UK-based music festival Bearded Theory has announced its first wave of artists for 2025. Iggy Pop, Manic Street Preachers, The Sisters of Mercy, Leftfield, Yard Act, The Mary Wallopers, Nova Twins, Fat Dog, Ash, CMAT, Throwing Muses, Divorce, The Selecter, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, The Lovely Eggs, Asian Dub Foundation, Shonen Knife, Bess Atwell, Beans on Toast, Stwerart Lee, Lime Garden, Dream State, Girlband!, Molotov Jukebox, Angeline Morrison, Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Trupa Trupa, Miki Berenyl Trio, Getdown Services, The Deep Blue, None, Gaz Brookfield and the Company of Thieves, Audioweb, CLT DRP, Bentley Rhythm Ace, Popes of Chillitown, Castle Rat, Merry Hell, 3 Daft Monkeys, Slaney Bay, Slay Duggee, Jess Silk Trio, Dakka Skanks, Midnight Rodeo, The Brady Theieves, and The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican will be playing the festival. Bearded Theory takes place on May 21-25, 2025 at Catton Park in Derbyshire.
The Abruptors have released a new song called “Such A Mess”. The song is off their upcoming album Everything You Know is Wrong which will be out later this year on Asian Man Records. The Abruptors released their album Noticeably Cheerless in 2023. Check out the song below.
A Constant Knowledge of Death have released their retrospective album called Appendix I: Revisions and Annotations. The album features re-recorded, remixed, reimagined, and live tracks from each of the band’s first seven albums along with remixes of songs from Aki McCullough's solo project ameokama and James Goldmann's solo project Blade of Marrow. It was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Aki and James at Nu House Studios. A Constant Knowledge of Death will be touring the US and Toronto starting next week. Check out the album below.
Tripper have released a video for their song “Addicted”. The video was created by Ant Martinez. The song is off their EP Faceless which was released earlier this month. Check out the video below.
Cincinnati, Ohio’s The Dopamines have recorded their first album in seven years, 80/20. The record’s thirteen songs are an assault of melodic riffs and catchy lyrics presented in a way that’s musically fun for a record with some serious subject matter. The album opens with “Wedge,” “For Heaven’s Sake Pt. 2,” and “The Doctor.” There […]
Cincinnati, Ohio’s The Dopamines have recorded their first album in seven years, 80/20. The record’s thirteen songs are an assault of melodic riffs and catchy lyrics presented in a way that’s musically fun for a record with some serious subject matter.
The album opens with “Wedge,” “For Heaven’s Sake Pt. 2,” and “The Doctor.” There is so much energy between these songs. “For Heaven’s Sake Pt. 2” and “The Doctor” do this interesting thing where they both end on the same riff. The melodic riff at the end of “The Doctor” gives the album a chance to decompress a bit, but not too much. 80/20 never has a dull moment. After this barrage of tracks, “Tamper Resistant,” “State of Being,” and “The Other Room” keep us going. There are some great sequences of letting the bass and drums shine and then slowly bringing everyone back into the fold.
One of the best parts about this album is how surgical the placement of the vocals is. Giving the backup vocals more to do than whoas and yeahs may take a cue from some of those early Descendents records, but the precision and randomness weaved with both Jon Lewis and Jon Weiner’s lead vocals are impressive. The calls and answers in sync with the starts and stops of the music would sound too polished if it was filtered through a different band.
Bassist Jon Weiner left the band back in June after finding God and getting sober with the help of his friends and family. This was definitely on the mind of the band while putting together this album. This sort of over arching theme kind of gives this a feeling of being a concept album. It’s a different type of group therapy.
The under-a-minute “Jon Goes To Camp” feels like a song about group therapy. “Parasite Lost’s” lyrics get heavy, talking about the fear of taking meds to help with depression, and end with the repeating lines, “Take two, swallow, you’ll be empty tomorrow / Take two, swallow, you’ll be happy tomorrow.” In “Groundhog Day Parade,” the lyrics explore the thoughts of not reaching out for help: “It’s on the tip of my tongue / Feel the memory losing grip / The corpses trying to hang on / I’m reaching out with a phantom limb.” Being either the person in recovery or someone who is helping the person navigate the feelings of anxiety or depression as a result can be hard. There’s comfort in lyrics and songs like this to validate that all of the feelings are okay.
The album was recorded in 2023 by Grammy Award-winning producer Chris Dugan, who has previously worked with several projects ranging from smaller bands like The Phenomenauts and The Swinging Utters to bigger bands like Green Day and Weezer. The results are fantastic. While 80/20 is a nice send-off for Jon Weiner, it’s a shame he won’t tour on it. This album truly is something to be proud of on many levels. This was my first full Dopamines album, and I’m kicking myself for not listening to more than a song here or there. Don’t let this album pass you by. 80/20 is due out October 18th on Rad Girlfriend Records.
<p>We here at Vanyaland always boast about bringing the news of “Boston and beyond,” which admittedly covers a lot of territory. Well, La Luz take that a few steps further, delivering News of the Universe to the masses this spring via Sub Pop. The Seattle band led by Shana Cleveland delivered a sterling new album back in May, its title and credo adapted from science fiction author Octavia E. Butler, and now take it out on the road for a fall tour that arrives tonight (October […]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://vanyaland.com/2024/10/10/this-show-is-tonight-la-luz-bring-their-strange-world-to-allston/">This Show Is Tonight: La Luz bring their ‘Strange World’ to Allston</a> appeared first on <a href="https://vanyaland.com">Vanyaland</a>.</p>
Day 1 of Riot Fest 2024 kicked off on a hot Friday morning. Festival organizers announced a few months back that the annual weekend Chicago event would be moved to the nearby suburbs. That caused a bit of a kerfluffle, with some applauding the move, and some vehemently opposed to it, often depending on where […]
Day 1 of Riot Fest 2024 kicked off on a hot Friday morning. Festival organizers announced a few months back that the annual weekend Chicago event would be moved to the nearby suburbs. That caused a bit of a kerfluffle, with some applauding the move, and some vehemently opposed to it, often depending on where those reacting lived. But in the end, the festival once again took place at Chicago’s Douglass Park.
While change-ups and new offerings are an annual occurrence, this year, there were more than in past years. This included the renaming of some stages, as well as the change of location for at least one. The carnival rides were still on-site, as were the wrestling ring, skate ramp, and Wedding Chapel. That last feature was, this year, in an enclosed Church like structure (offering softer, better lighting for photographers) in a new area called Riot Land. In Riot Land, attendees were treated to, among other things, a version of Logan Arcade, a Riot Fest history museum built into an homage to the iconic Fireside Bowl and a convenience store. There was also the Strip-o-Rama and Helzapoppin’. Though this may seem a lot, I am sure I have missed a thing or two during my time on the event grounds. Aslas, hooting from the photo pits again this year kept me away from partaking in many of the aforementioned sites. Perhaps next year, when my fellow Dying Scene Team Chicago member Mary Sunde is in the photo pits again and I am documenting the “Characters of Riot Fest.
.Riot Fest also served as the Chicago send-off for NOFX, now on its Farewell Tour. The band headlined all three nights of the festival. I was there for its Night 1 set, which took place on the stage named in its honor, NOFX World Stage. The band came onto the stage doing the Time Warp from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Mike “Fat Mike” Burkett spent a few minutes joking with the massive crowd on the grounds and a significant number of fellow musicians flanking the band just off the performance area of the stage. Finally, the band kicked off a generously long set, which included “Backstage Passport,” “Don’t Call Me White,” “Franco Un-American,” “Idiots Are Taking Over,” “Timmy the Turtle,” “Linoleum,” and “Six Pack Girls.” It was a raucous set, demonstrating that NOFX is still able to bring the energy.
Of course, Burkett kept the jokes going throughout the set, telling Chicago “you’re the biggest city in Illinois.” Poking fun at the crowd members he told them they looked old and that fellow headliners Fall Out Boy were probably telling the crowd they looked young, throwing sly shade to FOB’s lead singer. That was followed by provocative references to Israel and God (Burkett has been described as a Jewish Atheist) prompting Eric Melvin to interject with, “That reminds me of the next song we should be starting right now.” Burkett assured his bandmates that “…I can’t get canceled again, it’s only six more shows,” adding that “whatever I say on my fucking golf course I can’t get in trouble for,” to which Melvin replied, “Look, in like ten years you’re going to care, I swear.”
All par for the course for a NOFX set and one the fans relished. It was also obviously emotional for more than a few of its most ardent fans, many of whom were seeing their beloved group for the final time. If providing closure to its fans was in order, NOFX served it up marvelously and gave them a particularly lasting memory among years of lasting memories.
As is always the case, there are conflicting sets, and choices need to be made. Shooting The Warning was one of the best decisions of the weekend. It’s a propulsive sister-punk act out of Monterrey, Mexico. You might say that the family that plays together stays together (and slays its performance together as well). Blasting through the set, The Warning introduced itself to the Riot Fest crowd in an explosive way, and the crowd loved it. Spotted just beyond the barricade, a fan was swelling with pride as he waved a large Mexican flag during a set which included “S!ck,” “Qué Más Quieres,” “Six Feet Deep,” “Hell You Call A Dream,” and “Automatic Sun.”. The only warning I can give about this band is you may regret missing your chance to catch this band.
New Found Glory made Riot Fest a stop on its “Catalyst 20 Years Later Tour.” The Riot Fest performance was listed as a non-Catalyst setlist. Of course, the band still roared through some of the album’s tracks including “Downhill From Here,” “Truth Of My Youth,” and “Failure’s Not Flattering.” NFG also treated the crowd to “Something I Call Personality,” and “Head On Collision,” from Sticks and Stones. There was a celebratory feeling both on stage and in the crowd. Two decades later, NFG continues to go places, downhill not being one of them. New Found Glory resumes its tour, with special guest Sincere Engineer, on October 11, 2024, in Dallas, Texas.
One of the first bands to kick off Riot Fest weekend delivered a wallop. Winona Fighter, out of Nashville, TN, whipped through a high energy and fun set which included “Hamms In A Glass,” “I Think You Should Leave,” “I’m In the Market To Please None,” and “You Look Like A Drunk Phoebe Bridgers.”
Post-RF, the band is scheduled to play Aftershock in Sacramento, CA on October 11, 2024, and Ceremony Festival in Nashville, TN on December 14, 2024.
Three members of The Descendents, ALL sans Milo Aukerman (yeah, I had to), pulled double duty during Riot Fest 2024 weekend: Stephen Egerton, Karl Alvarez, and Bill Stevenson, with Chad Price on lead vocals. Riot Fest veterans, The Circle Jerks, The Exploited, and The Lawrence Arms, were back and very welcome, delivering terrific performances.
Great music and strong performances on the first day of Riot Fest made roasting under the sun a bit more bearable than it might otherwise have been.
Be on the lookout for my Day 2 and Day 3 coverage as well as the take from my fellow Dying Scene Team Chicago member Mary Sunde. You can also head to our IG thread to see more shots from Day One!
Episode #669 of the Punknews Podcast is now up! In this episode Em and John talk about the rumours around Hopeless being in talks to buy Fat Wreck Chords, Tetchy’s video for “Mommy”, Green Day releasing songs from Dookie on Teddy Ruxpins, Big Mouth Basses, and floppy disks, Scowl’s new song “Special”, and the underwhelming Record Store Day Black Friday list. Listen to the episode below!
We are excited to announce that we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Los Angeles-based shoegaze band Julie in Toronto, Ontario!! The show will take place on October 18 at the Concert Hall and is all ages. Julie will be joined by They are Gutting a Body of Water and Her New Knife. If you want to be our lucky winner, send an email to podcast@punknews.org telling us your favourite song from my anti-aircraft friend and why you want to go. To be eligible, you MUST live in Toronto or the Greater Toronto Area. The winner will be randomly chosen and contacted on October 16. Good luck!
METZ have announced that they will be taking an “indefinite hiatus” following their upcoming tour of the Europe and the UK which starts in November. The band announced this in an Instagram post which reads, ”Our upcoming EU/UK Tour will be our last. We’ve collectively decided to close this chapter of METZ. The band will be on “indefinite hiatus” while we take time to focus on other endeavours and enjoy more time at home with our families. For the last 15+ years, we’ve dedicated our lives to this band and have had the immense privilege and pleasure of touring the globe and seeing the world. It has been nothing short of life-affirming. METZ has brought an immeasurable amount of joy to our lives and it’s our sincere hope it’s brought you some joy too. We are so grateful to all of you who’ve joined us along the way and have made this life a reality for the three of us. We are incredibly proud of the body of work we’ve created and thankful for the lasting friendships and experiences that our music has afforded us. A special thank you to Sub Pop Records for always believing in us and allowing us to chart our own unconventional path. Sub Pop continues to be a glowing beacon of what is good in this deeply flawed industry, and we will always be grateful for their support and friendship. To work with people we consider family has been a true blessing. Together, we’ve released 6 LPs, countless singles, played hundreds of shows across the globe, and have far exceeded any goals or ambitions we could’ve dreamt up as basement dwellers in 2009. It’s always been about the love of music and the beautiful mess that would seemingly manifest when we turned the amps up. Love and gratitude to the inspiring and supportive network of family, friends, musicians, artists, labels, photographers, bookers, writers, journalists, independent record store owners, college radio DJs, and music fans that make this symbiotic wheel keep spinning. If you’ve ever attended a METZ show, you know it was more than a band to us. We gave every ounce of ourselves to METZ, and it will be very hard to let it go. The intangible feeling of connection, community, and inclusivity that music creates has always been at the heart of what we do and will inevitably be what we miss the most. We will miss singing, screaming, sweating, and dancing with all of you. Love and Peace Alex, Chris, Hayden”METZ released their album Up On Gravity Hill earlier this year. See the post in full below.
