Summer Concert Preview
Cold War Kids
6.13 – Newport Music Hall
Cold War Kids are a difficult band to pin down as their influences are as diverse as their sound, taking lines from Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan, and the Velvet Underground. Their unique aesthetic and impassioned live performances generated quite the buzz in the mid 2000’s, especially from the likes of bloggers who played a part in generating the hype needed for the band to reach the mainstream.
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Walk the Moon
6.15 – EXPRESS LIVE!
If you were under the impression that no culture comes out of Upper Arlington, then you are unfamiliar with Walk the Moon—the radio dominating power-pop quartet that have garnered quite a following since their inception in 2010. From Bonnaroo to Lolipalooza, Conan to Letterman, the Ohio-based group is back in town, so if you’re lucky, you can hopefully spot their parents hooting and hollering from the front row.
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Social Distortion
6.27 – EXPRESS LIVE!
For 30 years, this legendary L.A.-based band has been giving us punk songs in the rockabilly key of Hank Williams, backed by the raucous swagger of The Stones. But unlike the latter, Social D are still cranking out new tunes, letting their fans know that you are never too old to be a punk.
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Paramore
6.28 – EXPRESS LIVE!
Back in 2005, Paramore were just a handful of teenagers from Tennessee playing sugar-coated pop-punk songs in the vein of Avril Lavigne and Jimmy Eat World. Today, they have become a mainstay of the genre, filling stadiums with nostalgic fans festooned with angst and heavy eyeliner. With a recent performance on Colbert and a new album in the mix, consider this their comeback.
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Taylor Swift
7.7 – Ohio Stadium
Much like Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift managed to pull off one of the rarest transitions in music: a transformation from contemporary country starlet into a mainstream pop sensation. Whatever your personal opinions happen to be on T-Swift, you can’t deny her unequivocal cultural force, selling out stadium after stadium with her infectious pop songs. And after her recent contribution to the #metoo movement, she is starting to show a little humanity after all.
schottensteincenter.com
Barenaked Ladies
7.11 – EXPRESS Live!
It’s hard to think of a band that better encapsulates the spirit of the ‘90s like the Barenaked Ladies—a time when gas was cheap, Bush was president, and Barenaked Ladies dominated radio waves. Bust out your oversized flannels, mom jeans, and combat boots, for it’s time to relive a bygone era. Don’t know all the words? No worries, these Canadians have admitted to making up some of their nonsensical lyrics onstage as they go.
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Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly
7.13 – EXPRESS LIVE!
If there are two big names that are synonymous with Celtic rock, complete with anthem-style drinking songs and plenty of Irish attitude, it’s the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. We couldn’t think of a pairing that makes more sense, save for corn beef and cabbage.
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Courtney Barnett
7.14 – Newport Music Hall
Barnett’s deadpan delivery and poignant lyrics about the mundanity of life live at the core of her aesthetic—an inscrutable, Australian girl telling it like it is behind a soft, lazy guitar, fitting her right in with the bygone ’90s slacker genre. Think Pavement with a touch of Lou Reed and a dash of Frankie Cosmos. Her self-released record has gained her praise from Pitchfork among others, landing her a global tour and a collaboration record with her brooding indie rock counterpart, Kurt Vile.
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Hanson with Picnic at the Pops
7.14 – Columbus Commons
It doesn’t matter if you are male, female, if you were alive in the early nineties, you had a secret crush on at least one of the Hanson boys. Whether it was their luscious golden locks or their sugary sweet beats is hard to say, but love ‘em or hate ‘em, they were the boy band of their time. Look out One Direction, Hanson is back, and this time they got the entire Columbus Symphony Orchestra at their disposal to make you gush just like old times.
columbussymphony.com
PANIC! AT THE DISCO
7.15 – Nationwide Arena
These kids were fresh out of high school when they were thrusted in pop-punk stardem, greeting a generation of sad boys and girls with a fresh baroque sound. Crafting theatrical songs infused with perceptive lyrics and mechanical beats, Panic! are the forefront of the pop-punk genre.
nationwidearena.com
George Clinton And Parliament Funkadelic
7.20 – Hollywood Casino
It doesn’t get much better than a free show at the casino—that is, until you add in the funkiest band in history. From rocking diapers to zoot suits, George Clinton has been bringing the funk since the 60’s, blending elements of psychedelia, blues, groove, and of soul to his seemingly endless catalog of records. Even Donald Glover looks up to the man, citing him as a key inspiration for his Childish Gambino album, Awaken My Love.
hollywoodcolumbus.com
Radiohead
7.23 – Schottenstein Center
At some point during the early 21st century, Radiohead became more than just a band—they evolved from indie stalwarts to a cultural phenomenon, a melancholic touchstone for music fans who crave adventure and longing and pain and courage in their music. This isn’t just a rock concert—it is a collective experience.
schottensteincenter.com
Ween
7.25 – EXPRESS LIVE!
Ween has always tiptoed the line of parody and novelty, a prodigiously talented duo whose daffy take on alternative rock mutated the genre itself. They were the goofballs of the alt-rock era, deviant deconstructionists who refused to take anything too seriously, creating a sound that satirizes the genre while still firmly standing on its own two feet.
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Coheed and Cambria & Taking Back Sunday
7.23 – EXPRESS LIVE!
Melodic hardcore might seem like an oxymoron, but these icons transcend seamlessly between thrashing guitars and accessible pop, their sounds often associated with the screamo scene of the early 2000’s. It’s hard to say how many breakups have resulted in a TBS marathon, but we know that we have more than likely been a part of that statistic.
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Marilyn Manson w/ Jonathan Davis and The Melvins
8.4 – EXPRESS LIVE!
Due to Manson’s stage props turning on and injuring him during a performance last year, we were left with a canceled Columbus show and shattered Manson dreams. But things are looking up, as the Mensa-goth icon has made a full recovery and will be returning to our city, bringing with him one of the most prolific names in garage punk, The Melvins, and Johnathan Davis, the lead singer of the nu-metal sensation, Korn.
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Jay-Z and Beyonce
8.16 – Ohio Stadium
Herein lies the definition of a power couple—two equally prolific cultural forces touring the world together, bringing their all-star hits to the masses hand-in-hand. Considering the monumental crossover of their fanbase, this just makes perfect sense. The only thing we can hope for is that they play “Crazy In Love.” If not, we will have more than “99 Problems.”
schottensteincenter.com
Migos
8.26 – Breakaway Music Festival at Mapfre Stadium
Mumble rap as a genre often all blends together, but there is something absolutely distinguishable about Migos—perhaps it is their quick-paced, Atlanta flow or quirky, rhythmic wordplay that pushed this related trio to the top seemingly overnight. Sure, the casual listener might scoff at their seemingly simple, single-heavy repertoire, but upon close inspection, the Breakaway Sunday headliner could have a lasting impression on hip-hop as we know it.
breakawayohio.com
Fall Out Boy
9.9 – Nationwide Arena
If you ever wondered why the emo scene lasted so long, and how the screamo aesthetic managed to boil over the sound into the mainstream, you have Fall Out Boy to thank. Selling over four million records to a once niche audience is no easy feat. After years of tightening their polished metal-core sound, this Chicago-based emo band has given millions of fans something to cry about.
nationwidearena.com
Car Seat Headrest
9.9 – Newport Music Hall
Car Seat Headrest teeters between softly murmured folk—as if founder, Will Toledo, is lying by your side whispering his lyrics into year ear—and high intensity, deeply satisfying lo-fi pop, a juxtaposition of tiptoed sweetness and crashing guitar lines. Technique and ambitious songwriting have thrust the English major into indie rock stardom, rightfully so.
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Gary Numan
9.16 – Newport Music Hall
In the 80’s, Gary Numan was pioneering the popular synth-pop sound, paving the way for the likes of MGMT and Tame Impala, among others. You may know him for his hit about cars, but this isn’t a one trick pony—Numan is an extraordinary talent with an impressive catalog of groundbreaking music. It’s no wonder that NIN’s Trent Reznor names his as a key influence.
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J. Cole with Young Thug
9.23 – Schottenstein Center
After days of standing outside the offices of Jay-Z with his mixtape, a young J. Cole was more than surprised that he would be the first artist signed to his idol’s Roc Nation label, catapulting him into the public eye and and making him one of the most successful rappers in the early 2010’s.
schottensteincenter.com
Shakey Graves
9.25 – Newport Music Hall
In a recent interview, Shakey, AKA Alejandro Rose-Garcia, admitted that a fan approached him and said that his music inspired her to be homeless. While romanticizing homelessness wasn’t quite his intention, this demonstrates the galvanizing prowess of his music, a smokey spectral fusion of folk and blues in the style of a one-man-band.
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Maroon Five
9.25 – Nationwide Arena
With the perfect concoction of neo soul and polished pop, Maroon Five was the answer to the new millennium, sweeping the nation with their contagious, light-hearted sound. Though they have had ups and downs in their career, there certainly was a point when you couldn’t walk into a mall or grocery store without having “This Love” stuck in your head for weeks thereafter. Chances are, it is now whooshing through your brain after reading this blurb. You’re welcome.
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