Westville Music Bowl announces Dark Star Orchestra, Violent Femmes, Gin Blossoms with Toad the Wet Sprocket and Vertical Horizon and Blues Traveler with Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Westville Music Bowl announces Dark Star Orchestra, Violent Femmes, Blues Traveler with Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and Gin Blossoms with Toad the Wet Sprocket and Vertical Horizon. Tickets are on sale now via westvillemusicbowl.com
Dark Star Orchestra
Friday August 16, 2024 at 7:00PM – Doors at 5:30PM
Westville Music Bowl – 45 Yale Ave, New Haven, CT 06515
All Ages
Tickets are on sale now via manicpresents.com
Dark Star Orchestra
Performing to critical acclaim for over 20 years and over 3000 shows, Dark Star Orchestra continues the Grateful Dead live concert experience. Their shows are built off the Dead’s extensive catalog and the talent of these seven fine musicians. On any given night, the band will perform a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead’s 30 years of extensive touring or use their catalog to program a unique set list for the show. This allows fans both young and old to share in the experience. By recreating set lists from the past, and by developing their own sets of Dead songs, Dark Star Orchestra offers a continually evolving artistic outlet within this musical canon. Honoring both the band and the fans, Dark Star Orchestra’s members seek out the unique style and sound of each era while simultaneously offering their own informed improvisations.
Dark Star Orchestra offers much more than the sound of the Grateful Dead, they truly encapsulate the energy and the experience. It’s about a sense of familiarity. It’s about a feeling that grabs listeners and takes over. It’s about that contagious energy…in short, it’s about the complete experience and consistent quality show that the fan receives when attending a Dark Star Orchestra show.
Dark Star Orchestra has performed throughout the entire United States, including a sold out debut at Colorado’s Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater, plus shows in Europe and the Caribbean with the band touching down in seven differentcountries. DSO continues to grow its fan base by playing at larger venues for two and even three-night stands, as well as performing at major music festivals including Bonnaroo, Milwaukee’s SummerFest, The Peach Music Festival, Jam Cruise, Wanee Festival, SweetWater 420 Festival, Mountain Jam, and many more.
In addition to appearing at some of the nation’s top festival, Dark Star Orchestra hosts its own annual music festival and campaign gathering, titled the “Dark Star Jubilee”, currently in its eighth year where DSO headline all three nights and are joined by a mix of established and up and coming national touring acts. Beyond the shores of the United States, DSO has taken its internationally-acclaimed Grateful Dead tribute to the beaches of Jamaica in the dead of winter for the past six years, with their event appropriately titled ‘Jam in the Sand’. Featuring an ocean-side stage, DSO sets up camp to perform shows for four nights along the tropical sands of an all-inclusive resort, selling out the event each year for hundreds of lucky attendees.
Fans and critics haven’t been the only people caught up in the spirit of a Dark Star show. The band has featured guest performances from six original Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, Vince Welnick, Tom Constanten and even toured with longtime Dead soundman, Dan Healy. Other notable guests have included Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman of Phish, Keller Williams, Warren Haynes, Steve Kimock, Peter Rowan, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot and many more.
“For us it’s a chance to recreate some of the magic that was created for us over the years,” keyboardist and vocalist Rob Barraco explains. “We offer a sort of a historical perspective at what it might have been like to go to a show in 1985, 1978 or whenever. Even for Deadheads who can say they’ve been to a hundred shows in the 90s, we offer something they never got to see live.”
An Evening with Violent Femmes
Westville Music Bowl – 45 Yale Ave, New Haven, CT 06515
August 18, 2024
Click here to purchase tickets
An Evening with Violent Femmes
The world may look different, but every generation goes through high school—or something like it.
Back in 1983, Violent Femmes documented the boredom, the anxiety, the elation, the depression, and the wonder of the high school experience, while living it on their seminal self-titled full-length debut, Violent Femmes. Akin to other totems to growing up a la Catcher In The Rye, this album has only proven more relevant as it’s lived through the fall of the Berlin Wall, the advent of the internet, an uneventful Y2K, a very eventful turn-of-the-century, seven presidents, and one pandemic to celebrate its 40th birthday.
So, how did these tracks make it this long?
For starters, they’re real. Frontman, singer, songwriter, and guitarist Gordon Gano chronicled life as a high schooler in Milwaukee as it was happening to him (he didn’t do so years retrospectively as a twenty-something). So, his lyrics reeked of glorious awkwardness, whether it be the head-scratching confession of “I stain my sheets” on opener “Blister In The Sun” or the prick principal’s warning, “I hope you know that this will go down on your permanent record,” during “Kiss Off.” This was the ultimate report from the frontlines of the teenage experience– back when the drinking age was 18 – before we got so used to such a thing in wantonly self-indulgent social media posts .
As the story goes, Gordon, bassist Brian Ritiche and drummer Victor DeLorenzo recorded at Castle Recording Studios in Lake Geneva, WI over the course of one weekend. For as open-hearted as the lyrics may be, the single recording takes allowed for Brian’s acoustic bass to drill through Gano’s masterfully plucky riffs in a way that gives the listener the feeling that their witnessing a – the cracks and grooves of Victor’s sole snare drum to rattle your brain and.
The record also harbors a quirky history befitting of its unlikely legacy. Of note, their fans practically destroyed Carnegie Hall when they played there in ’86, leading to a ban for the group and every other rock band for the next 20 years!
It was also the album that enshrined Violent Femmes as folk punk progenitors. The album steadily sold a million copies in its first decade, going platinum in America by its 10th anniversary. Not surprising– a well-worn cassette of Violent Femmes and a dog-eared copy of Catcher in the Rye were rites of passage for high school and college kids from coast to coast. To date, the album has sold over 3 million copies worldwide, placements on “greatest albums of the eighties” lists by the likes of Pitchfork, a slot on the first Lollapalooza in 1991, co-headlining Big Day Out Festival with Nirvana in 1992, prevalence in Grosse Pointe Blank in 1997, and a cover of “Gone Daddy Gone” by Gnarls Barkley [Cee Lo x Danger Mouse] on their platinum St. Elsewhere in 2006. Violent Femmes has proven to be a singular cultural artifact–as it continues to be the perfect companion piece to teenage angst and pubescent aspirations.
Some of Violent Femmes’ contemporaries may have shifted tens of millions of units, received constant rotation on MTV, picked up GRAMMY Awards, and sold more shirts at Hot Topic, but few (if any) made an album as prescient, potent, and powerful from top-to-bottom as Violent Femmes. The master recordings may have been lost for over three decades, but the band will play it once again in its entirety on tour in 2023.
If you haven’t seen them since high school or college, bring your kids and their friends, because Violent Femmes are just as daring, dangerous, and dynamic as ever. You know high school still sucks, but Violent Femmes fucking rule.
—Rick Florino, February 2023
Blues Traveler + Big Head Todd and the Monsters — Blue Monsters Tour
Thursday August 22, 2024 at 7:00PM – Doors at 5:30PM
Westville Music Bowl – 45 Yale Ave, New Haven, CT 06515
All Ages
Tickets are on sale now via manicpresents.com
Blue Monsters Tour
After a highly-successful run last summer, Grammy® Award-winning artist Blues Traveler and Platinum-Selling rockers Big Head Todd and the Monsters have announced that they are, once again, bringing the “Blue Monsters Tour” to venues across the country. Featuring an arsenal of songs from over three decades, including both the smash hits that defined their careers as well as rarely performed live gems, the coveted co-headline tour was hailed as one of the best of the 2023 season by critics and fans alike.
Long-time touring partners, the two iconic bands first performed together in 1993 for the H.O.R.D.E Tour, and have spent the past 30 years on many of the same bills. In addition to the 1994, 1997, and 2015 H.O.R.D.E. Tours, they were also part of the A-list lineups for the 2001 “Moondance Jam,” the 2002 “One World, One Heart Festival,” the 2012 “Last Summer on Earth Tour,” and the 2019 “BeachLife Festival.” Through these experiences, the groups have forged afriendship that transcends both time and music.
Multi-Platinum-Selling Band Blues Traveler currently has 15 hit studio albums to their credit, including the iconic four, which went six-times Platinum and spawned the definitive “Run-Around” (garnering their first Grammy® Award), as well as Traveler’s Soul, which was released in October 2023. Traveler’s Soul was Blues Traveler’s second critically-acclaimed album of genre covers, featuring their interpretations of classic Soul and R&B hits originally recorded by artists such as Stevie Wonder, the Impressions, TLC, The Meters, Dr. John, Ann Peebles, and more. This record followed the wildly successful Traveler’s Blues release (Round Hill Records/ Black Hill Records, 2021), spotlighting the band’s renditions of songs from The American Blues Songbook and earning them a Grammy nod for “Best Traditional Blues Album.”
During the “Blue Monsters Tour 2024,” audiences can expect to hear all of Blues Traveler’s hits, including their Billboard- topping smash singles like “Hook” and “But Anyway,” as well as fan- and band-favorites from throughout their catalog. Big Head Todd and the Monsters, have dedicated 40 years to their music career. Quietly becoming an American institution in this time– thanks to their writing, recording, and touring (totaling over 3,500 performances, countless sold out shows in amphitheaters, on the high seas, and even beaming their tunes to outer space (literally)) –they have earned the endorsement of everyone from Robert Plant to The Denver Broncos, and tallied tens of millions of streams.
The group also has 13 studio albums to their credit, including the 1993 breakout Sister Sweetly. Powered by staples like “Broken Hearted Savior,” “It’s Alright,” and “Bittersweet,” the record eventually went Platinum, leading to a support slot for Plant on tour. During the “Blue Monsters Tour 2024,” fans can expect to hear these hits plus many more.
Blues Traveler
In 1987 the four original members of Blues Traveler—John Popper, Chandler Kinchla, Brendan Hill, and the late Bobby Sheehan—gathered in their drummer’s parent’s basement in Princeton, NJ to jam. From these high school sessions emerged a band that would go on to release 14 studio albums and counting, four of which have gone gold, three platinum, and one six-times platinum- selling more than 10 million combined units worldwide. Over an illustrious career Blues Traveler has played over 2,000 live shows in front of more than 30 million people, and, in “Run-Around,” had the longest-charting radio single in Billboard history, which earned them a Grammy® for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Their movie credits include Blues Brothers 2000, Kingpin, Wildflowers and others. A television favorite, they have been featured on Saturday Night Live, Austin City Limits, VH1’s Behind the Music and they have the record for the most appearances of any artist on The Late Show with David Letterman. Blues Traveler’s latest effort, 2021’s Traveler’s Blues, is nominated for a Grammy in the category of “Best Traditional Blues Album,” bringing their 35+ year journey full circle.
Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Big Head Todd and The Monsters have persisted as a rare force of nature in rock ‘n’ roll. The platinum-selling Colorado quartet—Todd Park Mohr [vocals, guitar, keys, sax, harmonica], Brian Nevin [drums, percussion], Rob Squires [bass, vocals], and Jeremy Lawton [guitar, keys, vocals, steel guitar]—have consistently churned out undeniable and often uplifting anthems fueled by a hybrid of no-nonsense hard rock, simmering soul, dyed-in-the-wool blues, and a twist of country. Akin to your favorite classic automobile, their influence and imprint only widen over time, selling out even bigger venues and enrapturing new eras of fans with every passing year. These cats have always paved their own lane. Todd, Brian, and Rob started playing music together while still in high school during the early eighties. Becoming Big Head Todd and The Monsters during 1986, that lane has twisted and turned just as much as Highway 66. Following a quiet D.I.Y. rise, the group shook the mainstream with 1993’s now-classic platinum-certified Sister Sweetly. In its wake, Robert Plant tapped the band to open his Fate of Nations Tour. Following Strategem [1994], they unveiled Beautiful World [1997] highlighted by a cover of “Boom Boom” [feat. John Lee Hooker]—which notably became the theme song for NCIS: New Orleans. They welcomed Jeremy to the fold in 2001. After penning “Blue Sky” at the urging of friends connected to NASA, they notably performed the song live from Mission Control as an interplanetary wakeup call for astronauts on the shuttle. Along the way, the guys joined B.B. King for a “Crossroads” session and toured with blues heroes a la Hubert Sumlin and David “Honeyboy” Edwards. They have headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre a staggering 35 times. Recognizing “38 years of continuous musical service to fans,” the Colorado Music Hall of Fame inducted the quartet as part of its “Class of 2023.” Now, they’ve crafted the perfect soundtrack to this journey in the form of their 12th full-length offering, Thunderbird.
Gin Blossoms & Toad the Wet Sprocket with Vertical Horizon
Friday, August 23rd at 6:30PM – Doors at 5:00PM
Westville Music Bowl – 45 Yale Ave, New Haven, CT 06515
All Ages
Tickets are on sale now via manicpresents.com
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms, an American alternative rock band formed in 1987 in Tempe, Arizona. The band rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label debut album, New Miserable Experience, and the first single released from that album, “Hey Jealousy” became a Top 25 hit and went gold. New Miserable Experience eventually went quadruple platinum and three other charting singles were released from the album including “Allison Road” and “Until I Fall Away”. The band’s follow-up album, Congratulations I’m Sorry (1996), went platinum including the Grammy nominated “As Long as It Matters” and the top 10 single “Follow You Down”. Gin Blossoms continue to tour every year and in recent years have shared the stage with Collective Soul, Barenaked Ladies and Hootie & The Blowfish.
Toad the Wet Sprocket
Toad the Wet Sprocket is still making new music and touring with the same spirit of unwavering independence that started it all over three decades ago. The band is thankful for the continued help and enthusiastic support of their fans, which helped spur the release of All You Want and also serves as inspiration for the band to not only tour and play live, but to continue to make new original music together. They continue to support their most recent release, Starting Now (2021), as well as their previous album New Constellation (2013), and EP The Architect of Ruin (2015). Toad the Wet Sprocket share in the kind of musical chemistry that can only come from meeting in high school and writing, recording, and touring on albums over the course of time. After Bread & Circus, they followed with Pale in 1990, fear in ’91, Dulcinea in 1994, and Coil in 1997, as well as some compilations along the way. While most will still feel the comforting familiarity of the Billboard-charting hits, “Walk on the Ocean”, “All I Want”, “Something’s Always Wrong”, and “Fall Down”, fans will also be well familiar with tracks with lyrics that resonate for so many life milestones like “The Moment”, “I Will Not Take These Things for Granted”, “Transient Whales” and so many more.
Vertical Horizon
Vertical Horizon stands for a commitment to superior music. It’s a concept that has always meant a steadfast striving for the artistically-creative high road. Consistently at the wheel, founder, writer, lead singer and guitarist, Matt Scannell drives and unites the group, always exploring new territories of inspiration. Perhaps the most significant key to Vertical Horizon’s success today is the freedom they have from the constraints of a major recording label. Scannell says, “Our music is coming from the purest place – there are no other considerations beyond ‘Do we like this? Does it mean something us?’” Vertical Horizon works at a tempo that fuels the creative process. It’s no wonder why so many performers cite them as influences.
Founded in the early 1990s as a duo, Vertical Horizon released three albums independently (There and Back Again, Running on Ice, and Live Stages) and toured extensively. In 1999, Vertical Horizon signed with RCA and experienced meteoric success with Everything You Want, selling over two million copies. The title song captured the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Adult Top 40 charts, and went on to become the most played single of 2000. Having carved out a page in the annals of music history, the band also garnered further radio attention with “You’re a God” (#4 on Billboard’s Adult Chart) and “Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning),” which became a 2005 top 20 country hit for country star, Gary Allan.
As a follow-up, in 2003, the band released Go. Tracks such as “Inside” (a frequent concert opener), “I’m Still Here,” and
“Forever” provided true commercial appeal, whereas the deeper tracks, like “When You Cry,” “Sunshine,” and “Echo” kept the band established as a formidable, no-nonsense rock entity. Unfortunately, music-industry mismanagement drove the band to seek a hiatus from “the business,” and they took time to reevaluate the creative process and distribution model. After some time away, Vertical Horizon emerged with the same conclusion their fans had: you can’t keep a good band down.
Today’s Vertical Horizon shares the practices of most long-enduring acts: different creative personnel have entered and exited, adding to the ever-expanding sonic tapestry. Experienced bands also run the gamut where it comes to variety, and Vertical Horizon is no exception here. Genres, styles, sounds are the band’s “tools of the trade,” but they’re used with such variety—such intricacy—that it’s a challenge to “classify” the band’s sound. Sure it’s rock, but nuances mean so much.
“As someone who battles a ‘glass is half empty’ outlook at times, I actually find myself in a very positive place right now,” says Scannell, and well he should be. Vertical Horizon is currently touring in support of The Lost Mile. The high energy shows are filled with an assortment of their well-known and latest hits. The band plays off each other with an almost feverish dynamic energy, drawing the fans into a riveting musical experience at every show.
Vertical Horizon is what it always has been: a vibrant, growing musical entity. It’s not a reissue: it’s bigger, better, and reloaded. The band’s “wheel of change” continues to turn. Hold on to the wheel, and you’ll be dragged. Instead, let it roll—and enjoy the ride.
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