By Rob McCune

Make no mistake, California-born Molly Tuttle has the Heartland in her heart and true Bluegrass-stained knees.

Nashville by way of Palo Alto, 33-year-old Tuttle brings a millennial modernity to an authentically twangy old-school Americana. In the way that Noah Kahan and others have been Pied Pipers of sorts leading new generations to folk, Molly might be the gateway drug for new Bluegrass. She would be just as at-home on stage with Taylor Swift as female Bluegrass icons Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris (with whom she has shared microphones before).

She fingerpicks and strums a guitar like “Mr. Guitar” Chet Atkins while belting out songs about her “grandpa Dooley’s Farm” and foregoing the more ladylike side-saddle horseback posture to ride “bowlegged like the boys.”

And in 2026, she has a mostly-female band that elevates her style and sound in every way – with Mair Meyer on mandolin and fiddle; and Vanessa McGowan on standup bass and bass guitar. On tour now, she also is backed by Karl Smakula on banjo.

A natural extension of this musical talent is Maggie Rose and her band, co-headlining on this tour. In fact, when the bands converged in the encore performance, it was as if a seamless supergroup had been activated.

But Maggie Rose is a phenomenal talent all her own. With a Maryland upbringing and southern soul, she is another Nashville implant who is shaking up the conventional country sound. Maggie, 38, balances between a spit-fire sass and wholesomeness that your mama would be proud of. She also blends modern country/pop with an unmistakable ’90s vibe, recalling singer-songstresses such as Reba and Dolly, with a voice as powerful as Whitney’s – all artists who are knowable on a first-name-only basis, in the way Maggie might herself one day be.

Even more remarkable, both Molly and Maggie have a not-so-easy-to-pull-off-these-days indiscriminate appeal. They welcome with warm, wide-open arms both the conventional and unconventional. They shuffle between the old and new sounds, while singing about acceptance, coming to the table together, and embracing the beauty of being different – and even “crooked” or what some might consider “odd.”

On a tour stop at The Kent Stage in Kent, Ohio, in front of a sold-out crowd and a live stream, the dichotomy was on display during Maggie’s set between her soulful ballad “What Are We Fighting For?” and a sit-down, acoustic cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make Me Love Me.” On the latter, Maggie dueted with M.P. Gannon as a stand-in for Vince Gill, with whom Rose has recorded that track – and Gannon nailed it, too, by the way.

On “Red Shoes,” the first single off her forthcoming fifth studio album, Rose on a glittering red electric guitar turns up the beat and heat with an infectious Shania-like pep; while “Gentle Man,” a song written for her young son, slumbering on the tour bus before the show even started, is a gentle, guiding and hopeful lullaby.

For her part, Molly Tuttle emerged in full, fiddle-and-banjo, foot-stomping twang with “Rosalee” and “The Highway Knows,” off latest (2025) fifth studio album and first solo album “So Long Miss Sunshine,” before delighting with a Bluegrass-tinged cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” that might just be my favorite version of that song ever. (And that’s saying a lot, coming from a diehard Counting Crows fan.)

Tuttle’s set also pulled generously from her albums with her former band Golden Highway, with storybook-inspired and storytelling-heightened tracks like “Alice in the Bluegrass” and “Where Did All the Wild Things Go?”

In her Dylan-esque throw-down on “Dooley’s Farm,” which she recorded with country guitar virtuoso Billy Strings, she interjected a verse from Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Ohio” – appropriate for both the setting (a stone’s throw from where Kent State protesters were shot in 1970, inspiring the song) and the moment we’re in. Many musicians, from Dave Matthews to Soul Asylum on this same stage weeks before, have felt compelled to reference “Ohio” in live shows to cast light on government-sanctioned murder of protesters in Minneapolis.

Molly’s “Crooked Tree,” the title track of her 2022 album, feels immensely personal – she talks about her compulsion to play it all over the world, and her fan club goes by the moniker “Crooked Trees.” In it, she espouses the virtues of “not fitting into the mill machine” by growing and stretching and thriving in all your own weird, wild, wonderful ways.

Her “regular” set concluded with what’s bound to be another signature song off the new album, “Old Me (New Wig),” during which Molly pauses mid-chorus to triumphantly remove her wig and toss it high and away, revealing her au natural bald head (a trait she proudly and beautifully displays, in part to raise awareness of alopecia, which she was diagnosed with at age three).

For a two-song encore, Tuttle stayed sans-wig and brought out Maggie Rose first for a rousing rendition of The Rolling Stones’ “She’s a Rainbow,” which is about as apt a description of both of these women as there could be. Their colors were everywhere for the duration of the evening performance, and especially during the celebratory “Up On Cripple Creek,” covering The Band, which closed out the show.

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By Rob McCune

Sludge metal pioneers Acid Bath, who melted faces for most of the 1990s before taking a nearly 30-year break, are touring again and gathering a truly menacing menagerie of metalheads to mark the occasion.

For the band’s much-anticipated return to Cleveland, the devils in the details included Akron-based Radian (set to release their third album this summer), Nunslaughter (formed in 1987 with another new album on the way in June), Cleveland-founded Midnight (who dropped a record last year) and Amigo the Devil, a “murderfolk” singer/songwriter.

Radian started the night out blazing, with lead vocalist Corey Staley storming the stage in a Detroit Redwings jersey and hockey goalie mask. The mask came off quick – flung into the audience as a lucky souvenir – and the jersey soon after in an energetic, riotous performance to get the blood pumping.

Next, Nunslaughter played a set awash in blood red light, framed by two upside-down crosses as if desanctifying the stage. Founding member and lead vocalist Don of the Dead wielded, like a bludgeoning weapon, a mic stand of metal chain sturdy enough to bind the devil himself as he thrashed along with Jim Sadist on guitar, Vince Verrett on bass and Dale Flood on drums.

Strategically center in the lineup, Amigo the Devil provided a bit of a breather, appearing under a spotlight solo with a banjo and a smirk. He entreated the crowd to bear with him a minute, before passing judgement, and then launched into a medley of dark, murderous folk music. Not everyone in the audience was unfamiliar, as on a few of the songs, most notably the single “Hell and You” off his first album, stirred a singalong.

The masked ninjas of Midnight then cranked the volume back up to ear-bleed levels. Founder and lead singer Athenar led the charge on guitar-gutting tracks including “Satanic Royalty,” “Necromania” and, for the hometown fans, “Cleveland Metal,” which ended the set with a smashed guitar – the bones of which were tossed out as manic mementos.

Headliners Acid Bath emerged in a acid-green fog to close out the night with 10 tracks off their two studio albums, starting with “Tranquilized” and ending with “Dr. Seuss Is Dead.”

Metal as ever and with more sludge to spread, Acid Bath is continuing its tour this summer in Europe.

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Life’s Rich Pageant Tour

Opener: Bobcat Goldthwait

By Rob McCune

Michael Shannon doesn’t look like Michael Stipe.

For one thing, Shannon – the actor known for playing the parts of imposing men who seemingly could level a city block with a hard stare and crater the Earth with an outburst – is six inches taller than the former REM frontman.

Still, at 6-foot-3, when the music takes him, Shannon moves like Stipe, and with Jason Narducy & Friends (Dag Juhlin, John Stirratt, Vijay Tellis-Nayak and Jon Wurster) backing him up, it can be easy to forget you’re not at an REM show.

Having previously toured to play in full REM’s “Murmur” and “Fables of the Reconstruction” albums in their 40th years, Shannon, Narducy & Friends hit the road to throw a similar birthday party for the 1986 album “Life’s Rich Pageant.”

The spectacle toured for 22 shows this year, starting in Denver in mid-February and ending in Bloomington, Indiana, in mid-March. The crowd at Brooklyn’s The Bowery got a special treat with a surprise appearance by Stipe, who sang two songs – “These Days” (“Life’s Rich Pageant”) and “The Great Beyond” (“Man on the Moon” soundtrack).

The tour was also enlivened by the presence of comedian and filmmaker Bobcat Goldthwait, who performed a 30-minute standup routine that left more people in stitches than an entire season of “The Pitt.”

At the Cleveland stop, March 10 at Globe Iron, the band played for two hours, playing two sets and 30 REM songs.

The first 12-song set covered “Life’s Rich Pageant” in full, in tracklist order – including “Cuyahoga,” a song about Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River, just steps from the venue. Shannon, Narducy & Friends left the stage for a few minutes – bathroom breaks, and in Shannon’s words, to give the album its own moment.

The next 12-song set covered a variety of REM hits and B-sides, from “Lotus” to “Burning Down.” Still not done, the show featured a six-song encore, starting with a stripped-down “Nightswimming,” and ending with “Radio Free Europe” and “Star 69.”

Following the 40th anniversary trend, next up for the band will be REM’s 1987 album “Document,” which includes such iconic tracks as “The One I Love” and “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine).”

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They Might Be Giants’ John Flasnburgh and John Linnell brought dorky dad energy, in the best sense, to Cleveland’s The Agora for a “Black Friday” special the week before Thanksgiving, serving up a feast of more than 30 songs in a two-set show.

And because even that was not enough, the Giants did it again across town at the Globe Iron the very next night.

Two concerts, four sets, 60 songs, including six songs in four encores.
Numbers to make your head spin and your feet tap.

The band with 23 studio albums, five of them children’s music including “Here Come the 123s,” could write a song about it, and it would very likely be a smash hit.
That’s because TMBG fans know exactly what they are getting and want, and yet, a TMBG concert is also full of surprises.

They Might Be Giants have sold more than 4 million albums in the 40+ years since forming, starting as a college radio sensation and then honing a style of alt-rock that is remarkably unique in how it appeals to nerds of all ages.

Face it, we’re all nerds for something. And TMBG are nerds for everyone and everything – from prehistoric to futuristic.

The Cleveland shows featured not just the backing band of Dan Miller on guitar, Danny Weinkauf on bass, and Marty Beller on drums, but also a trio on horns (sax, trumpet and trombone).

The Johns, jubilantly chatty as usual, showing off a friendship that dates back to their teen years, bantered between songs and generally had a blast engaging with the audience.

The crowd also had an unmistakenly uproarious evening, singing along and at one point fully illuminating the venue with their swaying cellphone flashlights, from balcony to front row. At the Agora show, a group of fans got a real treat as guitarist Miller popped into one of the opera boxes, followed by the spotlight, for a solo.

At the Agora show, TMBG highlighted their fifth album, “John Henry,” in the first set, with eight songs including “Dirt Bike” and “Snail Shell,” while at Globe Iron, on night two of this Cleveland tour stop, the first set emphasized album number 4, “Apollo 18,” with 10 tracks including “Dinner Bell” and “The Guitar.”

Other songs met with exuberance from the fans each night included tracks off the third and best-selling album, the platinum “Flood,” with “Birdhouse in Your Soul,” “Particle Man,” and “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” the latter of which got considerable buzz among a young audience when animated for Warner Brothers’ “Tiny Toon Adventures.”

They might be giants, and they might be in their 60s, but they haven’t grown up and, thankfully, aren’t likely to.

Rob McCune is Every_Thing_After_Photo on Instagram, where he shares his concert photography and reviews, as well as clips from his “Every.Thing.After” podcast, with interviews with musicians and bands.

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I got there at doors, and the security guards even made jokes about how “early” I was, they said that AVATAR was not hitting the stage till 9:30p, and I smiled and said: “I know. The thing is, I love to get to the venues early! I never miss the openers. You never know who is going to go intergalactic! I mean, at one point, Metallica was an opener, they were a local garage band! I want to give the openers the same love I give the headliner!” They were blown away, and thanked me for having that mindset.

It was time to start the show, SpiritWorld kicked things off, and they were a hell of a way to start. SpiritWorld’s formed in Las Vegas in 2017, calling their sound “death-western” — that mix of thrash and death metal, but filtered through cowboy imagery. The current lineup: Stu Folsom on vocals, Randy Moore on lead guitar, Matt Schrum on rhythm guitar, Nick Brundy on bass, and Preston Harper behind the drums. According to Wikipedia, their stage presence leans into that Western horror motif — think rhinestone suits, wide-brim hats, and moral desolation. Their recent album, Helldorado (2025), brought that vision into full focus, and live, they channeled it with ferocity.

The crowd responded fiercely. SpiritWorld’s riffs twisted like tumbleweed in a storm. Stu Folsom roared like a gunslinger possessed, and the rhythm section held the mayhem tight. Their shorter opening set didn’t feel like an appetizer at the saloon, it felt like I had just slammed a triple shot of whiskey straight to the gut. Their songs like “Waiting on the Reaper” and “Relic of Damnation” landed with real weight. By the time they stepped off stage, they’d left the room ready for the mayhem to come. On a side note, one of my friends who was supposed to attend but could not, messaged me while I was at the show to ask how it was going and I told them that SpiritWorld was the most bipolar stage presence that I have ever seen! These thrash artists came out looking like a 70’s Bluegrass band from hell… I absolutely approved!

Next up was Alien Weaponry, and before I talk about their performance, I have to say that I had no idea who they were, where they were from, and what they were about… so I see the drummer come out, get behind his kit, and started to do the haka. Not knowing they were from New Zealand, I felt that to be a tad inappropriate considering the haka is a ceremonial dance performed to express pride, unity, welcome, or a challenge. Again, not knowing anything about these guys, I assumed that it was some guy who saw this and thought that it was cool… I was WRONG! I am happy to admit this! Moving on…

These guys came out, started to tear up the stage and their set carried a different kind of fire. Hailing from Waipu, New Zealand, this trio has a unique voice in metal: brothers Henry de Jong (drums) and Lewis de Jong (guitar, vocals), and Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds (bass, backing vocals). What I found on Wikipedia, they blend groove and thrash metal with lyrics in te reo Māori, drawing on their heritage to fuel both message and melody.

They launched into a set that felt both urgent and deeply rooted. Their newer material from Te Rā (2025) brought dense riffs, tribal rhythms, and raw emotion. When Lewis sang in Māori, it wasn’t a novelty — it felt like a reclamation. And Henry’s drumming carried a pulse that was both pummeling and respectful, like he was grounding ancient stories in brutal metal. Morgan-Edmonds anchored them with solid bass and backing vocals that gave depth to their anthemic energy.

The audience was fully engaged. There were nods, fists in the air, and a raw connection when Alien Weaponry played tracks that spoke of land, history, and struggle. By the end of their set, they’d built a bridge between their culture and the pit, and you could feel people crossing over.

It was time for the one, the only, AVATAR! the headliner, and they absolutely destroyed my expectations, yet again! This is the third time I have photographed them, and the fourth time I have seen them live. What I have learned about these guys is that you cannot expect what they have in store for you! Their sound, their theatrics, and their overall presence is unmatched! Last night, I knew going in that I was going to entertained, but they did not only exceed my expectations they destroyed them!

For over two decades, this Swedish band has carved its own path in the metal world. Current members: Johannes Eckerström (vocals, brass, keys), Jonas “Kungen” Jarlsby (guitar), Tim Öhrström (guitar, backing vocals), Henrik Sandelin (bass, backing vocals), and John Alfredsson (drums). Since forming in 2001 in Mölndal (originally under the name Lost Soul), they’ve grown into a theatrical force, mixing melodic death metal, alternative metal, groove and macabre showmanship.

I went into the show thinking that it would be similar to the last couple of times I saw them, and I could not have been more wrong! I have never seen a modular stage setup before! From start to finish, there was at least 10x-15x changes of the stage and such. From the very opening of the show, the band was wheeled around, transitioning from different places on the stage, outfit changes, and such! I want to say more, but at the same time I do not want to be one of those who spoils the show! I can honestly say that this was in the top five of my favorite shows I have ever seen in my life!

To say that their performance was cinematic would be selling it drastically short. The stage was wreathed in blue fog, and the band rolled out on a platform from the back of the stage, cloaked in capes. Johannes stepped forward, lantern in hand, he looked a bit like a preacher calling his congregation to the altar of metal for the evening mass. From there, they began their set with “Captain Goat” with thunderous conviction. The dual guitars of Jarlsby and Öhrström carved sharp, almost swing-like riffs across the stage, while Sandelin’s bass gave depth and Alfredsson’s drums underscored every twist like a heartbeat.

What stood out was the balance: moments of brutality followed by surprising softness. At one point Johannes sat at a piano, keys glowing, and played a more intimate passage. Johannes was wearing a “new jacket” a spike and studded leather jacket as he played “Tower”. He joked with the audience about his affections for this new jacket, and said that it would be a shame to only wear it for the one song, he then played another song, I think it was “Glory to Our King”. This melodic intermission broke the tension just long enough for the next wave to crash in. They closed the night with an encore that included “Dance Devil Dance,” “Smells Like a Freakshow,” sending the crowd into a frenzy. They could not have wrapped the evening any better, their final song of the night was “Hail the Apocalypse”! That is the first song I heard from them and remains one of my favorite songs to this day!

When it is all said and done, the show was more than a concert, it felt like a journey. SpiritWorld brought the desert grit, Alien Weaponry brought cultural fire and purpose, and Avatar tied it all together with spectacle and heart and soul. For a metalhead like me, someone who lives for the grind, the groove, the theatrical, it was a night that will live rent free in my mind for many, many years!

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November 08, 2025

Liars Club

Chicago, IL

Bobby Snappz

When Frank Meyer stepped onto the stage at The Liar, the room didn’t just get louder—the
energy shifted. Suddenly, every conversation stopped, every head turned, and every
person in the crowd knew they were about to witness something real. Meyer isn’t just
promoting a debut solo album; he’s unleashing Living Between the Lines with the
confidence and fire of an artist who has finally arrived at the moment he was born for.
From the first chord, Meyer commanded the stage with the raw magnetism only true
performers possess. His voice carried not just melody, but truth stories carved from late
nights, hard work, and unwavering passion for the craft. Each song hit with the force of
someone who has lived in every line he sings. The audience at The Liar didn’t just listen;
they learned in, they felt it, they believed him.

His West Coast tour has quickly become more than a series of shows—it’s a groundswell.
City after city, fans walk out buzzing with the feeling that they’ve seen an artist on the rise,
someone whose authenticity cuts through the noise of the modern music scene. Meyer
brings the grit of a veteran, the heart of a storyteller, and the hunger of a debut artist ready
to claim his space.
What makes Frank Meyer’s spotlight feel so right is not just his talent, but his character.
He’s a genuinely good person humble, hardworking, and devoted to the people who’ve
supported him. Artists like that don’t come around often. And when they do, the world
should pay attention.
Living Between the Lines isn’t just a debut album. It’s a declaration.
And this tour? It’s Frank Meyer’s moment long earned, well deserved, and impossible to
ignore.

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November 08, 2025

Iron Saddle Ranch

Salem, IL

By Conrad Tannhauser

Salem, Illinois isn’t exactly the place you expect to find a barn‑burner of a show, but last weekend the Iron Saddle Ranch turned into ground zero for country singer Marry Kutter’s high‑octane throwdown.

The trip down felt like stepping into a Norman Rockwell painting—front porches, rocking chairs, and locals like Tony pointing the way with small‑town hospitality. But once inside the Ranch, the vibe shifted from cozy Americana to full‑blown honky‑tonk spectacle. Saddles, boots, and a sign over the dining hall that barked “Raised here, served here” set the stage for something raw and unapologetically Southern.

Backstage Confessions

Before the amps lit up, I ducked into a trailer with Kutter herself. She laughed about singing to her cat during piano lessons, a secret her teacher Ms. Janie turned into destiny. From church pews to 4H fairs, she built her voice brick by brick before heading to Nashville. There, she wrote for others until one stubborn track—Lab Coat—finally broke through after being shot down again and again. Forty‑five minutes later, the song was born, and so was her defiance.

The Show Ignites

When the lights dropped, the band ripped into Gasoline and Trouble. Forget polite clapping—this was a mosh pit in cowboy boots. Kutter spun across the stage, hair flying, rhinestones flashing, while guitarists Myles Priest and Zan Frett went full duel mode, trading licks like it was Madison Square Garden. Greg Allen’s drum solo detonated the crowd into chaos.

Kutter didn’t just sing—she invaded. Sitting on the stage steps, wandering into the audience, she blurred the line between performer and fan. When she hit Hell’s Angel—a track she once unleashed at Sturgis opening for Hank Jr.—she smirked at a question about “bad boys.” Her reply? “A little spice is always a good thing.” Tabloid gold.

Controversy and Catharsis

Later came Lab Coat, the lightning‑rod anthem that big pharma would rather bury. Twice yanked off platforms, twice resurrected. Kutter shrugged it off with the kind of grit that makes headlines. She closed with Devil’s Money, the track that launched her career, and reminded fans not to fall for online scammers pretending to be her. “Keep your money,” she warned. “It’s not me.”

Verdict

Marry Kutter isn’t just another Nashville hopeful—she’s a Southern storm with rock‑star stamina, running five miles before breakfast and burning it all off on stage by night. If you missed Salem, you missed a revival.

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In the ’90s, singer-songwriters Lisa Loeb and Joan Osborne crossed paths living and performing in NYC and on the concert circuit on such era-defining stages as Lilith Fair.

Now, the two are touring together for the first time, marking the 30th anniversary of their first studio albums: Lisa Loebs’ “Tails” and Joan Osborne’s “Relish, both released in 1995.

This tour isn’t like the last time Lisa and Joan were on the same ticket, in August of 1998 on Lilith Fair stops at stadiums and arenas. It’s a much more intimate affair, at performing arts centers on college campuses and smaller music halls in largely secondary cities, with dedicated fans who shout out requests for the lesser-known songs and casual fans who can still sing along to the hits.

These settings, like at The University of Akron’s EJ Thomas Hall, the third stop on this tour, lend a cozy, conversational atmosphere to the performances, which are presented more as a two-act play with a brief intermission than a typical opener-headline format.

Act one features Loeb with her signature cat-eye glasses, youthful charm, and an acoustic guitar.
Loeb, who DJs on SiriusXM station 90s on 9, interspersed song selections from “Tails” and others across her 15 studio albums since 1995 with storytelling and cute quips about fashion and tech mostly left in the past: Cassettes and VHS and brads (the pointy brass fasteners that used to bind movie scripts).

For its storytelling and intimacy, the show feels a lot like another staple of the 1990s: “VH1 Storytellers.”

Loeb’s “behind the music” stories included a roller-coaster of an experience writing a song for the 1996 movie “One Fine Day,” starring George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer, which (spoiler alert) ultimately didn’t get into the movie – though director Michael Hoffman years later told her that song, “Truthfully,” was his favorite of hers. The song did make Loeb’s second studio album, “Firecracker,” released in 1997, and she performed it for a crowd who, she said, could imagine it’s about anyone—not just Clooney or Pfeiffer—who fell in love “accidentally.”

Of course, she also performed her breakout hit, “Stay,” released on “Tails” as well as the soundtrack for the 1994 movie “Reality Bites,” which starred her NYC neighbor Ethan Hawke, who directed the music video for the song. She spoke with gratitude and a bit of incredulity about the staying power of “Stay,” including a tongue-in-cheek interpretation by comedian Craig Robinson in “Hot Tub Time Machine 2,” in which she herself makes a cameo.

Opening her set to audience requests, Loeb also performed the hit single “I Do” and the lesser-known “Jake,” off the “Firecracker” record, as well as a song off one of her six children’s albums, “The Disappointing Pancake” (“Camp Lisa,” 2008).

For act two, Osborne, dressed all in white, is backed up by Will Bryant on keys and Jack Petruzzelli on guitar, while playing her own acoustic guitar and even percussion on some songs.

Bringing her soulful blues and folk style of rock, Osborne stunned with her powerful vocals, sometimes deliberately strained for effect, such as on “Help Me,” a true blue cover of Sonny Boy Williamson.

She told stories of smoky blues joints like BB Kings’ in NYC, where she absorbed by osmosis the style of the greats. She talked about how she came to collaborate, literally face to face on a shared microphone, with Bob Dylan after he heard her interpretation of “Man in the Long Black Coat” on her first album. She has since recorded a full album, “Songs of Bob Dylan,” and toured with a show called “Dylanology” that is also a live album out this year, on which she collaborated with artists Amy Helm, Jackie Greene and Robert Randolph.

One of the most intimate parts of her set was her song “Nobody Owns You,” which she wrote for her daughter and is the title track on a 2023 album.

Closing with a reflectively soulful and almost somber rendition of “One of Us,” her breakthrough radio hit off “Relish,” she expressed gratitude for the faithful fans who have allowed her to make music a career and a life for 30 years.
We can only hope that both of these incredible singer-songwriters continue to make music for another 30 years.

Rob McCune is Every_Thing_After_Photo on Instagram, where he shares his concert photography and reviews, as well as clips from his “Every.Thing.After” podcast, with interviews with musicians and bands.

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Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom

Chicago, Il

October 31, 2025

Bobby Snappz

On Halloween night, October 31, 2025, the historic Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom in
Chicago transformed into a temple of sound and energy for Gods of Chaos an explosive
fusion of hip-hop and hardcore that lived up to its name. Beneath the Aragon’s ornate, star
lit ceiling, thousands of fans gathered for a night that celebrated chaos, rhythm, and raw
power.
The night kicked off with a blistering solo set from Memphis legend Project Pat who brought
Southern swagger and streetwise storytelling to the stage. Backed by thunderous basslines
and an amped-up crowd, Pat performed a string of his biggest hits, including underground
anthems that helped define the Memphis rap movement. His commanding presence and
effortless flow proved why his influence continues to echo through generations of hip-hop
artists.

But the real eruption came when Three Six Mafia took over as the headliners. Juicy J and DJ
Paul led the crowd through a high-octane journey of crunk, horrorcore, and timeless party
anthems. Tracks like “Tear da Club Up ’97,” “Stay Fly,” and “Slob on My Knob” turned the
ballroom into a full-blown riot of lights, smoke, and bass. The duo’s chemistry, paired with
booming 808s and visuals drenched in red and black, captured the perfect Halloween
chaos that fans came to experience.
With moshing rap fans colliding with metalheads and ravers, Gods of Chaos blurred genre
lines in the best possible way. The Aragon’s massive sound system and gothic-meets
Moorish architecture only amplified the spectacle, turning Chicago’s Uptown into ground
zero for one of the wildest nights of the year.
When the final beat dropped, it was clear: Gods of Chaos wasn’t just a concert it was an
unforgettable celebration of rebellion, rhythm, and the enduring power of Three 6 Mafia

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Oct. 27, 2025

Edmonton Expo Centre Arena

Canada

by Megan Veldhuis

The Beaches returned to Edmonton with a vengeance on Monday night, lighting up the Edmonton Expo Centre Arena as part of their No Hard Feelings tour. Fresh off the late-August release of their latest album, the band delivered a set that was equal parts electric and emotional, showcasing a celebration of summer, queer love, and messy heartbreak.

Opening the night was fellow Toronto-based band Valley, who wasted no time energizing the crowd with their infectious alt-pop sound. Guitarist/pianist Alex sported a Blue Jays jersey, a nod to the team’s World Series run and a subtle hometown flex that didn’t go unnoticed by the Canadian crowd.

When The Beaches finally hit the stage, they did so with explosive energy, launching into their hit single “Last Girl At The Party.” The production was a major step up from their last Edmonton stop at Midway during the Blame My Ex tour. This time, the band commanded a much larger stage, complete with a dazzling light show that pulsed with every beat. They even reminisced about their previous visit, which coincided with the Oilers facing off in Game 6 of the playoffs, drawing cheers from the sports fans in the crowd.

One of the night’s most touching moments came when guitarist Leandra Earl introduced their next song, “Lesbian of the Year”, explaining how she wrote it about coming out later in life. She took to the piano alongside lead vocalist Jordan Miller, and together they delivered an emotional rendition of “Lesbian of the Year” that had the entire arena swaying.

The set also featured a special Canadian-exclusive mashup (nicknamed “Meg Moon Melody,” a tribute to the band’s photographer on her birthday) and a thank-you to the fans who’ve supported them from the start. The Beaches closed the night with their viral anthem “Blame Brett,” during which Jordan experienced a brief wardrobe malfunction. But in true rockstar fashion, she handled it with grace and humor. She never missed a lyric and never broke her stride, and the guitarist and bassist shared an entertaining dance to avert attention. It was a moment that perfectly captured the band’s charisma, professionalism, and unshakable stage presence.

From start to finish, The Beaches proved why they’re one of Canada’s most exciting live acts. If No Hard Feelings is the soundtrack to a summer of love and chaos, their live show is the afterparty you never want to leave.

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