kind of like, you know, there was a medium-sized crowd, but you’re still looking around like, you should be paying attention to these guys. And you know, they pray. played a lot of stuff on Progressions Through Unlearning, and that made me very happy. So, happy days. 

Logan: Absolutely. I kind of feel that way when I saw Helmet at Riot Fest this past year. Side stage was Tre Cool, Jack White, just like these powerhouses. 

Frank: Yeah, Helmet, I haven’t seen Helmet for 20 plus years, but they’re an incredible and gigantically influential man. But to go to what you’re saying about getting people up, I mean, we do get people up on stage every now and again. I’ve never quite been the kind of loads of collabs type of guy, do you know what I mean? Like, you watch a Coldplay show or something and there’s like someone getting up every other song or whatever. 

Logan: It’s Noel Gallagher up there. 

Frank: Yeah, at a certain point it becomes a little bit like, check out my famous friends. And that doesn’t sit super well with me. We had a thing years ago, when I did my first arena headline show, this was in 2012. And there’s a we had a bit where someone plays harmonica, and I was kind of going through the list of kind of notable people I knew who were coming to the show, and Ricky Gervais was coming, and Daniel Radcliffe was coming, whatever. And it was just like every single one of them just felt a bit gross, no reflection on them, but just the implications of the crowd is ‘check me out I know this guy’. And in the end, we got my mum to do it, which was way cooler because she brought the house down. You know what I mean? Everyone went apeshit. I mean, we had on this tour, we were in Anaheim and my friend Mike from the effects came down and we got him up to play Harmonica on a song that he wrote, which seemed like a justifiable use of that trick. But generally speaking, I’m kind of of the opinion that if I buy a ticket to see a band, I kind of want to see them play. You know what I mean? It’s like, The occasional pop-up can be kind of cool. And I’ve seen one or two of my time. This is about as obscurantis as I’m going to get in this interview, but like, do you know Sun O? They’re the kind of doom band. 

Logan: They’re coming to Iowa City. 

Frank: Oh, you should go. Yeah. Take ear plugs. They are the loudest band in history. And it is more performance than it is music. But almost don’t listen to anything ahead of time. Just go down and brace yourself. Like, It’s not unlike taking acid, but I saw them play and they had Justin Broderick from Gold Flesh got up and made some extra noise for a bit. That’s probably the best way of putting it. And that excited me a lot and that was really cool. But yeah, I don’t want to overdo it. 

There’s never been a moment during a Frank Turner show I haven’t enjoyed. Turner promised at the beginning of the set that if they weren’t fans already, and he delivered. Between ballerina twirls and a wall of hugs (a much calmer wall of death experience), it was an intoxicating set. Support from NOBROS got the crowd energized early, as they played a stellar set including their latest single DOOMTOWN. Descendents closed the evening with 34 songs including two from their most recent LP “9th and Walnut“. This combination of artists, punks young and old, acoustic and electric, was bombastic and loud. Everything a rock and roll show should be.

Frank Turner never sleeps for long. With almost 50 shows on the books for the remainder of the year, he has time for a quick nap before he returns for a stretch of solo gigs in April and a avalanche of dates throughout 2026. You can find tickets here. Turner is also releasing an anniversary edition of his first record “Campfire Punk Rock 20” releasing on April 10th.

The post Interview: Frank Turner is Learning Spanish in between shows 3,134 and 3,135 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

We all regret things, even some things we didn’t do ourselves. I spoke with Canadian indie-rockers Peach Pit ahead of their set at Innings Festival on February 20th as they shared stories of favorite gigs they’ve seen, video games they’ve been enjoying, and card games that have gone wrong.

Logan Melia: Okay, rock and roll. So guys, how are we doing? I mean, first gig in a little bit, right? 

Neil Smith: Yeah, we were just talking about that today. It’s our first one in a couple months, so we’re a little nervous. 

Peter Wilton: Bit rusty 

Logan: Really, bit rusty?

Neil: Well, we rehearsed, but yeah. 

Logan: What does the rehearsal process look like? Are you guys just getting together once, multiple points? 

Neil: Oh, dude, we only can do it once. Honestly, we like playing our songs in our rehearsal room by ourselves is like torture. Yeah, I hate it so much. It gives me like the feeling of like when you’re in high school and you have to do like a project or like or homework and you don’t want to do it. 

MIkey Pascuzzi: When you do it the night before it’s due. 

Neil: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So we run the set. We run the set. 

Chris Vanderkooy: Yeah, we’ll argue for the first half about what the set should be. Yeah, then go for lunch and then run the set twice. 

Peter: But yeah, any part of those, the set always ends up being pretty similar. 

Neil: Yeah, yeah. Some songs like have to kind of be later in the set. You can’t like blow your load super early with popular ones right away. 

Logan: What’s the setlist looking like? Are we doing a lot of stuff off Magpie? 

Neil: No, we’re doing two songs off Magpie. 

Chris: Two songs off from two to three. 

Neil: Yeah, we mostly have to always do most songs off of Being So Normal, our first one, just because it’s the most popular one. 

Chris: That’s what we tell ourselves. 

Neil: No, it is true, though. 

Chris: But those songs also have the most energy, I think. A lot of the time, compared to the new ones, we love those recordings on the new albums. Yeah, the old stuff, it just goes over well live to people who have never heard of these before, too. So if we’re trying to draw new people in, that’s the good stuff to do. 

Logan: I saw you guys in May of last year in Chicago.

Neil: That was so fun. It’s a cool spot.

Logan: It’s such a beautiful venue right on the lake right there. You guys open with that little combo with Warpigs there. How’d that come to be? Because when I think about you guys, with all do respect, I don’t think about Black Sabbath. 

Neil: I think it was yours or Dougle’s or yeah, we basically for the past, for the past like 7 years, we’ve been opening our show with a bit of a cover. So we’ve done, we did a Led Zeppelin song. We did Slayer. Slayer. 

Chris: Yeah, and the Slayer was really fun because we had just kind of put out our most folky album and people were coming out to the shows and it was just like post-pandemic. And then we would just drop into Slayer and we could see the visible confusion on the crowd’s faces. And so ever since then, we were like, this is so much fun to come out like this and do something a little unexpected. So yeah, it’s something we’re kind of always striving to do and look for another cover. 

Logan: Is there anything unexpected coming today that I should prepare myself for? 

Neil: Uhhh… no.

Chris: No, we wrote a little instrumental to start off our first. 

Neil: Oh, that’s true, yeah, for sure. We’re going to open with the Arc Raiders theme song. 

Logan: That’s really sick. 

Neil: Yeah, we just walk out to it.

Logan: Are you guys Indiana Jones fans?

Peter: Oh, no. Oh, OK. Sorry. It’s confusing. There’s a new video game out, kind of like Fortnite kind of style vibe. It’s called Arc Raiders, which sounds like Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

Logan: That’s where my mind is. 

Peter: But I actually have a huge hit. 

Mikey: Yeah, I love it. 

Peter: That was my favorite movies as a kid ever. 

Chris: Actually, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. 

Peter: Oh, yeah. We should open with John Williams. 

Logan: Fortnite… You guys play any video games recently? You guys hopping on anything? 

Neil: I guess Fortnite a little bit. 

Chris: We were in Fortnite for a while. 

Neil: Mikey’s been playing, what have you been playing?

Mikey: Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei. It’s like the samurai game. 

Neil: They’re a big God of War guys. 

Mikey: Oh yeah, the God of War. I played that a couple years ago. 

Neil: I flew down here with my PlayStation actually. Yeah, I put it in my carry-on bags. More than half of your bag. Yeah, half of it is closed and the other half of the suitcase is my PlayStation. So I can play Arc Raiders. 

Logan: Did you guys see the Simpsons season of Fortnite? 

Neil: Actually, I did. That was pretty awesome. 

Peter: We hoped on together. 

Neil: Did you guys get the Homer? 

Peter: Yeah, you kind of had to, right? 

Chris: No, I never figured out how to do the scans. 

Neil: You just put your credit card in and then you get it. 

Chris: One time when we were really into Fortnite, Neil like bought me a skin on Fortnite for my birthday, but I just logged on. I didn’t realize someone had sent me anything. I was just like, ‘they just gave me a free skin I’m the Mandalorian now’ And I like texted him being excited and he was like, that was neat. 

Logan: But you know, it’s a little gestures like that. 

Chris: Oh yeah, totally. 

Neil: It’s a great gift actually, a skin. 

Chris: A Fortnite skin? 

Neil: You wouldn’t buy it for yourself. 

Chris: No, yeah, exactly. 

Logan: Neil, I saw in an interview, you said that you are kind of a jokester guy at all. You write the quote I had written down, “I come up with the jokes for the show”. 

Neil: Oh, yeah, for that onstage show. Offstage show tho…

Chris: Mikey comes up with them. 

Logan: Now, I know you guys are Canadian. Norm Macdonald. Do you have any favorite Norm moments, any jokes? 

Chris: We can’t say them on air. 

Neil: Norm is like, he’s just like my favorite person maybe ever. Like I’ve seen, there’s like no Norm MacDonald clip on the internet that I haven’t seen. I mean, just like, I don’t know. Everything is good. Like his interview shows are good. His jokes are amazing. I love the, I want to quote, I’m trying to think. 

Mikey: The Larry King bit where he’s like ‘I’m a deeply closet homosexual’. 

Neil: So what you’re saying is your gay? 

Chris: Do you know what a deeply closeted man is? A man who won’t admit he is gay. Yeah, I’m deeply closeted. 

Neil: I mean, he’s just, I mean, Norm, dude. I wish I could have seen him live. He’s the best. He’s the best of all time, for sure. 

Logan: Are there any acts either comedic or bands that you are lucky you saw live? Like, did you see like Tom Petty a year before he passed? 

Chris: Yeah, I was at Red Rocks visiting my uncle and I went and checked out the venue and I was like, oh, this is beautiful. Well, I wonder if anyone’s playing tonight. Tom Petty was playing with the Heartbreakers and it’s like, oh, sweet. Oh, there’s still tickets left. Uh, 80 bucks. I’ll see him another time. He died like six months later. 

Neil: This was also for context, you were like 20. Yeah. And so 80 bucks was like, I can’t afford that. 

Logan: I’m 20 right now. 

Neil: I don’t have a job. Yeah.

Chris: There was 80 bucks in 2014. 

Logan: Canadian or USD? 

Neil: USD so even worse.

Chris: Yeah, it was rough. But yeah, I mean, Neil got to see Paul McCartney in November. Oh, yeah, it was a bucket list one. 

Logan: I was like, yeah, I should have said hi. 

Neil: Were you there? Yeah. Oh, really? Yeah. Last day of the tour. 

Logan: No, it was the day before. 

Neil: I mean, whatever. Yeah, we flew in with our wives and went and saw him. We’ve been like, yeah, we were like, we have to see him? 

Chris: Yeah, he was great. 

Neil: Yeah. He was so good, right? 

Logan: Oh, my God. He’s how is he not good? He’s so old. And for him to, like, dance a little bit. 

Chris: Every time he walked up to the piano, I was like, he’s going to slip and fall. 

Neil: He’s didn’t take a sip of water. He didn’t take a drink. He played for three hours. 

Logan: It’s like no shade to Bob Dylan. Great artists, but I’m not sure if you guys have seen those live videos. He just kind of sits there behind a piano.

Neil: Yeah, those guys are weird because I don’t get it because they’re so loaded, they don’t have to do it with the money, but they still go on tour. And to be honest, if we have enough money to not go on tour, we’re 80, I’m not going to be going on tour with you guys. 

Chris: You’re going to miss us more than you think. 

Neil: No. 

Logan: Just with United Center, Springsteen just announcing new tour. Are you guys Springsteen fans at all? 

Neil: Yeah, sort of. I saw him a couple years ago. 

Chris: I love his album Nebraska more than anything else. 

Neil: I went and saw him. You’re a big fan. Yeah. Okay. I don’t want to shit on Springsteen though. I got free tickets to go see Springsteen and it was pretty good. It was like 3 hours long. He plays everything. But it’s just like the Springsteen arc of the show is like… They go to 11 and then they just like stay at 11 the whole entire time. Like every song is 1, 2, 3, 4, and then you’re like, oh my god. I’m not a huge Springsteen fan. It was, it was cool. I did learn some deep cuts that I listen to now. 

Logan: Hell yeah. What is on the playlist these days for you guys? Anything fun? Anything unexpected? 

Neil: Geese, dude. Nobody listens to that, man. Actually though, there’s like two Geese songs. They’re like my favorite song ever right now. 

Chris: Yeah, Jessica Pratt. I’ve been listening to a lot of her. She’s great, she kind of sounds like she should be playing for a great haul in Beowulf times. You know what I mean? She just sounds like an ancient singer-songwriter. 

Neil: What are you guys listening to? I haven’t been listening to that much music, to be honest. 

Mikey: I just throw on playlists and whatever’s on there. 

Neil: I guess I got some records recently. What did I buy? I bought so many albums at Toomes Records Store. Pat Kelly. He’s a reggae singer from Jamaica. That’s it. 

Chris: It was cool. There’s this band, The Districts, that we really love. 

Logan: Philadelphia, right? 

Chris: Philadelphia. So their lead singer started his own solo project called Super Infinity. And he kind of just dumped. A ton of songs out without making a big deal out of the release, and I think for that reason, I didn’t hear about it for a while, but now I’ve gone back and listened to this record it’s like 20 songs, some of my favorite songwriting ever, their production is amazing, his voice is incredible, so really good, really recommend, especially if you like The Districts. 

Logan: Yeah, it’s more research. Your album, I think it was From Two to Three, was originally named Fuckboy Blues. Can I get a confirm or deny on this?

Peter: That was You and Your Friend. You and Your Friend, which we wanted to call the album Fuckboy Blues. 

Neil: And then we have a song called Feeling Low in brackets, Fuckboy Blues. Okay, so basically what happened was it was our first album after being so normal. We wrote a song called Fuckboy Blues. We got on Columbia. And they basically just recommended that we don’t have a song with the word “fuck” in it because they wanted it to be the first single. They were like, yeah, this is going to be on the radio. And then it just, I don’t know. The song didn’t really go anywhere.

Chris: Yeah, it could have been huge. 

Chris: But yeah, yeah, we were going to call it “Fuckboy Blues” because Neil has “fuckboy” tattooed on his ass. 

Neil: Not by choice. Yeah, it’s true. I went to Asia, this was back when I was like 20, I went backpacking in Southeast Asia. Me and my friend were playing this card game called cribbage the whole time that we were away. And in crib, if you lose really bad by a certain amount of points, you get skunked. So we were playing like a game of skate with crib, where like every time you got skunked, you’d like write a letter. Anyway, long story short, I lost the bet. And the bet was that you had to get a tattoo on your ass that said skunk, which is kind of stupid, but whatever, we were young. And I came home and we were at band practice, and this was way back in the day. This is even before Mikey was in our band, we had a different guy named Tom. The guys were like, you’re getting your fucking tattoo tonight. Peter, he was doing a little stick and pokes at the time, he’s like, ‘we’re going to do the tattoo tonight. We’ll go to that party. You’re going to do it tonight’. And I was like, oh, shit okay, whatever. So then we go to the party and like, I lay down on the floor I yanked out my pants Peter gets all the needle ready and we have a bunch of friends there my sisters there and he’s like okay Neil like whatever you do like just like don’t, I don’t want you to look at it until it’s done and I didn’t I swear to God I didn’t even bat an eyelash at that because Peter’s like a really really you know Peter he’s a really really nice guy he’s not like a piece of shit.

Logan: Do you agree?

Neil: I would say you’re not a piece of shit.

Peter: I don’t think so.

Neil: So he’s doing the tattoo. I’m like, taking a little while or whatever, and at one point I was even like, damn this is taking a while. And then right, he’s like, I’m just about done. And right when he finished, everybody in the room burst out laughing. And I was like, ‘NOOOO’. And I ran into the bathroom and they, yeah, he touched me. 

Chris: He was, Neil was like livid. 

Neil: I was so angry. 

Chis: It was not good actually. 

Peter: No one ever like, here’s the thing. I wasn’t initially like, this isn’t a great idea. Everyone else was like, it’ll be funny. I think it was my idea. His sister was like, he’ll think it’s funny. And I was like, I didn’t know him that well at the time. So he did it and then Neil was so mad and I started crying.

Chris: And I, in the moment was like, you know what, we shouldn’t have done this, it was very fucked up but this will be funny later. 

Neil: Yeah, it aged well

Logan: How many years ago was this?

Neil: 11 years ago. A long time ago

Chris: Yeah, we were very young ago. 

Neil: So anyway, I’m going to cover it up eventually. I still have ‘fuckboy’. I go to the local community center to go use the sauna a lot. And whenever I’m getting changed, I’m facing the lockers of people. They don’t see your junk, and I can just see someone looking at my ass. 

Chris: Yeah, totally. That was a really evil thing to do, but I think made us stronger. 

The greatest joy in life is learning isn’t it? We are all students of life. I think I learned a lot during these 13 minutes. For example, we learned that Neil Smith, lead singer of 2021 JUNO nominee for Breakthrough Group of the Year Peach Pit, has ‘fuckboy’ tattooed on his butt. Learning!

The Canadian quartet continues to be a constant in my ears with their latest release “Magpie: Expanded Edition“, and the rest of their charming discography. Their set at Innings Festival featured a dozen tracks spanning their decade making music and opened with that beautiful instrumental jam as promised. Peach Pit has only a select handful of festival dates on the calendar, including the recent announcement of Shaky Knees. If you can, catch this band. Their live shows are filled with ear worms and high energy. If you walk in not knowing any songs, you’ll walk out wanting to know. For future updates, can follow Peach Pit here.

The post Interview: Peach Pit on Tattoos, The Simpsons in Fortnite, and Norm MacDonald appeared first on KRUI Radio.

FRIDAY 

I caught Fat, Evil Children as the foremost band of this festival, playing the Right Field Stage at 12:15. I had done some research beforehand and really enjoyed their sound so this was a must see. Coming out of the LA, they have begun branching out of state with their latest release “Can’t Stop” on November 28^th, 2025. This six song EP holds a favorite of mine, “The Weight” which was released as a single a few weeks before the EP. Following up on the Right Field stage was Congress, The Band. Out of South Carolina, this was the farthest out west the 5 piece indie rock group had been. Named after Congress St in Charleston, and not the house of government, they will be hitting the road this March with fellow Innings Festival band Common People. You can find tickets here. 

While exploring the festival grounds I heard an all too familiar sound. Like a siren calling me to the sea, I heard the second track to Bruce Springsteen’s third album “Born to Run”. Springsteen is a magnet of sorts for me, and with nothing to break the attraction, I ended up at The Left Field Stage watching Jake Peavy jam out with his band to “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”. Peavy was playing for my Chicago White Sox during a very formative time in my life. Watching the All-Star game in 2012, I never imagined I would hear him play “Franklin’s Tower” or The Boss. This is part of what makes Innings Festival so special, this was the only place you could find a childhood hero rocking out.  

Staying at Right Field for the time being, Peach Pit was up next. I had the opportunity to talk with the band before their set and discuss all things from The Simpsons in Fortnite to Norm MacDonald. That interview will be up soon on 89.7 KRUI. After a great interview, they came on stage with an instrumental jam into their self-titled song. Released in 2018 on the Sweet FA EP, “Peach Pit” is a tune that has been a staple in my playlists for years. It is Peach Pit at their best, with sincere lyrics that don’t beat you over the head with their feelings but decide to open the door and let you in if you choose. A dozen songs later, Peach Pit closed with fan favorite “Tommy’s Party”, painting the picture of a friendship that’s lost its flame in light of time and others taking priority. A mourning of something lost disguised as a slow jam where guitarist Chris Vanderkooy skates across the G Major Scale. A sound ending to one of my favorite sets of the weekend. Afterwards lead singer Neil Smith joined the crowd for pictures and high fives. Peach Pit has a handful of festival slots coming up this year. 

A album release party to remember, Mumford and Sons took the stage at 9:00pm on the night of their sixth studio album drop “Prizefighter”. Playing five tracks off the record, Marcus Mumford sprinted through seventeen songs spanning the band’s illustrious career. With his army of musicians behind him, the emphasis on the new record was warmly welcomed as this blues and rock inspired LP was made to be played for these huge crowds like this. Their 2025 record “RUSHMERE” wasn’t forgotten either as the two tracks were heard amongst the shuffle of their set. Marcus paid a compliment to the previous band on The Home Plate Stage, The Goo Goo Dolls, preaching “You get The Goo Goo Dolls night one and you’re fucked the rest of the weekend”. I concur Marcus, it’s difficult to follow up “Iris”. Mumford and Sons have just announced their “Prizefighter World Tour” including a stop at Hinterland in Iowa on August 1^st.  

SATURDAY 

I was elated to have finally caught The Backfires. The combination of New York indie and Britpop is featured heavy in this groups work, including 2022’s single “Blindsided”. The Backfires were quick to make fans as the dancing began almost immediately as they stepped on stage. They only have one more gig on the books so far in New York as they record a new album. You can follow their process on their Instagram.  

Right Field continued to be a place I found myself as Deer Tick was setting up. Something familiar hit my ears as the guys began playing “Bad to the Bone” as their soundcheck. I asked Deer Tick about their long and storied history with covers, including a handful of songs by mutual favorites The Pogues. You can hear all about it in my interview with Deer Tick that will be on 89.7 KRUI soon. Their set included a new song, “Mary Singletary”, from their upcoming record that will be released in June. During their set I had a thought, maybe it was that baseball was already involved, but their songs hold a very classic summer sound that feels reminiscent of CCR, The Eagles, and Dylan. Deer Tick have a handful of gigs in March around their home in the Northeast and just announced they will be playing returning to the midwest to play Summerfest in Milwaukee on Friday, June 19^th. 

At the left field stage, former pitcher and current entertainer, Ryan Dempster, continued his wonderful “Off The Mound” talk show. With a live band and a great selection of guests, Dempster is a natural at playing host to current and former baseball personalities. He entered the stage and did a quick monologue, joking how the Dodgers were so injury prone last year, one of their pitchers had to hit. I caught a lot of strays as a White Sox fan while at The Left Field Stage, on stage and off. Dempster, a long-time north sider, did not shy away from his bias to Wrigley. An olive branch was extended as one of his guests played for both sides of town. Jeff Samardzija spent six and a half season with the Cubs, and just a lonely singular year with the White Sox, was eager to talk both sports and music. Growing up a Sox fan, it was a dream to dawn the black and white pinstripes in 2015 even though baseball was not his original path. Samardzija was a two time All-American tight end and caught over 2,500 yards in three seasons for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Sharing stories of being a two-sport athlete and how youth sports have changed was interesting coming from a former professional athlete and current parents. He then spoke about meeting his wife at a Pink Floyd concert, as she was an employee to Roger Waters. After some light stalking and a few emails, Samardzija secured a date and the rest is history. It felt like watching a conversation with two old friends as Dempster created a relaxed environment and Samardzija putting his feet up. This was all wrapped together with a bow on top as the house band sounded spectacular as well.

I often hear from my seniors that there are no rock stars anymore. The spark has left the industry, guitar music is dead, and everything is made with computers now. Although computers may be scary to some, the rest could not be farther from the truth. Whenever you are in doubt, go see Cage the Elephant play a gig. Frontman Matt Schultz is a larger-than-life performer, flipping the lid off any containment he might have had. Alongside his brother Brad Schultz, drummer Jarod Champion, bassist Daniel Tichenor, and a batch of the strongest live musicians out there, Cage the Elephant was emphatic in their 19 song set. Matt Schultz mentioned that he may forget a few of the words during their performance, as they are in the process of making a new record. Their latest venture came in the form of 2024’s Neon Pill which they have toured extensively. With a new record on the way, there is a scarcity of gigs lined up for the Bowling Green natives. You can find any updates from the band here. 

Los Angeles local Lord Huron played a dreamy set as the blue lighting put him in this twilight-Esque setting, delivering a story time that a listener dreams of. Under the stars of the West, Ben Schneider put out a mix of new and old, with three songs off 2025’s “The Cosmic Selector: Vol 1” and four songs from a decades prior album “Strange Trails”. Lord Huron will embark on a lengthy tour this summer, including a stop in Waukee on July 19th. 

Twenty-One Pilots delivered a set full of new surprises at Innings Festival. Three live debuts and two covers is what Tempe was treated too, a shocker to any long time Twenty-One Pilot’s fans. Covers have eluded many fans for years, so hearing Milky Chance’s hit “Stolen Dance” intwined with the live debut of “One Way” was a shock to many. Near the end of the set, the stage went black and a static appeared on screen. Through the tech mist, rock and roll hero Jack White appeared on screen, adorned in red, black and white, to say “I’m Jack White and I give Tyler and Josh permission to do this song”. The static dissipated, and the stage became cloaked in red as the iconic “Seven Nation Army” riff began. This arrangement of The White Stripes classic was first introduced in Cleveland at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The third live appearance of this song was well worth the wait. This was a landmark set for the band, introducing “Center Mass” and “Drag Path” to a live audience, and preparing for a busy summer in Europe.  

SUNDAY 

Bowling For Soup took main stage on the final day of Innings Festival at 2:30. People were tired and the sun was beating down on the weekend snow birds, but the Texas natives brought the energy with their collection of hits and theme songs. This set included a cover of Stacy’s Mom by Fountain’s of Wayne, often mistaken as a Bowling For Soup song, this was originally by the New York rockers. Jaret Reddick and company played everything I wanted to hear as they begin another busy year in Australia, UK, and supporting Simple Plan once again this summer. I spoke with Reddick about their tour and future of the band, which you can find here. 

Right after Bowling For Soup, another trio was on fire, this time at the Right Field Stage. With an hour to play with, Eve 6 jumped throughout their famed discography. Rising to prominence in 1998 with their self-titled debut record, there was heavy representation from that outing with five songs played including “Inside Out”. Time traveling 26 years later, Eve 6 also played the song “Dream Fist” which shares the same name as the record it is on. Throughout the lively story of their career, they have continued to hold their own and produce catchy tunes. Eve 6 has three dates on the books so far for 2026, you can find tickets here. 

An unknown walking into this weekend was Switchfoot. These surfer dudes won me over with their swoopy hair and sprightly tunes. This is what festivals are all about, finding a new band and becoming a fan. The song that hooked me “Dark Horses“, and that was partially due to a touch of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” being tossed in. The San Diego natives didn’t shy away from a cover as the very next tune was The Beastie Boys “Sabatoge” blaring from bassist Tim Foreman, brother of frontman Jon Foreman. Switchfoot will hit the road this summer, with Fuel and Lit joining for select dates.

The Right Field Stage was closing out with a bang. The combination of Big Boi and Public Enemy was tantalizing to the point of believing either could have been the headliner for that day. Big Boi, who is one half of Outkast, did not shy away from his past with 10 of his 17 songs being callbacks to his days with André 3000. Although omitting their biggest hit, “Hey Ya!”, the classics like “B.O.B.” and “Ms. Jackson” got the crowd moving. Big Boi will be supporting Kid Cudi this summer on his “Rebel Rangers Tour“.

One of the most iconic rap duos of all time, Chuck D. and Flavor Flav did not fail as my anticipation for this performance was far from small. I had missed Public Enemy in 2024 at Riot Fest, and it began to haunt me as in my Music and Social Change class, we watched a documentary starring Chuck D. Not only was the salt already in the wound as “Copyright Criminals” was assigned viewing, but to hear that the professor assigning it was the executive producer hurt even more. My professor, Kembrew McLeod, helped make this documentary out of nothing, embarking on a journey highlighting the often unfair world of sampling in hip-hop. Chuck D was prominent and even played a slot on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in celebration of the documentary. All of this to say, Public Enemy’s bar was raised very high. The lights grew dim and then exploded as two men in matching tracksuits walked out, one with a boombox in hand. Not far behind them were tow para-military dressed men, dawned in a yellow and gray camo. The venerable Flavor Flav then appeared in a sparkly white tracksuit before introducing the crowd to “my partner in crime, my partner in rhyme, my partner in time, Chuck D”. This set did not stop, unless Public Enemy wanted to make their political standings clear, which they were not shy about. Chuck D attempted to play it a little more subtle with his distaste for the current administration while his other half spoke with more blunt remarks. The duo was not timorous or apprehensive, continuing to take shots at the Presidents involvement in the Epstein Files or his decision to remove a bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. out of the Oval Office. This was “a major disrespect” said Flavor Flav to the Arizona audience as he reminded them that The Grand Canyon State was the first to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday as a federal holiday. These statements did not come as a surprise to someone who has listened to Public Enemy’s songs, read any interviews and lyrics, or read the name of their group. Overall, an absolutely electric performance from the hip-hop veterans as I look forward to seeing them again sooner rather than later. The duo will be opening up for Guns N’ Roses for select dates on their North American Tour this summer.

To end the festival at Home Plate was Sublime and blink-182. February 22nd is a special day for Sublime, as it is Bradley Nowell’s birthday. The founding member of Sublime, and father to current singer Jakob, was just 28 at the time of his passing, with Jakob only 11 months old. As time continued to move, Jakob joined Sublime in 2023 to take over where his father left off. At Innings Festival, surrounded by two humungous inflatable “Lou Dog’s”, Jakob made sure his fathers legacy was not forgotten. A bombastic set celebrating the all too brief discography of the Long Beach band was a joy to hear in the warmth of the southwest. The set included a cover of “Scarlet Begonais” by The Grateful Dead, a cover that was originated by Bradley back in 1992. Sublime’s set felt like a celebration, and I was happy to be there for it. Sublime will be touring across Australia, Europe, and North America this year continuing the party. You can find tickets here.

This Must Be The Place was at Innings Festival, handing out free doses of Naloxone at their stand and around the festival. An incredibly important collaboration to supply people with the tools to avoid overdoses. They have given away hundreds of thousands of doses throughout their time at festivals, and it was really cool to see Innings Festival embrace and uplift this organization.

blink-182 closed down the festival with their self proclaimed “only gig of the year” for which they “only practiced twice for”. The ladder comment was amended to “one and a half times because Tom (DeLonge) wanted to beat traffic” said bassist Mark Hoppus. The San Diego pop punk pillars breezed through their 19 song set that included two plays of Travis Barker’s only lead vocal appearance “FUCK FACE”. An abrasive name, yes. An abrasive song, also yes. Quick and to the point, like much of blink-182’s discography. This set was a greatest hits collection that featured four tunes a piece from “Enema of the State”, “Untitled”, “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket”, and their most recent outing “ONE MORE TIME”. The rest of the set was made of a scattering of tracks from other records like “California’s” “Bored to Death” and blink’s first hit “Damnit”. A personal highlight of a blink show is hearing what Mark will sing during the bridge of the “Dude Ranch” single, and we got a new one with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” sung. I have heard “No Scrubs” by TLC, “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan and a variety of others but this bridge was on theme. blink will go into hibernation for the time being as we await what is next for The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show.

Bands don’t shy away from the baseball theming, really embracing the uniqueness of this festival. Congress, The Band sporting matching customized baseball jerseys, and even last year The Killers opened their headlining set with “Centerfield” by John Fogerty. The wide selection of artists, and the distinctive feeling the wraps around Tempe Beach Park make it a yearly pilgrimage for many. Innings Festival is not only a kick off to Spring Training, but festival season, as the gears begin to spin for 2026. I for one, am very excited for whats to come. Extra Innings Festival will be held in the same location this coming weekend as it focuses on country music. This is just the beginning. Stay tuned to KRUI for my interviews with Peach Pit, Deer Tick, and Eve 6 and tune into Downey’s Hour Monday Nights 9:00-11:00PM for your latest festival news!

All photos courtesy of Innings Festival.

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