Theater

The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra Composes Music For the Shakespeare Festival's Production of Twelfth Night

For the first time in its history, the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis will incorporate live music into its performances -- original, locally composed music at that! The dozen or so songs and snippets that made the final cut come from the minds behind Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra, the small ... More >>

Justin Timberlake, Mac Miller, The Go-Go's, Merchandise and More in This Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

Catch Him While You Can: Broadway star Norbert Leo Butz returns to St. Louis next week for a good cause

Death Grips, the Angry Samoans, Slash, UZ and More in This Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

St. Louis Actors' Studio to Launch "LaBute New Theater Festival" in July

Eight professional playwrights and five high school students will have their one-act plays performed during the St. Louis Actors' Studio's first annual LaBute New Theater Festival this summer at the Gaslight Theater. As its title suggests, the festival pays homage to playwright Neil LaBute, best kno ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows in St. Louis from April 8 to 13

Warning: show-going can be bad for your health. I type this with watery eyes, a sore head and throat, and a forever-runny, impossible-to-breathe-out-of nose. I suppose all that putzing around in the rain between breaking a sweat at shows over the weekend really exacerbated things quickly. Bah! Worth ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows in St. Louis This Weekend: March 29 to 31

Welcome to the weekend! I'm operating from a strategic satellite location out of town at the moment, so I can't tell if it's spring in St. Louis yet. Regardless, I am bummed to be missing out on some awesome shows this weekend. For starters, Fister, Old Salt Union, Great Isaac and Tear Out the Heart ... More >>

Lil Wayne, John Mayer, Animal Collective, Pokey LaFarge and More in This Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows in St. Louis This Weekend: March 22 to 24

Bunnygrunt turns 20 this weekend! Not many bands live long enough to celebrate two decades, so be sure to prepare some spankings. Besides that, there's of other bands to see in a wide variety of shape and size. Read on for our recommendations.

Venus Dominates the Stage

Patti Smith, Toots and the Maytals, Shooter Jennings, Ghostface Killah and More in This Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

South By South City Fest to Overtake Off Broadway This Weekend

This weekend, Off Broadway is hosting the very first South By South City festival, a celebration of the St. Louis music scene inspired by SXSW fest in Texas. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, $5 gets you in to see 5-6 native musical delights, plus samples of beer from the finest breweries in town. ... More >>

The Best Shows in St. Louis Week: March 4 to 10

Welcome to March, aka insane show season in our fair city of St. Louis. Bands from all over begin to defrost from winter weather and warm up to the road once more, loading up vans and booking mini tours to Austin's South by Southwest fest and beyond. Catch some in the act as they swing through in co ... More >>

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Bruno Mars, Soundgarden, the Dillinger Escape Plan and More in This Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

Son Volt, Dick Dale, Dave Matthews Band, Antiseen and More in This Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

The Ten Best Non Mardi Gras Shows in St. Louis This Weekend: February 8 to February 10

Well, I can cross "get personally serenaded in a room full of people by an expertly expletive-spitting, sparkly cape wearing Blowfly" off of my bucket list now (the "girlfriend" mentioned in the appropriately titled Blowfly Stole My Girlfriend and Called My Dick Puny show recap is me). He held my ha ... More >>

Garbage, Rakim, Fall Out Boy, the Deftones and More in This Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

The Best Concerts in St. Louis this Week: February 4 to 10

Between the Superbowl, Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day, there's no shortage of excuses to celebrate something somewhere sometime soon lately, or even retroactively. Find a place to party this week from a varying list of tasty shows -- just choose your flavor. This week's recommendations await after t ... More >>

Pinback, The English Beat, The Spits and More in This Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

Keeping Kids Music Junk-Free: Grandfather Stark on the Wild Ride of the Musical Merry-Go-Round

In the annals of musical genres and styles that compel a desire to do violence to one's ears and eyes and other orifices, the stuff proffered by the likes of the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon -- "family music" to use a misnomer in this case -- has few equals. Kids may love it and consume it in Cost ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows in St. Louis This Weekend: January 25 to 27

If I had a quarter for every Jell-O shot I've been offered since I started this job, I'd probably have enough change to get a couple beers out of the boozy vending machine downstairs. I've never been much of a lush, but it just seems un-American to turn down a dessert with such high regard from the ... More >>

Odometer Reading: By far the best thing about 4000 Miles is its venerable star, Rita Gardner

Mrs. Sorken and the Duck Variations

The Best Concerts in St. Louis this Week: January 22 to 27

Well, I hope you enjoyed that temporary shot of springtime over the weekend while you could! Clouds are currently unloading some major snowflakes outside, but that's no reason to get left out in the cold during this week's shows. Check out Ian Fisher & the Present's CD Release and visits from Sponge ... More >>

The Slackers, Major Lazer, Mac Lethal and More in this Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

Blowfly, Garagefest, Inspectah Deck and More in This Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

The Six Best Shows of 2012 That Nobody Attended

Editor's Note: The end of 2012 is upon us, so we thought we'd put a cap on things by sharing some of our personal favorite shows, albums, events and general shenanigans. Join us as we indulge in some navel-gazing! Despite what you may presume from the headline, I don't intend for this to be an "Oh ... More >>

Clutch, Pujol, Soulfly and More in This Week's New Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

Bo and the Locomotive, Magic City, Yankee Racers, Old Lights and Pretty Little Empire

7 p.m. Friday, December 21. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From December 17 to 23

Plenty of excellent shows this week; particularly as we enter the weekend -- local releases galore. We'll get into that in more detail on the weekend post though. Supposedly, the world is ending this weekend as well. I know what you are thinking, and I don't really buy it either, but then again the ... More >>

Bobby Bare Jr. and Eef Barzelay

8 p.m. Thursday, December 13. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: December 4 to 6

It's my byline; we're doing what I want this week. And I want to bring back the word of the day, which just happens to be Bollix. Seriously! That's how you spell "bullshit" in British. So here we here, a Bollix fill-in weekend post from your esteemed music editor. Shouldn't it be "Bollocks"? Ah, who ... More >>

Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Jukebox The Ghost, Lindsey Stirling and More in This Week's New Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From December 3 to December 9

Noted R&B heartthrob Trey Songz will be at the Fox this Sunday, but the show will absolutely not be worth killing a person and then yourself over. I just wanted to make that clear from the get-go since I suppose there has been some very heartbreaking confusion lately. Just to be clear, again: Trey ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: November 30 to December 4

This week's weekend post is the most balanced, evenly distributed list of picks I've yet seen in my tenure at RFT Music. Three shows Friday, four on Saturday, and three on Sunday. Perfect. As an obsessive-compulsive fan of symmetry, I am absolutely fucking delighted by this, but to be fair I get exc ... More >>

The Ten Best Rock Clubs in St. Louis

Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2012 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this RFT Music series, we're working our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. This week: The best blues clubs in St. Louis. ... More >>

Talib Kweli, Bloc Party, They Might Be Giants and More: New Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

King Khan and BBQ Show, dada's 20th Anniversary Tour, Father John Misty and More in This Week's New Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: November 2 to 4

Well that Bieber review sure took off. I got word earlier this week that it recently became the most-read post in RFT Music history (to anyone who missed it, a friend and I snuck booze into the Justin Bieber show at Scottrade and got kicked out, then wrote a review about it). Anyway so yeah, it's Bi ... More >>

Trey Songz, Yo La Tengo & Calexico, Speedwolf and More in This Week's New Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

The First Showcase of the New Look Folk School is Tonight

Don't call it a recital. Recitals hoist reluctant kids on stage with itchy sweaters, clarinets and lame concertos to play...concertos, man. The Folk School of St. Louis Showcase this Wednesday is a concert. The performers just happen to be students. Approximately 125 of them, ranging from uncallouse ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: September 28 to 30

So did everyone check out this week's Best Of issue? What did you think of our music picks? RFT Music co-conspirator Ryan Wasoba was mourning the fact that there has been woefully little nay-saying of our selections in his column this week, and I got to say that I'm with him. Where's the righteous i ... More >>

Shakespeare on the Fly

Arrested Development's 20th Anniversary Tour, Tilly and the Wall, White Rabbits and More in This Week's New Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

Play 'Til You Puke and a Coal Miner Calls you a Faggot, then Keep Playing: The Hooten Hallers

It doesn't take long with theHooten Hallers to realize that drummer Andy Rehm and guitarist John Randall are straight up rock & rollers, blues junkies, self-proclaimed dirtbags (to be taken in the most endearing way possible) and down right Midwestern folks. But first you have to pin them down bet ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From September 10 to 16

Under normal circumstances I despise inane small talk and "how's the weather" chatter, but for the purposes of filling these show-pick-posts' opening paragraphs with content, its a consistent fallback. That said, I wore a jacket outside this weekend! WHOA HOLY SHIT. Sometimes I think I could write ... More >>

How To Suck The Brains Out Of A Skull: Advice from the Weekend's Real Pig Roast

"You know how a slug feels in your hand?" asks John Kraatz. "It's slimier than that." Kraatz is, of course, referring to the brain and brainstem of "Norm," the first of two pigs that will be consumed at the Off Broadway Pig Roast on Sunday night. As for how to reach those slimy, succulent morsels, ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: August 31 to September 2

Apparently some dude named Isaac is coming to town this weekend and he's expected to raise all sorts of hell all over the place, causing for the unexpected implementation of emergency plans for two big festivals. The Del Yeah! festival at Old Rock House has cancelled its outdoor acts and expanded th ... More >>

The Weather Channel Would Like To Tell You About Old Lights and Bob Reuter's Alley Ghost

A little perspective on this weekend's incoming storm, from the Weather Channel: "Look at the twenty degree difference between Thursday to Friday as a high. That is huge! We're talking about maybe needing a sweater and really, really wanting to be in the air conditioning...a bit of a stormy weekend ... More >>

Japandroids, Smashing Pumpkins, The Shivas and More in This Week's New Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>