Theater

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 >>

Eclectic Ensembles: Embrace the strange and the scandalous

Open Highway Music Festival at Off Broadway, 8/11/12: Review, Photos and Setlists

A block away from Off Broadway at sundown, you could see the glint of light on pearl snaps and smell the macaroni and cheese, bacon and apple butter melting on Texas toast. It was the final night of the first Open Highway Music Festival and the Cheese Shack food truck was cooking. Looking for jam ba ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From August 13 to 19

You can actually comfortably go outside today! The temperatures are supposed to be in the 80s. It's been so damn oppressively damn hot this whole damn summer that this respite, however brief, is newsworthy on even a music blog. My massively overtaxed air conditioner is assuredly on its last leg, but ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: July 27 to 29

Today's word of the day is "brevity." Lesson learned and applied: 1. Naked Raygun at the Firebird 2. Darin Gray / Bill Horist at the Schlafly Tap Room 3. Fang Island at Off Broadway 4. Future & Pusha T at the Ambassador 5. Click through for the rest of our picks! "Soul of wit," and all that... ... More >>

Woody Guthrie 100th Birthday Party, Tribute and 88.1 KDHX Benefit, 7/14/12: Review

Just One Big Soul: Woody Guthrie 100th Birthday Party, Tribute and 88.1 KDHX Benefit Off Broadway July 14, 2012 Behold the power of Woody Guthrie: A man with a trucker hat, tousled grey hair, and a thick, hearty mustache, a mustache that has seen some hard travelin', chokes out "Goodbye to my one ... More >>

Alberta Cross Celebrates its Album Release with a Pair of St. Louis Shows

Alberta Cross will give St. Louis a double dose of its music tomorrow, on July 17: The band brings its modern psych-rock to Off Broadway that night and releases its new album Songs of Patience the same day. Doors open at Off Broadway at 8 p.m. and the show is scheduled to start at 8:30. Tickets are ... More >>

Swans, Stars, Sebadoh 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 >>

4th Annual Off Broadway Crawfish Boil: Photos

The 4th Annual Crawfish Boil brought out a healthy crowd on a hot night to Off Broadway (3509 Lemp Ave), where the night started with a table full of boiled crawfish and potatoes and ended with sets by the Royal Smokestacks and the Monads. View a couple highlights, below.

Dark Funeral, Hot Water Music, Juvenile 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 July 2 to 8

In case you hadn't heard, fireworks displays are cancelled all over town this year because everything is on fire. Fair St. Louis is just about the only game left in town, which is convenient for our music-related purposes since that's also where Heart will be playing this Wednesday. Other than that, ... More >>

Off Broadway Presents the First Annual Open Highway Music Festival

See also: The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman On The New Record And Learning Banjo Off Broadway has just announced a new music festival to take place Thursday, August 9 through Saturday, August 11. So far, three bands are confirmed, and they are a very promising start indeed: Will Hoge, William Elli ... More >>

Stink Globally: Insight Theatre spoils And the World Goes 'Round

Motivating Iago

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: June 8 to 10

Another weekend of great St. Louis shows: Hot 104.1's Super Jam is this weekend at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, and in case you missed it Master P got added to the already stacked bill -- No Limit soldiers, take note. Twangfest also continues this weekend with shows Friday and Saturday at Off Broa ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: June 1 to 3

This weekend is the big event: the 2012 RFT Music Showcase! Some eighty-ish bands will descend on Washington Avenue and fill the air with the sweet sounds of St. Louis music. A mere ten bucks buys you a wristband and gets you into all of the shows -- come check out the nominees for this years music ... More >>

Sweat, Hot Food and Blazing Guitars: The Big Muddy Chili Cookoff in Photos

Big Muddy Records has always postured itself as more of a family than a profit-driven business venture, so when Big Muddy daddy Chris Baricevic rounded up label kinfolk and friends for a music-packed cookout over Memorial Day weekend, it seemed more like a family reunion (especially with all the act ... More >>

Find the RFT Showcase Team at Off Broadway, the Firebird, Old Rock House, Lola, 2720 Cherokee and Soldier's Memorial

The RFT Music Showcase is just over a week away -- on June 2, 79 of St. Louis best bands and artists will play at twelve venues on Washington Avenue. But there's quite a bit of great music happening in this city before then. Our RFT Showcase Team will be at nine of the best of those shows, giving aw ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From May 21 to May 27

We'll start this post off by recognizing the fact that yes, Red Hot Chili Peppers is playing in town on Friday (Scottrade Center); as is Local H (Firebird), but Friday is already well-represented below with another what-is-this-1996 artist, Snoop Dogg, playing at Pop's and roots-reggae pioneer Might ... More >>

The Educated Guess' Charlie Brumley on Symphonic Pop and Soundtracking the Civil War

Back in 2008, the Educated Guess released two fine, grandiose albums, Beautiful Strangers and West Skyline Drive, that paired big-sky Americana with well-orchestrated arrangements that called to mind the symphonic masterpieces of Roy Orbison and Born to Run-era Springsteen. After that initial burst, ... More >>

Alejandro Escovedo at Off Broadway, 5/15/12: Review and Setlist

Alejandro Escovedo Off Broadway May 15, 2012 Storytelling is a craft that is formulated through years of experience and must be as finely tuned as a guitar. Spirited rock and roll is the backdrop to Alejandro Escovedo's heartfelt and sincere storytelling. Last night in St. Louis, he bared his soul, ... More >>

Bobby Conn, Neon Tree, MarchFourth Marching Band 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 with which you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new ... More >>

Josh Ritter is Coming to Plush

Josh Ritter is going on tour, and he'll make a St. Louis stop on Saturday, July 21 at Plush (3224 Locust Street, 314-535-2686). Tickets are $20 in advance or $23 day-of and on sale now. See also Josh Ritter at Off Broadway, July 22, 2011: Review, Photos, Setlist Interview: Josh Ritter talks to Roy ... More >>

I Went to a Show's Co-Founder Jess Luther Talks Blogging, Two Years In

Ed. Musicians may get all the groupies, but there is more to a city's music world than people wielding instruments. To name a few: venue and studio owners, show promoters, assorted enthusiasts and -- the subject of this series -- bloggers. In Music Blogs of St. Louis, we'll talk to the humans behi ... More >>

Stag Nite offers weekly camaraderie in debauchery

Loft on Fire

Stag Nite Oral History - The Lost Interviews

See also: Stag Nite Offers Weekly Camaraderie in Debauchery. Stag Nite: the Slideshow In this week's print edition we ran a story on Stag Nite, a South City tradition celebrating its ninth year anniversary, which features the time-tested coupling of cheap booze and live music. Unfortunately we we ... More >>

Off Broadway Hosting All-Star Ramble for Levon Helm

Levon Helm's passing rightfully prompted an outpouring of emotion. Not only did Helm personally touch the lives of the most celebrated musicians in rock and roll, but he also played an extensive part of popularizing the rootsy "Americana" genre. That feat hasn't been lost on a group of musicians ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: April 27 to 29

In case you hadn't seen, we have a brand-spankin'-new Concert Calendar setup -- it is useful and easy to navigate, as opposed to the previous format, which was....well, not. Now, rather than just taking our word for it on these posts you can effortlessly conduct your own investigations and then tell ... More >>

Cursive at Off Broadway, April 20: Review and Setlist

Cursive | Cymbals Eat Guitars | Conduits April 20, 2012 Off Broadway You don't expect a mosh pit to erupt at a concert headlined by a Saddle Creek Records band, but if it's a Cursive show, you should. Though one of the first groups signed to the Omaha-based record label, Cursive helped define and y ... More >>

Snoop Dogg, Unknown Hinson, El Monstero 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 with which you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: April 13 to 15

So it seems that the weather is finally seasonally appropriate for the first time in 2012, but don't let the April showers keep you inside this weekend or else you're going to miss out on some great live music. We've got three local album release shows this weekend -- hip-hoppers Hawthorne Headhunte ... More >>

Chuck Prophet at Off Broadway, 3/22/12: Review and Setlist

Chuck Prophet | The Jans Project Off Broadway March 22, 2012 In Austin a few days before his semi-annual stop in St. Louis, Chuck Prophet sat outside a Mexican restaurant and said, "You know, I think we finally cracked that town." Maybe. Or maybe it will take another twenty years. Or as he recent ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows this Weekend: March 23 to 25

One can entertain oneself for pretty cheap this weekend, as all of the events listed below are under $20 (except for Rollins)....some are free! Vintage Vinyl is playing host to back to back in-store performances: Chrissy Renick will play on Friday and Lights will play an early show on Saturday. The ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Fifteen Best Shows From March 19 to 25

Last week we alluded to the fact that this March is a great time to be a music fan in St. Louis....this week we're driving the point home and then some. Unless you are capable of bi-location (or in some cases: tri / quadro), you are going to miss some good shows this week. We have Andrew Bird at the ... More >>

Creature Double Feature: If you're itching to see The Glass Menagerie, this is your week

Water Liars LP Release Week at Off Broadway and Vintage Vinyl: Review

Water Liars Off Broadway: Friday, February 24 Vintage Vinyl: Tuesday, February 28 "So calm on the surface, but down there, everything's just eating the hell out of everything else." --Barry Hannah, on bodies of water. Justin Kinkel-Schuster writes sentences that end in periods. He does not exclaim ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows this Weekend: February 24 to 26

Have you sufficiently recovered from last night's EP releases from Theresa Payne and iLLPHONiCS? Good, because there's more new local music in the hopper: Water Liars will release its much-ballyhooed debut, Phantom Limb, tonight at Off Broadway, and Lantern Lights will do the same at Foam Coffee & B ... More >>

10 Best Things to Do in St. Louis This Weekend (That Do Not Involve Air Supply)

​Just in case you haven't nearly wrecked your car staring at Lumiere Place's toweringly monolithic billboard off I-70 recently, we'll start out by informing you that yes, the legendary Australian wuss-rock powerhouse known as Air Supply will be playing in town this weekend. Hard core soft-rock ... More >>

Craig Finn and Mount Moriah at Off Broadway, 2/10/12: Review and Setlist

Kholood EidCraig Finn puts smiles on faces.​Craig Finn | Mount Moriah Off Broadway February 10, 2012 People still talk -- and most of them were doing so through all but the quietest numbers last night, but I digress and we're only three words in -- of the one-and-only show by the Hold Steady ... More >>

The Ten Best Things to do in St. Louis This Weekend: February 3 to 5

Courtesy of Bass Amp & Dan-OFunny-smelling punks, doubtless wishing they'd slapped a different tossed off title on their fantastic show at Off Broadway this weekend.​It may not be picnic weather, but it's still pretty damn nice for the first weekend in February. And yes, we realize the ice ca ... More >>

Shabazz Palaces, Idle Warship Lead This Week's Show Announcements

Shabazz Palaces is genius. 2011's Black Up made instant waves as the left-field "hip-hop" release of the year; the spare, esoteric beats percolate under Ishmael Butler's outré flows, and the fine folks at the Luminary have booked them on April 24. Idle Warship, made up of Talib Kweli and soul songs ... More >>

Ten Best Things to Do in St. Louis This Weekend: January 20 to 22

This weekend we're excited about some unusual shows, including collective FarFetched's launch party and Prologue release at 2720 Cherokee and KDHX's benefit on Sunday at Saratoga Lanes. Matt Grayson was involved in a motorcycle accident last fall, and his friends have put together a benefit at Fubar ... More >>

Barry Manilow, Vinny From Jersey Shore Lead This Week's Show Announcements

Inexplicably known to some as the sexiest man alive, Barry Manilow heads to the Fox Theatre March 1. Dream beat duo Teengirl Fantasy and Chicago's Kids These Days are the fist announcements out of the Gargoyle in 2012, and uuugggghhhh; Vinny from that societal genital wart we call Jersey Shore will ... More >>

Jason & The Scorchers at Off Broadway, 1/13/12: Review, Setlist and Photos

Jason & the Scorchers Off Broadway January 13, 2012 As band after band from the 1980s and 1990s reforms and revisits past glories, one could be forgiven for questioning their respective motives. However, early in their set, Jason & The Scorchers wanted us to know that this night would be different ... More >>

Ten Best Things to Do in St. Louis This Weekend: January 13 to 15

This was the first week of torrential show announcements for 2012, and we've got a weekend to match. The Civil Wars play a sold-out Pageant on Sunday, Eric Johnson's at Old Rock House and you're forgiven for missing Emperor X at the Billiken Club -- he's playing the Firebird this weekend. On the loc ... More >>

Real World, St. Louis Music Edition: Launch Party Thursday at Atomic Cowboy

OK, without the house and we doubt anyone stops being polite. But the Chevy Music Showcase will feature twelve St. Louis artists in a TV series. Each of the bands will get a two-minute episode on KMOV Channel 4 (CBS) with performance and interviews, with full clips to be found online for free downlo ... More >>

Ten Best Things to Do in St. Louis This Weekend: January 6 to 8

Cameron WittigThe Bad Plus is in town for four more shows.​What will 2012 bring us? To start, the finale of the Bad Plus' residency at Jazz at the Bistro. Then there's David Lowery wearing two hats tonight in Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven at the Pageant. Comedian Rob Delaney had to add a s ... More >>

Five Best Non-New Years Eve Things to Do in St. Louis This Weekend

​The main event is Saturday night, obviously, and if you still don't have your New Year's Eve plans in order, we've got you covered: New Year's Eve in St. Louis: Ten Best Things to Do Under $10 New Year's Eve in St. Louis: Ten Best Things to Do Under $35 But don't let that blind you to the ... More >>

Year in Revue: Our two stage junkies reveal which 2011 productions delivered the most righteous buzz