Slam Dunk Fest unveils second waves of 2020 performers

October 23, 2019 — Leave a comment

The year isn’t even over yet, and we’re already getting bombarded with spring music festival announcements. Great news for our “treat yo’ self” lifestyles, but not for our wallets.

On Wednesday (Oct. 23), the masterminds behind the United Kingdom’s Slam Dunk Music Festival unleashed the second batch of artists who will take over their stages in late May 2020.

Sum 41 has been tapped to take on the role of headliners alongside previously announced (and hometown boys) Don Broco. Also added to next year’s roster are Billy Talent, The Used, The Story So Far, Basement, Grayscale, and Dream State.

As if that wasn’t enough, the current iteration of the lineup will also feature not one, but two reunion shows thanks to We Are The In Crowd and Your Demise.

And what would a music festival be without any serious hijinks? NOFX’s Punk in Drublic will return once again to the weekend-long event with a little help from their friends.

The new addition to the Slam Dunk Fest lineup comes a month after the first waves of bands were announced for the annual May Bank Holiday event.

The Wonder Years, Mayday Parade, Four Year Strong, Knuckle Punk, Ice Nine Kills, Bayside, Issues, Hands Like Houses, and the newly reunited Motion City Soundtrack were previously confirmed as performers for next year’s event.

Slam Dunk Fest will return to its homes of Temple Newsam in Leeds on Saturday, May 23, 2020, and Hatfield Park in Hatfield on Sunday, May 24, 2020.

Tickets for the event are currently available on their website with several options to pick from.

Motion City Soundtrack to end their indefinite hiatus with 2020 tour dates

June 17, 2019 — Leave a comment

Remember how Motion City Soundtrack started teasing something major online last week, sending their fans into a frenzy? Well, now we know what they were hinting at.

On Monday (June 17), the Missouri-founded act announced plans to get the “band back together” for a short reunion tour. Dubbed the “Don’t Call it a Comeback 2020” tour, the band’s non-comeback trek will begin with a New Year’s Eve gig at the House of Blues in Chicago.

Following their “hello 2020” gig, the band will embark on a month-long outing across the country in January. The United States-centric tour will include shows in Detroit, Pittsburgh, New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Orlando, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, and more.

The 20-stop excursion kicks off on Jan. 2, 2020 at the House of Blues in Cleveland and wraps up on Jan. 28, 2020 at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle. The official tour announcement also includes a hometown show in Minneapolis, but the date and the venues have been blurred out.

Tickets for the newly announced shows go on sale this Friday, June 21, on the band’s website.

Last week, the band updated their Twitter account —the first time in months— with the date 12.31.19 and a video. The minute-long video featured the band performing in front of a massive audience. At the end of the clip, the text “12.31.19” and the band’s website appeared on the screen.

Motion City Soundtrack went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, following their “So Long, Farewell” tour.

We guess that means everything is alright with team Motion City Soundtrack.

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK 2020 TOUR DATES:

Dec. 31 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Jan. 2 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
Jan. 3 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall
Jan. 4 – Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian Theatre
Jan. 6 – Boston, MA. – House of Blues
Jan. 7 – Huntington, NY – Paramount Theatre
Jan. 8 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
Jan. 10 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
Jan. 11 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore
Jan. 12 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
Jan. 14 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
Jan. 15 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues
Jan. 16 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom
Jan. 18 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
Jan. 20 – Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall
Jan. 22 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
Jan. 23 – Anaheim, CA – House Of Blues
Jan. 24 – Los Angeles, CA – The Novo
Jan. 25 – Berkeley, CA – UC Theatre
Jan. 27 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
Jan. 28 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre

Dashboard Confessional release first new song in seven years

May 19, 2016 — Leave a comment

Dashboard Confessional fans have been waiting some time for some new music, and now, they’ve gotten a taste of what to expect. On Thursday (May 19), the Florida-based band released their much-anticipated new song, “May.” The barely two-and-a-half minute video features frontman Chris Carrabba in what looks like a practice room, playing his guitar while sitting in front of a drum kit and several flags hanging on the back wall (state of Florida represent). Watch the video for the song below.

Last year, Dashboard Confessional hit the road alongside Third Eye Blind for a summer tour which only began fan speculation of new music. Nothing happened, so the speculation eventually died down. Then, earlier this month, Carrabba sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss new music and the frenzy of speculation began again.

“I don’t have any idea of a release date or a worry about one for that matter but I’m really excited to be doing it because I don’t think it’s ever felt this much like the beginning again…No one’s paying attention,” Carrabba explained to the publication. “No one’s looking over my shoulder to see how the songs are going or when the record’s coming out. There are no notes from anybody. I’m just quietly toiling away like I did on my first album [2000’s The Swiss Army Romance].”

Whatever Carrabba and company have up their sleeves, fans will be waiting. Dashboard Confessional released their last album, Alter the Ending back in 2009; seven years ago. While there still is no confirmation on when the new album will be finished/released, or even if this song will be on it, the band’s dedicated followers have something to look forward to.

Dashboard Confessional was one of the bands confirmed to hit the road for the Taste of Chaos resurrection tour. Alongside Taking Back Sunday, The Early November, Saosin, and more, the band will perform at a slew of North American venues in honor of TOC’s first tour in over five years. The complete list of upcoming tour dates can be found here.

Riot Fest Chicago and Denver lineups announced

May 18, 2016 — Leave a comment

The Riot Fest Twitter account is probably one of the funniest to read with the way they troll people who are always complaining about the lineup of the three incarnations. On Wednesday (May 18), festival organizers shut up the hater when they unveiled the first wave of bands for both the Chicago and Denver shows. Earlier this month, news broke that the original lineup of The Misfits would reunite, and perform, at Riot Fest Chicago. Now, it’s been confirmed that they will not only perform at both Chicago and Denver dates, but that they will be in good company.

Riot Fest Chicago will feature a slew of artists including: Morrissey; Ween; Social Distortion, who will be performing 1996’s White Light, White Heat, White Trash in full; Rob Zombie, who will be performing White Zombie’s final album, Astro-Creep: 2000; Death Cab For Cutie; Brand New; NAS; Deftones; Refused; Death Grips; the Descendents; The Specials; Chevy Metal aka Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins’ side-project; and Girls Against Boys.

But those are not all the groups making their way to Chi-town in mid-September. Acts like NOFX, Bad Religion, The Hives, Leftover Crack, Smoking Popes, Pepper, Big D & The Kids Table will also play Riot Fest Chicago. While Riot Fest has been boosting the Misfits reunion, the 2016 incarnation will feature other groups reuniting. Thursday will continue their handful of reunion shows, while Underoath announced earlier this year that they had reunited and would be releasing new music soon. The Daryl Palumbo-fronted Glassjaw reunited earlier this year to head out on tour with Coheed & Cambria and will now be heading to Chicago to continue. Set Your Goals and the Anniversary are also set to reunited during the weekend-long event. While some bands are making their grand return at Riot Fest, this marks the end of Motion City Soundtrack who revealed that they will head on one final tour before calling it a day later this year.

Like Chicago, Denver will feature a lot of the same bands like The Misfits, Ween, and Death Cab For Cutie. Unlike the original Riot Fest location, Denver will feature exclusive performances from Sleater-Kinney, Jane’s Addiction who will perform Ritual De Lo Habitual, Wolf Parade, and Tyler the Creator.

As of now, festival organizers have confirmed that this is the first wave of acts, with many more to be announced soon. The complete list of performers for Both Riot Fest Chicago and Denver can be seen below.

Riot Fest Denver (aka Riot Fest & Rodeo) will invade the National Western Complex during the weekend of Sept. 2-4. Riot Fest Chicago will take place tow weeks late during the weekend of Sept. 16-18 at Douglas Park. Early bird tickets are currently available on the festival’s website.

Atlanta’s Wrecking Ball Fest announces first set of 2016 acts

March 22, 2016 — Leave a comment

Atlanta’s Wrecking Ball Festival will be returning in 2016. What started out as a celebration of famed Atlanta concert venue, The Masquerade has now become a yearly event. On Tuesday (March 22), the people behind the punk-centric music festival unveiled its first back of acts for the 2016 incarnation.

Acts like The Bouncing Souls, American Football, Gorilla Biscuits, The Promise Ring, American Nightmare, Deafheaven, Touche Amore, Tigers Jaw, The Menzingers, Anti-Flag, the soon-to-be defunct Motion City Soundtrack and many more will head to Georgia in mid-August. What’s surprising about the newly revealed lineup is the addition of Thursday who went on hiatus several years ago (2011 to be exact). According to a tweet from frontman Geoff Rickly, “That line-up!! We said yes on Sunday because we couldn’t say no to THAT show. Literally had no plans to reunite b4.”

The band’s reunion comes a day after they posted a cryptic message on their official Twitter. No word yet on if this will be the beginning of something new or a one-off gig, even if Rickly’s tweet seems to be pointing at the latter.

The Wrecking Ball Festival will return to Atlanta during the weekend of Aug. 12-14. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale beginning next Friday, April 1 while it looks like a slew of more bands will be announced at a later date. For now, check out the current lineup for the summer event

Motion City Soundtrack announce “So Long, Farewell” tour

March 14, 2016 — Leave a comment

It’s been a few days since Motion City Soundtrack broke the hearts of a lot of their fans by announcing their plans to disband. While the post to their longtime followers was sad, they did promise to release a list of tour dates so that they could properly say good-bye. On Monday (March 14), the Minnesota-based band did just that by unleashing a list tour dates.

The upcoming trek has been named the “So Long, Farewell” tour, which will find the five-piece visiting 28 North American cities. The tour will officially kick off on May 5 at the Roseland Theater in Portland, OR and wrap up on Aug. 8 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ. Though the tour will officially wrap up in August, there appears to be a huge, month-long gap between the penultimate and the final tour dates. In the caption of their recently released YouTube video (which can be seen below), the band do promise that a couple of more dates will be added to the already unveiled to itinerary.

Heading out on the road alongside Motion City Soundtrack will be Have Mercy and Light Years who will play supporting act throughout the complete excursion. VIP tickets for the final trek will go on sale beginning Tuesday, March 15 at 10 am, local time. General admission ticket sales will then begin on Friday, March 18 at 10 am local time. The current tour itinerary can be seen below.

MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK’S “SO LONG, FAREWELL TOUR”:

5/5 – Portland, OR @ Roseland
5/6 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
5/8 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
5/9 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency
5/11 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
5/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Belasco
5/14 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
5/15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Press Room
5/17 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
5/18 – Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey Live
5/19 – Houston, TX @ Numbers
5/21 – Lawrence, KS @ Granada
5/22 – Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s
6/2 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
6/3 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
6/4 – Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe
6/5 – Detroit, MI @ St Andrew’s
6/7 – Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix Concert Theater
6/8 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls
6/10 – Washington, DC @ 930 Club
6/11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
6/12 – Boston. MA @ Paradise Rock Club
6/15 – Hartford, CT @ Webster
6/16 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
6/18 – Wantagh, NY @ Jones Beach Amphitheater
6/20 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
6/22 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
6/24 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
8/6 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom

Taste of Chaos announces first tour in over five years

March 14, 2016 — 4 Comments

Taste of Chaos made a triumphant return in 2015 with its one-day music festival in California and now, it looks like they are ready to conquer North America once again. On Monday (March 14), it was announced that the Vans Warped Tour’s sister festival will once again hit the road in 2016. Instead of traveling across the country in the winter which is how it earned its nickname, Winter Warped, the traveling rock show will take place during the spring/summer.

But if the plans to hit the road after six years of radio silence isn’t enough to get you to go, then the bands that will hit the road on the tour will convince you. Bands like Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional, and The Early November will headline all the tour dates. Saosin, Motion City Soundtrack, and The Starting Line will also play selected dates. This will be the second full tour this year that Saosin will go on that will feature former vocalist Anthony Green on the microphone. Unlike this being good news for Saosin fans, this tour might mark the last time Motion City Soundtrack hits the road together before their indefinite hiatus.

The 2016 Rockstar Energy Drink’s Taste of Chaos tour kick-off on June 3 at the FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island in Chicago and wrap up a month-and-a-half later on July 16 at the San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino, CA; the place where the resurrection of Taste of Chaos all began last October. Tickets for the excursion will go on sale beginning this Friday, March 18 at 10 am, local time. Check out the complete tour schedule below.

TASTE OF CHAOS 2016 TOUR DATES:

06/03 – Chicago, IL FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
06/04 – Sterling Heights, MI @ Freedom Hill Amphitheatre
06/05 – Indianapolis, IN @ Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park
06/07 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Petersen Events Center
06/08 – Lewiston, NY @ Artpark
06/09 – Mt. Pocono, PA @ Sherman Theater Summer Stage
06/10 – Columbus, OH @ Columbus Commons
06/11 – Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
06/12 – Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion At Nautica
06/14 – Boston, MA @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
06/15 – Portland, ME @ Maine State Pier
06/16 – Wallingford, CT @ Toyota Presents the Oakdale Theatre
06/17 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center *
06/18 – Wantagh, NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater +
06/19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing %
06/21 – Charlotte, NC @ Uptown Amphitheatre at NC Music Factory
06/22 – Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
06/24 – Miami, FL @ Bayfront Park Amphitheater ^
06/25 – Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre at the FL State Fairgrounds ^
06/26 – Tallahassee, FL @ VENUE TBD ^
06/27 – Bossier City, LA @ CenturyLink Center
06/29 – Kansas City, MO @ The Crossroads
06/30 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Criterion Theater
07/01 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom ^
07/02 – Houston, TX @ Revention Music Center
07/03 – Cedar Park, TX @ Cedar Park Center
07/05 – Papillion, NE @ Sumtur Amphitheater
07/06 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
07/07 – Magna, UT @ The Great Salt Air
07/08 – Boise, ID @ Revolution Event Center
07/09 – Everett, WA @ XFINITY Arena at Everett
07/10 – Eugene, OR @ Cuthbert Amphitheater
07/ 12 – Concord, CA @ Concord Pavilion
07/13 – Fresno, CA @ Rotary Amphitheater at Woodward Park
07/14 – Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theatre
07/15 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Cosmopolitan Hotel ^
07/16 – San Bernardino, @ CA San Manuel Amphitheater

Saosin w/Anthony Green not performing^
Saves The Day performing *
Motion City Soundtrack performing +
The Starting Line performing %

Motion City Soundtrack announces indefinite hiatus

March 11, 2016 — 2 Comments

No guys, everything isn’t alright.

After being a band for almost 20 years, Motion City Soundtrack has announced that they will be breaking up. On Friday (March 11), the Minnesota-based band took to social media to announce the heartbreaking news. Their post on Twitter simply had the words “So Long, Farewell” and a link to a website. The link was a direct passage to the band’s Tumblr account which featured a letter to fans about the break up.

In the letter, they revealed that the plan to break up came after wrapping up their busy touring schedule late last year in support of 2015’s Panic Stations. In that time, they thought about the direction of the band and always came to the same conclusion; they weren’t sure in what direction the band was going. Instead of latching on in hopes of eventually figuring that question out, they decided it would be better to call it a day.

But instead of leaving their fans sad about the hiatus, Motion City did announce that they will head out on one final tour. “If you’ve ever been touched by our music, we ask you to come out and sing along with us one last time in 2016,” the band writes. Those final, upcoming tour dates will reportedly be announced this Monday, March 14. For now, you can read the band’s letter and in honor of their hiatus, watch the music video for “Everything is Alright.”

Hello, friends.

It has been a quiet winter for us. We’ve had some time at home after a very busy 2015. With this time, we’ve been able to think about the past, present, and future of Motion City Soundtrack. All of this thinking has led to several conversations, and these conversations have led us to a very bittersweet realization:

We have no idea what the future holds, but for now we are done.

Needless to say, we’re feeling all the feels – you may be as well. If so, or if you’ve ever been touched by our music, we ask you to come out and sing along with us one last time in 2016.

Please stay tuned for a very special final tour announcement on Monday. You can sign up to our email list HERE to be the first to hear the news. We really hope to see each and every one of you out there one more time.

Thanks for all the love over the years. It really means a lot to us – and it always will.

Josh, Justin, Jesse, Matt, and Tony

Listen to Motion City Soundtrack’s ‘Panic Stations’

September 18, 2015 — 1 Comment

A week after giving their fans the chance to listen to Panic Stations, their sixth studio album, in full on Pandora, Motion City Soundtrack has now officially released the new record worldwide. In addition to the album being out to the public, the band is also allowing those who have not received the album yet (or are nowhere near their copy), to listen the record on Spotify. Listen to Panic Stations below which includes previously released tracks “TKO” and “Lose Control.”

In support of the new record release, Motion City will be hitting the road this fall. The tour will find the Minnesota group hitting the road alongside The Wonder Years, You Blew It!, and State Champs. The complete list of tour dates can be seen below while tickets to the shows are currently on sale.

MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK/THE WONDER YEARS FALL 2015 TOUR DATES:

Oct 17 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Oct 18 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Oct 20 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
Oct 22 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
Oct 23 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
Oct 24 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
Oct 25 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Oct 27 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
Oct 28 – Murray, UT @ Murray Theater
Oct 30 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House
Oct 31 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
Nov 02 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
Nov 03 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
Nov 05 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
Nov 06 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
Nov 07 – San Diego, CA @ Soma
Nov 10 – San Antonio, TX @ Alamo City Music Hall
Nov 11 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
Nov 12 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
Nov 13 – Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note
Nov 14 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Nov 16 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom
Nov 18 – Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor
Nov 19 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution Live
Nov 20 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
Nov 21 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
Nov 23 – Charlotte, NC @ Amos Southend
Nov 24 – Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live!
Nov 25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Nov 27 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom

Pandora Premieres Motion City Soundtrack’s ‘Panic Stations’

September 11, 2015 — 1 Comment

Motion City Soundtrack’s new album isn’t set to hit store until next Friday, but now, the band is giving fans the chance to listen to their impending record a week early. For the next week, Panic Stations, the Minnesota band’s sixth studio album will be available for streaming over on Pandora as part of their Pandora Premiere segment. Panic Stations will feature lead single “TKO” and “Lose Control” which can be heard here.

In support of the new album, Motion City Soundtrack will be heading out on the road alongside The Wonder Years, You Blew It!, and State Champs. The complete list of upcoming fall tour dates can be seen below.