Show 8pm
FULLY SEATED
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
NICK COLLETTI
with DAVEY JACKSON and MICHAEL MONSOUR
With his natural charm and raw talent, Nick Colletti is quickly emerging as one of Hollywood’s most dynamic and sought-after comedians and personalities.
As a stand-up, Nick tours across the country performing at numerous sold out venues.
In television, he stars alongside Jimmy Tatro, Cody Ko and Getter in the comedy hit, THE REAL BROS OF SIMI VALLEY, which has developed a massive, dedicated following. Colletti stars as Duncan in the faux-reality show which centers on four best friends as they navigate life in Simi Valley.
Online, Colletti has developed a massive fan base where he often posts videos and interacts with his 1M+ followers combined between Instagram and TikTok.
Nick currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA.
Show 9pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
LETTERS TO CLEO
with PARTY NAILS
When Boston alt-rock band Letters To Cleo split after 10 years, 3 albums, and thousands of tour miles together, it was at the behest of a pact that singer Kay Hanley and guitarist Greg McKenna made with each other when they started the band in 1990.
“We said that we’d stop doing it when we weren’t having fun anymore.” says Hanley. “I had just had a baby, (lead guitarist) Michael Eisenstein and (drummer) Stacy Jones were recording and touring with Veruca Salt’s Nina Gordon, (bassist) Scott Riebling was crazy in demand as a record producer, and I know it was frustrating to Greg to be in the shitty position of doing all the work to try and keep the ball rolling. It felt hard all of a sudden, and I hated that feeling.”
Soul searching done and tough decisions made, Letters To Cleo called it quits. The band members moved into new careers in and out of the music business, with Hanley, Eisenstein, and Jones migrating to Los Angeles. They all remained friends and sometimes even colleagues, collaborating on a host of movie, TV, and touring projects.
Now, for the first time in 17 years, Hanley, Eisenstein, Jones, and McKenna have written and recorded five brand new songs for “The EP”, are poised to launch a Pledge Music campaign, and will play club dates in Boston, NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in the Fall. So why reunite now?
“Because we’re good and stuff”, laughs Jones. “To me, the question isn’t ‘Why are we doing this now?’, the question is, ‘Why didn’t we do it sooner and why aren’t we doing it more?’’
McKenna adds, “It’s a blast. I mean, we spent our formative years learning how to do this stuff together. When it was done, we went out and lived our lives and now everyone’s bringing their experiences back to this at a new level of musicianship, but writing with these guys still feels effortless.”
The new material reflects McKenna’s sentiment. All 5 songs are instantly recognizable Cleo concoctions that fans will devour. From Eisenstein’s fierce, angular guitars locking horns with Jones’ roaring locomotive rhythm on “Hitch A Ride” to McKenna and Hanley’s signature melodic ESP on “Good Right Here”, the Cleo bandmates are in prizefighter form.
Staying true to the chemistry that defined their muscular pop sound throughout the 90’s was key to Cleo’s new venture. “It feels completely unforced. It sounds like classic Cleo. But at the same time, there’s nothing nostalgic about it.”, says Jones.
In addition to playing guitar, bass, and keys on The EP, Eisenstein also handled the lion’s share of production at Death Star Studio in the Koreatown section of LA, where he and Jones are current and former partners, respectively. Eisenstein is hesitant to pick any favorites from the new batch of songs but offers, “I really like “Four Leaf Clover” because it’s so in line with who we are as a band. It could have been on any of our records. The emotional content of “Back To Nebraska” is impossible to deny. It’s beautiful and powerful.”
According to Hanley, the opportunity to re-unite with her former band and make new music came almost from out of nowhere. “I didn’t have time to think up reasons to say no, so I just said yes. We didn’t have a plan. We just jumped in and everything unfolded really quickly. We all love the new songs and can’t wait to start playing them.
Party Nails: Before she was Party Nails, Elana Carroll was the tween-dream-open-mic-queen of Chatham, NY. Garageband, meanwhile, sparked a passion for technology, revealing an artist equal parts frontman and engineer, ham and bone. Elana’s love of the studio has only grown, while a growing audience continues to adore her onstage.
Party Nails debuted in 2015 on Neon Gold’s famed blog with Break, toured in 2017 (with PVRIS and Lights), produced and wrote with produced feminist rock duo Deap Vally and lent her vocal magic to LŪN, Urban Heat, Battle Tapes, MitiS, Getter, and more. Elana’s music has been in movies and television (Glass, Girls, The L Word: Generation Q, Nancy Drew, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin) featured in Billboard, PAPER, Noisey, Earmilk, Paste, etc, and on Spotify playlists Fresh Finds, Undercurrents and more. She operates Top Coat recording studio in Los Angeles, where she records, produces and mixes for Party Nails and others. She’s also pretty funny (check “Rockin' on the Rag,” her period pride canticle for Loren Bouchard’s Apple animated series Central Park).
It’s really fun!”
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
MAD CADDIES & AUTHORITY ZERO
with Special Guest BELVEDERE
Mad Caddies -
The Mad Caddies are a ska punk band from Solvang, California, United States. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. To date, Mad Caddies have sold over 500,000 albums worldwide.
The Mad Caddies sound has influences from broad ranging genres including ska (especially ska 3rd wave), punk rock, hardcore punk, reggae, dixieland jazz, Latin music, polka, even cowpunk ("Crew Cut Chuck") and sea shanties ("Weird Beard").
The Mad Caddies have released 6 studio albums, 2 EPs and a live album. They've also toured extensively throughout their career including tours across the USA, Europe, Japan, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and South America. Their most recent full-length release, Punk Rocksteady, was released on June 15th 2018 and was produced by Fat Mike. In 2020 the Caddies released a 5 song EP titled "House on Fire" on Fat Wreck Chords.
Authority Zero -
“Authority Zero has never been called “negative.” Even during a pandemic, they kept their collective chin up, put their heads down and wrote what could be called their career album. Released in June 2021, Authority Zero’s album “Ollie Ollie Oxen Free” takes a line from hide and seek to encourage fans to leave the COVID-19 depression behind and celebrate life.
During the pandemic, singer Jason DeVore saw families torn apart by political views and COVID-19. Now that the divide has somewhat subsided, it’s time to come out and be yourself again. “The phrasing in the title track stems from the idea of ‘come out, come out, wherever you are,’” says DeVore, who co-writes with bassist Michael Spero. “It encourages a focus on the positive side of 2020, while still maintaining awareness of the hardships and detriment of it all. People have been trapped within themselves, depressed inside of their houses and otherwise. We’ve been separated both politically and mentally between the left and right, which is very apparent. It’s a focus of come out, feel free and feel a sense of confidence to live with an unheavy heart and mind again.”
The title track rattles those cages with DeVore’s encouraging lyrics, the frenetic blur of Christopher Dalley’s urgent drumming and Spero’s bass, coupled with guitar licks true to the playing style of returning guitarist Brandon Landelius. With its updated sound, “Ollie Ollie Oxen Free” fits in with Authority Zero’s catalog, DeVore says. “It’s more of the times of 2020,” he says. “We really tried to focus more on the positive side of things that came from the pandemic, rather than the negative that came out of it. “We inflect lyrics and music in an uplifting manner. We wanted to shine a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Belvedere -
From the band’s inception in 1995, Belvedere has continued to push themselves on the road and in the studio. Well over 1000 shows were played in over 25 countries thanks to the help of countless promoters, fans, and friends. Though the band split in 2005, it was clear that these friends would not forget them. In 2011, bridges were mended and reunion shows were announced. Over the next three years Steve, Jason, Scott, and Graham did everything they could to play in as many countries as real life allowed. By the end of 2014, the band decided that it was time to try writing again.
There were two rules when Belvedere decided to write and record their first album in over 12 years. Have a good time, and don’t sound like a bunch of old men..…mission accomplished. “The Revenge Of The Fifth” picks up where their last release “Fast Forward Eats The Tape” left off. Twelve tracks of melodic punk – fast and furious. Though fans of the band will feel a sense of nostalgia for the speed and riffage, they’ll also notice a progression in the song writing. Perhaps even a “juxtaposition” of maturity from 4 immature punkers. The balancing act between raising families and holding steady jobs, and touring the world for 20 years can be heard in many of the lyrics. “Generation Debt” is an apology letter to our children for the world we’ve left to them, while “Carpe per diem” is a summary of basement show tours that spanned the band’s first six years. An expression of hope is found in “Revenge of the fifth” which hinges on the idea that we’re all ultimately responsible for taking care of the human race and the planet; and to stop looking to a higher power for forgiveness or answers.
The addition of Casey Lewis on drums has given the band a new excitement and passion. Fans will be happy to hear the band hasn’t slowed down or toned down the shredding. 2016 looks to be a great year as Belvedere will be hitting South America, Europe, Canada and a few other places. Watch out for May 5th, 2016 when Belvedere’s fifth album, “The Revenge Of The Fifth” hits the real and digital world.
Show 7:30pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
THE EXPENDABLES
with SITTING ON STACY
The Expendables have proven anything but in their nearly 25-year career since starting out as a spirited party band in high school performing surf-rock covers for birthdays and family gatherings. A quarter-century later, elementary school buddies Raul Bianchi, Adam Peterson and Geoff Weers, along with bassist Ryan DeMars, who joined in 2000, have forged a unique sound born in the laid-back beach life in their hometown of Santa Cruz, CA. The Expendables’ infectious hybrid of ska, surf-rock, punk, reggae and metal can be heard in their latest streaming track, “Surfman Cometh,” a spaghetti-western meets “Pipeline” twang that could easily form the soundtrack to the latest Quentin Tarantino film. The song is the first release from the group’s new and improved Band Room, their longtime rehearsal space in a 1,100 square foot warehouse and former wine cellar on Coral Street, where Adam Patterson took charge of the final mix to great effect. The band’s previous studio album of original material, 2015’s Sand in the Sky, was followed by The Expendables’ second release featuring acoustic reworkings of past material, Gone Raw, 2019’s follow-up to 2012’s Gone Soft. The Expendables continue woodshedding until they can get back out on the road. Their 2017 Moment EP, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Reggae chart, showed the band starting to move into different musical directions, a set featuring collaborations with reggae crooner HIRIE, rapper Tech N9ne, Eric Rachmany, and Micah Peuschel
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
BIG HEAD TODD AND THE MONSTERS 40th ANNIVERSARY TOUR
In this life, very few friendships withstand the test of time. Naturally, people go their separate ways and chase their own dreams. As rare as it may be for friendships to last a lifetime, it might be even rarer for a band to stick together for the long haul. For close to four decades, the members of Big Head Todd and The Monsters—Todd Park Mohr [vocals, guitar, keys, sax, harmonica], Brian Nevin [drums], Rob Squires [bass, vocals], and Jeremy Lawton [keyboards, lap pedal/steel guitar, vocals]—have continued to both throw down in the studio and light up stages worldwide. Rallying around a core vision, the platinum-selling Colorado quartet kick out the kind of blues-drenched rock ‘n’ roll bangers that make you want to rev the engine a little louder, sing along like no one’s looking, and live a little freer.
This holds true on their 12th full-length offering, Her Way Out.
“To me, my band means four people who listen to each other, work hard, and share a goal,” Todd observes. “The goal has to do with reaching out to people, catching their ears, and sharing a story we hope they relate to. Our fans have given us an incredible 40-year career, and we hope they’ve gotten great songs and performances in return.”
They’ve most definitely delivered on both fronts…
As the story goes, Todd, Brian, and Rob unlocked their musical partnership during high school when they started jamming in the early eighties. Fast forward to 1986, they adopted the moniker Big Head Todd and The Monsters. BHTM released 2 successful independent records on their own BIG Records, Another Mayberry (1989) and Midnight Radio (1990) before drawing the attention of music industry titans and signing with Irving Azoff, Chuck Morris, and Frank Barsalona in 1992. They broke nationally with the platinum-certified staple Sister Sweetly (1993) which yielded four top 10 rock radio hits. They continued to progress with Strategem [1994] and Beautiful World [1997] which yielded several more rock radio hits including Boom Boom featuring John Lee Hooker. The band is continually touring and recording and has continued to put out albums that have received critical acclaim from both fans and press.
Among other milestones, their music literally reached the heavens when they played “Blue Sky” live at NASA Mission Control, delivering a celestial wakeup for astronauts aboard the International Space Station. They’ve toured and recorded with many rock and blues legends including B.B. King, Neil Young, The Allman Brothers, Hubert Sumlin, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Dave Matthews Band, The Eagles and their personal favorite Robert Plant. Not to mention, they attained hometown hero status by headlining Red Rocks Amphitheatre 35 times in addition to earning induction into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2023.
Her Way Out came to life organically. For two years, they hosted “Monster’s Music Monthly,” serving up either a new song or a new version of a classic online. Working out of Jeremy’s home studio, they parlayed this momentum into their latest LP.
“It had been almost seven years since our last album release, but we wanted to put the same energy of ‘Monster’s Music Monthly’ into a full-length,” Todd notes. “We have a very distinct personality as a band. I write to the sensibilities of each member, because they’re going to have to dig playing it. We’re a benevolent democracy. If one guy isn’t connecting with a certain song, that song is out. As an uncomplicated rock band, we like to do things that are ‘proper’—loud guitars, drums, big bass, and well-placed organ, keys, and lap steel. We road-tested every song on the record before recording a lick. All of that helped us dial in the arrangements, ditch tunes that didn’t work, and grow a strong sense of what our individual parts should be.”
In this respect, the single and title track “Her Way Out” packs a concentrated and catchy punch. Anchored by a steady beat, the rough and tumble riff kicks up dust as soulful vocals ignite an irresistible refrain, “She found her way out, her way out—and it was me.”
“It’s driven by the idea that relationships are frail,” he elaborates. “Sometimes, they are something one wants freedom from. A real-life circumstance drives this story. Something was said when a person had too much to drink. The relationship ended with words, but the drinker could never know what he said and the woman refused to tell him.”
Ass-kicking guitar surges through “Thunderbird” as strains of organ coat a raucous refrain with a lyrical tip-of-the-hat to the Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas classic American Graffiti.
He goes on, “‘Thunderbird’ is a collection of one-liners from the film knit together with a beat poet vibe. It has an AC/DC-like guitar riff and a cinematic-style vocal. It’s all about drag racing and love never caught.”
Elsewhere, Big Head Todd and The Monsters nod to Annie Oakley with “Don’t Kill Me Tonight.” Then, there’s “King Kong.” A hulking groove lumbers beneath the frontman’s bluesy intonation as a piano solo bleeds into a skyscraper-scaling guitar lead.
“It’s inspired by a large movie poster in my basement of King Kong on top of the Empire State Building,” Todd reveals. “I’m drawn to these iconic contemporary heroes who are also monsters. They are complicated because they destroy so much, yet are sympathetic to children and fall in love with human women. These ‘Titans’, as they are called, are often monsters of our own making. It’s exciting to perform live.”
In the end, the future looks as bright as ever for these longtime friends.
“We work very hard at being a great band,” Todd leaves off. “We’re also a group that cares for each other. We’ve been together for almost 40 years. Our audience has made it all possible, and we’re grateful and determined to keep playing.”
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
LIVINGSTON
with CAMYLIO
Music means many things to Livingston. It’s an escape from the trials and tribulations of daily life. It’s a blank canvas for dreams to manifest upon. Most of all, it’s proof that anything is possible. Akin to building a rocket ship in a suburban backyard, the 21-year-old Denton, TX singer, songwriter, and producer creates handcrafted outlier pop teeming with big screen-worthy orchestration, arena-size ambition, open-hearted lyricism, and sky-high hooks. His words strike a deep chord, whether booming through your speakers or sung from the stage to a sold out crowd. An uncanny ability to empower listeners to realize their potential has accelerated Livingston’s ascent as a world-building alt-pop music maverick in 2024. As a kid, he felt a lot of love from his parents and two siblings, but he went through hell at school for “being different.” Despite ceaseless bullying and teachers who just didn’t understand, he found solace in music. He endured his first heartbreak, weathered teenage loneliness, and poured his pain into a MacBook Pro, writing, producing, and performing music out of his childhood bedroom. At barely 17-years-old, he introduced himself to the masses with a pair of debut EPs Lighthouse [2020] and An Unlikely Origin Story [2021]. Among various highlights, “Fairytale” resonated with 50 million-plus streams, and he collaborated with everyone from Macklemore to Louis The Child. He independently released his debut album A Hometown Odyssey in 2024, generating tens of millions of streams on the likes of “Last Man Standing,” “Shadow,” and “Half-Life.” However, his vision expands in widescreen on the deluxe edition of A Hometown Odyssey, coming soon [Republic Records].
Show 7:30pm
FULLY SEATED
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
IRIS DEMENT
On her transcendent new record, Workin' On A World, Iris DeMent faces the modern world — as it is right now — with its climate catastrophe, pandemic illness, and epidemic of violence and social injustice — and not only asks us how we can keep working towards a better world, but implores us to love each other, despite our very different ways of seeing. Her songs are her way of healing our broken inner and outer spaces.
With an inimitable voice as John Prine described, "like you've heard, but not really," and unforgettable melodies rooted in hymns, gospel, and old country music, she's simply one of the finest singer-songwriters in America as well as one of our fiercest advocates for human rights. Her debut record Infamous Angel, which just celebrated its 30th anniversary, was recently named one of the “greatest country albums of all time” by Rolling Stone, and the two albums that followed, My Life and The Way I Should, were both nominated for GRAMMYs. From there, DeMent released three records on her own label, Flariella Records, the most recent of which, The Trackless Woods (2015), was hailed as “a quietly powerful triumph” by The Guardian. DeMent’s songs have also been featured in film (True Grit) and television (The Leftovers) and recorded by numerous artists. Fittingly, she received the Americana Music Trailblazer Award in 2017.
Workin' On A World, her seventh album, started with the worry that woke DeMent up after the 2016 elections: how can we survive this? “Every day some new trauma was being added to the old ones that kept repeating themselves, and like everybody else, I was just trying to bear up under it all,” she recalls. She returned to a truth she had known since childhood: music is medicine. “My mom always had a way of finding the song that would prove equal to whatever situation we were facing. Throughout my life, songs have been lending me a hand. Writing songs, singing songs, putting them on records, has been a way for me to extend that hand to others.”
With grace, courage, and soul, Iris shares 13 anthems — love songs, really — to and for our broken inner and outer worlds. DeMent sets the stage for the album with the title track in which she moves from a sense of despair towards a place of promise. “Now I’m workin’ on a world I may never see / Joinin’ forces with the warriors of love / Who came before and will follow you and me.”
She summons various social justice warriors, both past and present, to deliver messages of optimism. “How Long” references Martin Luther King, while “Warriors of Love” includes John Lewis and Rachel Corrie. “Goin’ Down To Sing in Texas” is an ode not only to gun control, but also to the brave folks who speak out against tyranny and endure the consequences in an unjust world. “I kept hearing a lot of talk about the arc of history that Dr. King so famously said bends towards justice,” she recalls. “I was having my doubts. But, then it dawned on me, he never said the arc would magically bend itself. Songs, over the course of history, have proven to be pretty good arc benders.”
Bending inward, DeMent reaches agilely under the slippery surface of politics. She grapples with loss on the deeply honest “I Won’t Ask You Why,” while encouraging compassion over hate in the awe-inspiring “Say A Good Word.” Album closer
“Waycross, Georgia,” encompasses the end of the journey, thanking those along the way. As she approaches subjects of aging, loss, suicide, and service, an arc of compassion elevated to something far beyond words is transmitted. The delicate fierceness encompassed in the riveting power of her voice has somehow only grown over time.
Stalled partway through by the pandemic, the record took six years to make with the help of three friends and co-producers: Richard Bennett, Pieta Brown, and Jim Rooney. It was Pieta Brown who gave the record its final push. “Pieta asked me what had come of the recordings I’d done with Jim and Richard in 2019 and 2020. I told her I’d pretty much given up on trying to make a record. She asked would I mind if she had a listen. So, I had everything we’d done sent over to her, and not long after that I got a text, bouncing with exclamation marks: ‘You have a record and it’s called Workin’ On A World!’” With Bennett back in the studio with them, Brown and DeMent recorded several more songs and put the final touches on the record in Nashville in April of 2022.
The result is a hopeful album — shimmering with brilliant flashes of poignant humor and uplifting tenderness — that speaks the truth, “in the way that truth is always hopeful,” she explains. Reflecting on the lyrics of the song “The Sacred Now” (“see these walls/ let’s bring ‘em on down / it’s not a dream; it’s the sacred now”), DeMent is reminded of Jesus saying the Kingdom of God is within you and the Buddhist activist monk Thich Nhat Hanh saying the rose is in the compost; the compost is in the rose. On Workin’ On A World, Iris DeMent demonstrates that songs are the healing and the healing arises through song.
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
MATISYAHU
with DISTANT COUSINS
Creativity is like a fire in a fireplace: You have to tend it or it will go out. For nearly two decades,
Matisyahu has kept his creative spirit aflame by evolving his sound, melding genres, and testing
the limits of the musical traditions that have inspired him. His latest release, Hold The Fire, and its leadoff single “Fireproof” takes inspiration from a fire dream inspired by Matisyahu's Old Testament religion, which has meant so much to his spiritual and creative life since his recording career began in 2004 and his breakout track "King Without a Crown" blasted into the Billboard charts in 2005. In a roundabout way, those same Old Testament roots springboarded Matisyahu's music career. Growing up outside New York City, the young Matthew Miller followed jam bands like Phish and the Grateful Dead. Then, in Bob Marley and reggae, he found that the messaging of Rastafarianism was sourced in part from that same Old Testament. The sound that emerged on his first albums—including his first two studio releases as well as 2005's Gold-certified Live at Stubb's—embraced both the spirit of reggae and his spirituality and roots in Judaism. Buoyed by hits like "King Without a Crown," albums like the Grammy-nominated and Billboard No.1-ranked Youth in 2006, and the Gold-certified 2009 antiwar hit "One Day" (streamed over 150 million times on Spotify alone), he toured extensively through the second half of the aughts with a high-energy stage show that has since grown to include more improvisation. All the while his music expanded into a shapeshifting collision of reggae, hip-hop, alt rock and boldly inventive pop. Today, he continues to be inspired by evolving musical trends, finding linkages and loops between eras and genres. Matisyahu's spirituality has evolved in parallel with his music, though his Jewish heritage remains a central theme throughout his lifeand music. The new EP, Hold The Fire (out February 2024), also finds him reflecting on celebrity and artistic success. For Matisyahu, “the unbelievable and miraculous feeling of beingconnected to our people” is what keeps the creative fire alight.
Show 7pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
THE SLACKERS & LOS YESTERDAYS
with THE BANDULUS
For 33 years, the NYC-based and critically acclaimed Slackers have been touring the world with their blend of Ska, Reggae, and Soul.
Since 1991, the Slackers have released fifteen albums and countless singles, while their 1000s of live performances feed their fans with energetic sets of ecstatic music.
The Slackers have been called ‘the Sound of New York’ by the New York Times. They were described by Brooklyn Vegan as a “clean mix of Ska, Reggae, and Soul that gets dirtied up by Vic Ruggiero’s tough New York accent.’
In April 2022, The Slackers released a new album, “Dont Let The Sunlight Fool Ya” (Pirates Press) which quickly shot to the top of the US Billboard charts. The first time that a Slackers’ album has charted! Ironically after 30 years as a band, they qualified as a Billboard ‘new artist!’ The Washington Post noted that the Slackers “remain at the top of their game.”
The chart topping sales of “Dont Let The Sunlight Fool Ya” capped a 2 year comeback of the Slackers. When Covid stopped live shows in 2020, the Slackers pivoted to livestreams and made 5 full band concerts that were broadcast internationally to an audience of thousands. After the streams, they stayed in the studio and recorded the tunes that became ‘Dont Let the Sunlight Fool Ya.’
The Slackers capped this comeback with a series of frenetic tours in 2022 and 2023. They played everything from clubs to festivals in the USA, Canada, Europe, and Brazil.
In 2024, they are currently booking 90 shows. They are also currently working on a 20th anniversary reissue of their classic album, ‘Close My Eyes’ for September and on a new single of original music for October.
Official Website: www.theslackers.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/theslackers
Instagram: @theslackersband
Listen to the Slackers on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/02YdqekgXBbl7t1N59tVh3
Show 8pm
FULLY SEATED
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
PUDDLES PITY PARTY
Puddles Pity Party, the 7-foot sad clown whose golden voice is comparable to rock legends like Tom Jones and Freddie Mercury, has amassed nearly 900K YouTube subscribers and performed sold out shows all over the globe including The Kennedy Center in D.C., San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts, London’s Soho Theatre, and a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Neil Gaiman recently featured Puddles as guest performer in his specially curated gala for The Art of Elysium in Los Angeles. In 2022, Puddles performed a duet with the iconic Eric Idle in Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon filmed for CBS and was a surprise guest on the Season 4 finale of ABC’s The Conners. He also landed the coveted John Lewis Holiday advert in the UK with a cover of “All the Small Things” that he recorded with Postmodern Jukebox. Puddles was a quarter finalist on Season 12 of America’s Got Talent and appeared on the 2020 season of AGT The Champions.
Deftly combining melancholy with the absurd, Puddles has received endorsements and accolades from musical comedy legends like Jack Black, Michael McKean, Weird Al Yankovic, Drew Carey, Nick Offerman and Paul Reubens. His one-of-a-kind “textured voice laced with melancholy” (NY Times) has been hailed as “operatic” (Boston Globe) and his show both “life-affirming” (Herald Scotland) and “hysterically funny” (LA Weekly).
Show 9pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
TWISTED GYPSY - FLEETWOOD MAC... REIMAGINED
Join us as TWISTED GYPSY celebrates and REINVENTS the timeless music of the legendary FLEETWOOD MAC. “MORE THAN JUST A TRIBUTE”, Twisted Gypsy takes you back to the early days of Hollywood’s Sunset Strip and the heyday of 70’s Rock ’n Roll. They will transport you back in time to memories you forgot you had with their passion, ULTRA HIGH ENERGY, stellar all-live harmonies, fun stage banter AND RAW, TRACK-FREE performances! Close your eyes and you'll be blown away by our modern interpretation of the beloved Mac, whose music and vocals dominated the hearts of the planet. Not just another tribute band... TWISTED GYPSY is a surreal EXPERIENCE that will forever fill your soul …..
Show 8:30pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
GIMME GIMME DISCO
If you can’t get enough of ABBA, boy do we have THE dance party for you! We are a DJ based dance party playing all your favorite ABBA tracks, plus plenty of other disco hits from the 70s & 80's like The Bee Gees, Donna Summer, Cher, & so much more. So honey honey, take-a-chance and you’ll be dancing all night long. Grab tickets, put on your best disco attire, bring your friends, and have the best night of your life! 🪩🎤✨🕺💃❤️🫶
Show 9pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
L.A. GUNS
Long running hard rockers L.A. Guns released their new studio album, "Checkered Past" on November 12, 2021.
Order "Checkered Past" on CD/Color Vinyl/Digital HERE: https://orcd.co/checkeredpast
“Cannonball” (music video) https://youtu.be/17yeOHG4TZ4
“Get Along” (music video) https://youtu.be/FYjU0tgIDRs
Written and recorded during late 2020 and early 2021, "Checkered Past" sees Tracii Guns, Phil Lewis, and company continuing with the darker lyrical tone of the preceding studio albums, "The Devil You Know" and "The Missing Peace", while incorporating their classic rock influences into the mix. Heavier songs are mixed with bluesier, boogie inducing tracks and dark, introspective ballads, often harkening back to the first three albums the band made, but also pushing the band forward. When fans absorb the album as a whole, they'll see that the tracklisting is divided up into 'sets' or 'suites', where a sonic style is explored across multiple songs before moving on to the next, making for a remarkable listening experience.
Feeling inspired and excited like they did when they first started out, but with many years of wisdom and experience under their belts, and most importantly, a renewed and stronger creative and personal relationship, Guns and Lewis are maintaining a creative peak that started with "The Missing Peace". "Checkered Past" shows a band invigorated and ready to bash you over the head, as well as “wow” you with some epic, slower songs, and even make you dance a bit to some rock 'n roll.
Since their self-titled debut in 1988 to the widely praised comeback albums "The Missing Peace" and "The Devil You Know", L.A. GUNS, led by Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis have always delivered solid rock ‘n roll to their fans. This current incarnation of the band has been touring non-stop, with a notable break coinciding with all other touring bands, and the cohesiveness of the unit, not to mention Phil’s stunning and unique vocals and Guns’ mind-bending guitar playing, are on full display here. A must hear and listen for all fans of the band, both new and old.
L.A. Guns never looked like the pretty poster boys that so many of their peers did, but more the band that you would be terrified to bump into in an alley as they would likely be carrying switchblades and ready for a fight. But despite having many songs to back up that image, the band could also write powerful ballads (see the smash hit, “The Ballad Of Jayne” for Exhibit A of this argument) that showed there were some serious songwriting chops in the band. Those chops are on full display on the band's two most recent studio albums and the upcoming new album, "Checkered Past," arguably one of the most vital and exciting releases in the band’s catalog.
Show 7pm // 18+
FULLY SEATED
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER
Thunder from Down Under is a world-renowned Australian male revue known for its high-energy performances and charismatic entertainers. With a massive global fan base, the group has been thrilling audiences for years with their electrifying shows and captivating dance routines. Their dynamic performances have made them a highly sought-after live entertainment experience.
Show 10pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
The venue will open early at 7:00pm and dinner will be available for purchase for all ticket holders.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
THE PHARCYDE
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
BLACK FLAG - Performing "The First Four Years"
with THE DICKIES
Show 7:30pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
ATMOSPHERE
feat. Special Guests SAGE FRANCIS and MR. DIBBS
For over two decades, Atmosphere has maintained a course of rigorous output, releasing over two dozen studio albums, EP's and collaborative side projects in as many years. In that time, the venerated duo have built a legacy out of bringing honesty, humility and vulnerability to the forefront of their music, continually challenging themselves to evolve without straying too far from their roots. Slug has proven masterful at storytelling and writing compelling narratives, leaving a trail of his own influence while paying homage to the rappers and songwriters that helped shape him. Ant has skillfully molded the soundtracks with inspiration from soul, funk, rock, reggae, and the wizardry of hip-hop's pioneering DJ's and producers, creating his own trademark sounds while providing the pulse for songs about life, love, stress and setbacks. At its essence, Atmosphere has been a musical shepherd, and with each new album comes a new journey as they guide generations of listeners through this thing called life
Show 8pm
FULLY SEATED
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
STEPHANE WREMBEL
Stephane Wrembel stands as one of the world's most celebrated guitarists. Originally from Fontainebleau, France, Wrembel is renowned for his masterful blend of jazz, gypsy swing and world music enchanting audiences across the globe with his unique sound.
Wrembel is also a highly respected composer. His original compositions have graced the acclaimed films Midnight in Paris ("Bistro Fada"), Vicky Cristina Barcelona ("Big Brother") and Rifkin’s Festival (original score). Midnight in Paris won the Grammy Award® for "Best Compilation Soundtrack." At the 2012 Academy Awards®, Wrembel was handpicked by renowned composer Hans Zimmer to join his "All Star Band" performing alongside luminaries like Esperanza Spalding, Pharrell, and Shelia E.
With an already impressive discography of 19 albums released under his name and the pseudonym, The Django Experiment, Wrembel recently released a triptych-- 3 CDs entitled Phase 1, 2 and 3--recorded with his band and Canadian improvisational pianist Jean-Michel Pilc. Released in April of 2024, the triptych has received glowing press in Downbeat, Guitar Player Magazine, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, New York Jazz Record and more. Wrembel’s collaborations with other top musicians such as mandolinist David Grisman and Grammy Award®-winning guitarist Raul Midon highlight his remarkable versatility.
Additionally, Wrembel is a dedicated musical director and educator. Since 2003, he has curated the Django a Gogo Music Festival, a celebrated week-long event honoring the Sinti guitar style, held in Maplewood, New Jersey, and in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and The Town Hall and featuring series of master guitar classes.
Wrembel has shared the stage with legends including Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, The Roots, Medeski Martin & Wood, Me’shell Ndegeocello, John Scofield, Larry Keel, Stochelo Rosenberg, and Sam Bush. His performances on NPR’s prestigious Mountain Stage and the syndicated radio show Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour further showcase his diverse talent. His performances transcend genre boundaries, offering something different to every music enthusiast. As he himself puts it, “I just play my own music. It’s not only for the rock music lover, the Django Reinhardt lover or jazz lover. It’s for the music lover.”
Don’t miss your chance to see Stephane Wrembel live with his world-class band, featuring Josh Kaye on guitar and oud, Ari Folman-Cohen on bass and Nick Anderson on drums.
Quotes:
“…a revelation.” –Rolling Stone
“Stephane Wrembel just might be the greatest acoustic guitarist alive.”—The Aquarian
“Stephane Wrembel repeatedly soars whether performing his own music or classics by Django Reinhardt and Duke Ellington.”—San Diego Union Tribune
MORE INFO:
https://www.facebook.com/StephaneWrembel/
Show 8pm
FULLY SEATED
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
ELIJAH FOX
Elijah Fox is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and producer based in Los Angeles, CA. He grew up in Durham, NC and began playing piano at age 11 and was mentored early on by Yusuf Salim, a pianist who had played with Charlie Parker and began performing in local jazz clubs. Fox studied piano at Oberlin Conservatory with Sullivan Fortner, Billy Hart, Dan Wall, and Gary Bartz and graduated in 2017 before moving to New York City. His piano composition “East Village” was sampled by Drake and 21 Savage on “Major Distribution” reaching number 3 on the Billboard Charts. Fox has also recorded/produced for SZA, Masego, YG, ScHoolboy Q, Denzel Curry, Tate McCrae, Musiq Soulchild, Childish Gambino, Kali Uchis, J Cole, and many others as well as releasing his own original compositions and sample packs. His impressionistic original piano composition “Wyoming” went viral on TikTok and has received over 20 million streams on Spotify. He is signed to UMPG for publishing as a writer/composer. He is also the touring keyboardist for UK drummer Yussef Dayes and has performed throughout the world. Fox has also performed his original music at sold out shows across the US and Europe. His sound blends elements of jazz, Impressionism, and psychedelic soul. Fox also releases instrumental music under the alias @Soren Sostrom
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
DENM
with SURFER GIRL and CHAD TEPPER
DENM first made an impactful splash while dropping his Slum Beach Denny LP- DENM’s sparkling debut album which hit the scene in 2021. Garnering out of the box recognition from coveted playlists including the cover of Spotify’s “Beach Vibes.” Today, Slum Beach Denny has tallied over 25 million streams, and counting! The genre-bending, SoCal musician, songwriter, and producer blends a unique recipe of hazy daze optimism and suburban beach influence into a modern-day melting pot of hip-hop beats, dubby rhythms, and catchy vocal hooks with a bonafide street mentality. DENM possesses the edge and wit of an artist aware of the realities of society, while addressing his own personal values and tongue in cheek commentary on the quest for the American Dream.
Quickly and deservedly, he’s become a coveted, go-to producer amongst his core constituents, helming the Grammy-winning Best Reggae Album of 2022, SOJA’s Beauty in the Silence, as well as a co-write and production on HIRIE’s top-scoring single, “Respect,” plus his high flight collaboration on “Rage,” with Dirty Heads, Travis Barker, and The Interrupters. DENM also flexes his production skill set on out of the box Bounce phenom Big Freedia on the song “Strut.”
DENM’s 2nd release Slum Beach Posse Vol. 1, a seven-song collaborative EP with special guests Slightly Stoopid, Landon McNamara, Jesse James, and Benny Ranks, dropped in 2023 spawning the unmistakable single “Wild Trip” recorded during a surf and studio bender on Oahu’s North Shore with creative conspirator and big wave surfing legend Landon McNamara.”
DENM’s music has commanded notable synchs on several hit series, including Netflix’s Outer Banks, and All-American, and FOX’s Rescue: HI-Surf, and Prime’s Surf Girls Hawai’i. All of this comes ahead of a series of new singles preceding his forthcoming sophomore LP and a U.S. tour that has DENM hitting over 30 outdoor amphitheaters with likeminded cohorts, Pepper and Iration on the ‘Daytrippin in Paradise Summer Tour.’
“It’s all becoming more of what I had originally envisioned,” DENM says. “Everything is manifesting into part of this really cool trajectory to take the listener to places that I like to go.”
Denm has been known to create music in unique places, from Hawaii’s North Shore paradise of Oahu, hanging with Landon McNamara and friends, making music with the Slum Beach Posse between surf sets, or in the urban low-rider landscape of B-REAL from CYPRESS HILL’s Smoke-box studios in the alleys of Downtown Los Angeles. You may also find him behind the board and microphone at Rock Mafia Studios, with producers, Tim James and Antonina Armato, down the coast in Santa Monica, CA or in the Pacific, on a fishing boat drinking brews and writing tunes with Pepper’s Kaleo Wassman, such as the new album’s first single “Where I’m Going,” released on July 26, 2024. Places where days-long, beats-making all-nighters in the studio are routine. And where autobiographical references in his songwriting, reflecting, if not celebrating the seedier side of life, are the standard.
“My songs are about healing from past traumas. Coming of age. Honest songs about struggles with addiction. Songs about tweakers walking down the street really fast. The highs and lows of life, and love, and fatherhood,” DENM says. “Also, just being a mouthpiece for art and my surroundings, with songs about mental health, and the struggle to keep your vision clear and your head straight. It’s a little bit of everything.”
DENM spent his youth as an admittedly troubled teen bouncing from beach town to beach town in Southern California, teaching himself guitar at 14. His itinerant residencies in San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Isla Vista marked a challenging personal narrative full of life’s harshest lessons. They also fostered deeply genuine and eclectic sources of inspiration for his multifaceted talents.
Whether it’s crafting his own scintillating repertoire, or collaborating with a host of admiring peers like Slightly Stoopid, Dirty Heads and SOJA, DENM brings a relentless, undeniable vibe of authenticity to his work. Just three short years since his debut, he has risen to the upper tier of the SoCal scene, volleying his time between sought-after producer and songwriter, cutting edge recording artist, and magnetic live performer. Now, he just wants to keep rolling.
“I want to make music that makes the world move and groove,” says DENM. “If I just stay in that flow state, it’s only going to get better and more fun from here.”
For more info, visit www.denmdemndenm.com
Show 7pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
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 different countries. 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."
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
SHWAYZE
with BIKINI TRILL and TWIN FIN
Raised on the beaches of Southern California, Aaron Smith is a rapper, actor, musician, and father who became known to the world simply as Shwayze following a massive music breakout in 2008.
The Malibu native released his debut album Buzzin’ that summer with singer-producer Cisco Adler. The duo hit the road immediately on the Vans Warped Tour wearing skinny jeans, and singing about lost weekends in Hollywood, all while bringing the most legendary parties with them wherever they went.
Shwayze has since gone on to work with an array of producers and release several independent albums such as Shwayze Summer on his self-funded Feel Good Entertainment Music label. He continues reinventing his sound while staying true to the influences that brought him where he is today.
The past decade has boasted an impressive resume including a top 10 album, Billboard chart topping singles including ‘Buzzin’ and ‘Corona & Lime,’ a rock-doc reality show on MTV, and a number of roles in feature films and major network television- all while living on the road much of the year touring the world.
Shwayze continues to perform around the world and each year he finds new territories and fanbases to connect with.
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
JACKIE GREENE
Americana and roots singer-songwriter Jackie Greene is a jack-of-all-trades, and an artist who can croon over soulful piano ballads as much as he can shred a bluesy guitar solo (like he did as the lead guitarist for The Black Crowes in 2013). A road warrior and musician's musician, Greene's new EP 'The Modern Lives – Vol 2' (out October 2018 on Blue Rose Music) finds him at a new chapter in his life: his first months of fatherhood, time off his relentless touring circuit, and a cross-country move from Brooklyn to his birthplace of Northern California.
This new collection of six original songs is a thematic extension of 'The Modern Lives – Vol 1' EP (released in 2017 on Blue Rose Music), imbued with a Brooklyn basement DIY feel and ethos. He is a student of American music, transfixed upon its progression through time, as well as how regional sounds fit in a contemporary context. Whereas 'Vol 1' saw Greene experiment with the Delta blues as a canvas for his examinations of modern society, 'Vol 2' sees Greene embrace the sounds of the bluegrass and folk tapes of his youth.
Lead single "Crazy Comes Easy" showcases Greene's dynamic, multi-instrumental range as he plays slide guitar, organ, bass, and percussion, the guitar licks an appreciative nod to his time in The Black Crowes. Meanwhile, "Good Old Bad Times" highlights Greene as the songwriter as he rattles off lines like "How can somebody find a future? / If they ain't got a foothold in the past?" while taking a critical eye to the idea of nostalgia. Piano ballad "Victim Of The Crime" was one of Jackie's oldest demos up until the feel of these sessions gave him the tools to finish a song that, in his words, was written for his wife before she was his wife. While the title possesses a kind of melodrama, the song itself is tender and heartfelt as he details love's trials and tribulations.
Greene partnered with Academy Award-nominated "king of indie animation" Bill Plympton for a series of music videos for 'The Modern Lives – Vol 1' that would eventually become an animated short film titled 'The Modern Lives'. The film is currently making the rounds at film festivals where it has already won the Jury Award at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, TX, and the Grand Remi Award / Best in Show at WorldFest in Houstin, TX. The short is also being exhibited at the 71st Festival de Cannes/Court Metrage, Melbourne International Animation Festival, and ASIFA-East Festival, amongst others.
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
CURSIVE
with PILE
Very few bands manage to last decades, and for the ones that do, it’s often easy to settle down and get a little too comfortable. But there’s nothing comfortable about Devourer, the explosive new album from Cursive. The iconic Omaha group is known for their intensity, ambition, and execution, and has spent 30 years creating a bold discography that’s defined as much by its cathartic sound as its weighty, challenging lyrical themes. And Devourer is as daring as ever. Full of intense and incisive songs, the album proves exactly why Cursive have been so influential and enduring–and why they remain so vital today.
In the years since their 1995 formation, Cursive developed into one of the most important groups to emerge from the late-’90s/early ‘00s moment when the lines between indie rock and post-hardcore began blurring into something altogether new. Albums like Domestica (2000) and The Ugly Organ (2003) became essential touchstones whose echoes can still be heard in new bands today. The pull of nostalgia can be strong over time, but Cursive’s work has often felt like a rejection of those comfort zones; the band has continually pushed themselves, with frontman Tim Kasher’s artistic restlessness steering them ahead. In fact, for Kasher, whose pointed observations always begin with looking inward first, it was an interrogation of this voracious creativity that planted the seeds of Devourer.
“I am obsessive about consuming the arts,” he explains. “Music, film, literature. I’ve come to recognize that I devour all of these art forms then, in turn, create my own versions of these things and spew them out onto the world. It’s positive; you’re part of an ecosystem. But I quickly recognized that the term, ‘Devourer,’ may also embody something gnarly, sinister.” Devourer delves into that darker space. The characters populating the album have bottomless capacities for consumption, whether its resources, material goods, art, or even each other. Then they are consumed by larger forces, whether it’s humanity, Earth, dreams, time, or life itself. “Maybe a better word for it is imperialism,” Kasher says. “But it’s in many different forms. It’s not just the political. It’s personal imperialism and the imperialism of relationships, the way we imperialize one another, even ourselves.”
Fans have come to expect such heady topics from Cursive, but Devourer sets a new standard. The glibness of the First World toward the problems of others. The eternal struggle to stay on the straight and narrow. The eager acolytes exploited by their leaders. How anxiety can compound with age. How self-expression can warp into self-indulgence. Beginning with “Botch Job,” a propulsive banger shaking with anxiety and regret, the album seldom relents. Songs like “The Avalanche of Our Demise,” “What The Fuck,” “Bloodbather,” “Consumers,” and “The Age of Impotence” hit hard, hooking listeners with the unique blend of deep melody and discordant sounds Cursive does so well. Even as songs like “Up and Away,” “Imposturing,” and “Dead End Days” lean more into a poppier sound–or “Dark Star” and “The Loss” tone down the intensity–the album’s underlying disquiet remains. But as always, Cursive is here to wail, not wallow. As Kasher sings in “Bloodbather,” “Life’s an abscess or apple pie / So shut those demons up / And devour your slice.”
Devourer being filled to the brim thematically and musically is unsurprising considering Kasher wrote an astounding 69 compositions after songwriting began in the fall of 2020. About 20 made it to the practice space, with a curated 13 ending up on the final album. Wrangling it all at Omaha’s ARC Studios was Marc Jacob Hudson, who co-produced the album with the band after running live sound on Cursive’s recent tours. Hudson’s lengthy discography includes working with Against Me!, Thursday, and Fireworks, among others, but the musical touchstones he shares with Cursive sealed the deal. “We just got along well and had this kind of shared music history that I found so comforting,” Kasher says. “We were introduced to music in similar ways and, being the same age, share a musical knowledge. It was just so fun and refreshing.”
Now seven members strong (“We seem to be collecting band members over the years,” Kasher jokes), Cursive had a large musical toolbox to use on Devourer. Beyond the core trio of singer/guitarist Kasher, bassist Matt Maginn, and guitarist/vocalist Ted Stevens, there’s keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Newbery, cellist Megan Siebe, recording/touring drummer Pat Oakes, and founding drummer Clint Schnase (the two trade drumming duties across Devourer, but join forces for a two-pronged percussive force in “Rookie”).
Cursive had self-released their two previous albums on their label, 15 Passenger, and initially planned to release Devourer the same way–but ultimately decided to put out some feelers as well. “We got interest and it made it all feel like, ‘Yeah, we should do this,’” Kasher recalls. The group arrived on Run for Cover Records, who were excited to work with a band who has such a deep discography and storied history; it’s a fitting home for Cursive, with new labelmates like Fiddlehead, Citizen, Teen Suicide, and Self Defense Family that share a same DNA of emotionally and sonically biting music. “It really is the first time that we’ve gone off to another label since we started in 1995, when we signed to Crank! Records,” Kasher says. “So there’s a certain excitement to that. It’s no longer the excitement of, ‘We just got signed! I wonder what’s going to happen with this record?!’ It’s more like we’re doing something different–nothing feels rote.” Maginn adds, “More than most bands, our labels have been part of our history. We did it ourselves for years with 15 Passenger, so it’s a big deal to us to take on and trust new partners.”
While Cursive’s music hasn’t gotten any more comfortable, perhaps its being released into a world that’s at least a little more shaped in their image. Devourer sounds urgent and fresh, the work of a band still experimenting, still hungering to find new creative heights. On album highlight “Consumers,” the protagonist bemoans, “I saw our future and I want to go back.” But Cursive are only moving forward.
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
REVEREND HOTON HEAT
with BLACK JOE LEWIS
Loaded .38s, space heaters, and big skies. Welcome to the lethal, littered landscape of Jim Heath’s imagination. True to his high evangelical calling, Jim is a Revelator, both revealing and reinterpreting the country-blues-rock roots of American music. He’s a time-travelling space-cowboy on an endless interstellar musical tour, and we are all the richer and “psychobillier” for getting to tag along.
REVEREND HORTON HEAT have been the outlet of this creative mind for 29 years, leading to 10 full-length albums, 3 “best-of” collections, 2 DVD releases and thousands of memorable live performances. Never reaching platinum status or having a #1 radio single hasn?t been a problem for the Rev either, the band has continually been a mainstay of late night television and has toured with legendary acts such as Johnny Cash, Motorhead, Marilyn Manson, The Ramones, and many more, all of whom hold the Rev in the highest regard, as a true music industry legend.
Now, entered into a fresh new partnership with Victory Records, REVEREND HORTON HEAT show no signs of slowing down in 2014. January 21st marks the release of their 11th studio album, appropriately titled REV. The album marks a much lauded return to riff-laden, out-of-control rock ‘n roll that fans fell in love with when they first heard “Psychobilly Freakout”. The album’s first single has already turned heads; “Let Me Teach You How to Eat” is REVEREND HORTON HEAT at its finest: tongue-in-cheek and so catchy, it won’t leave your head for weeks.
The band has an incredible tour history and, with major shows and tours already booked throughout the year, will make sure you get the chance to dance one more time! Jim Heath and Jimbo Wallace have chewed up more road than the Google Maps drivers. For twenty-five psycho(billy) years, they have blazed an indelible, unforgettable, and meteoric trail across the globe with their unique blend of musical virtuosity, legendary showmanship, and mythic imagery.
“REVEREND HORTON HEAT, he’s great and plays the music he believes in and nothing else. Go see him or I’ll kill you!!” Lemmy Kilmister (MOTORHEAD)
Rev your engines and catch the sermon on the road as it’s preached by everybody’s favorite Reverend. REV is out January 21st.
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
THE ALTONS & THEE SINSEERS
The Altons-
Emerging from Southeast Los Angeles, The Altons have become a key fixture in the vibrant West Coast souldies scene. As pioneering members of Daptone Records' Penrose imprint, they quickly progressed from captivating local nightclubs to lighting up stages at major festivals such as Austin City Limits, Montreal Jazz Festival and Corona Capital, selling thousands of records along the way.
Central to The Altons' sound is the deeply harmonious interplay between the vocals of Adriana Flores and Bryan Ponce, which imbues their music with an intimate and sincere quality. Supported by the solid rhythm foundation laid by Caitlin Moss on drums and Chris “Bolillo” Manjarrez on bass, the band has crafted a sound that resonates with both nostalgia and freshness. Their musical journey is highlighted by the song “When You Go (That’s When You’ll Know),” which was sampled by Mary J. Blige on her Grammy-nominated album Good Morning Gorgeous, underscoring the broad appeal and versatility of their music.
Their upcoming debut album, Heartache in Room 14, produced by Daptone Records’ renowned Bosco Mann, signifies a pivotal evolution in their artistry. Describing the new creative process, Ponce notes, "This whole album was a new experience for us, from the way we approach songwriting to how we recorded the music." Flores adds, "Working at Penrose with Gabe was a turning point for us. Our songwriting process was meticulously broken down and rebuilt, focusing intensely on lyrics, melody, and arrangement."
The album’s opener, “Waiting,” showcases this lyrical vulnerability, telling a poignant story of longing and love against a backdrop of haunting organ and creeping rhythm. With tracks like “Del cielo te cuido” and “Perdóname,” the band explores their cultural roots, blending the heartfelt homage to traditional boleros with modern, moody instrumentals. "Your Light" furthers this trend, presenting a dreamy, earnest declaration of love marked by heavenly unison verses and a compelling call and response chorus.
Scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2025, with an extensive worldwide tour planned, Heartache in Room 14 is set to propel The Altons and their distinctive brand of soul music to new heights, captivating audiences across the globe with their unique sound and profound musical storytelling.
Thee Sinseers -
Straight out of East L.A. and led by multi-instrumentalist, producer and singer-songwriter Joseph Quiñones, Thee Sinseers feature a full brass section led by Eric Johnson (Tenor sax), Steve Surman (Bari sax) and Joseluis Jimenez (trombone). The line up also includes sweet harmonies and a tight rhythm section consisting of Christopher Manjarrez (Bass), Francisco Flores (Guitar), Bryan Ponce (Guitar/vox), Luis Carpio (Drums/vox) and Adriana Flores (Vox). Together they are a part of a community of musicians who are tying together the nostalgic and the classic with the innovative and the new to bring a unique sound to soul music.
Thee Sinseers are part of the Colemine Records family led by Terry Cole, who released their first singles, “It Was Only A Dream” and “I Don’t Mind” in 2019, with a full length LP, “Sinseerly Yours” releasing in March 2024. The band’s song “Seems Like” was also included in the inaugural compilation, “Presenting Penrose Records” from the Penrose imprint of the renowned, Brooklyn-based label, Daptone Records. The song “It Was Only A Dream” was featured in the feature film “Self Reliance” starring Jake Johnson, and in the TV show, “Riverdale”
To date, Thee Sinseers have dazzled audiences across the country in soul strongholds such as California, Texas, New York, Chicago, Oregon, and more. The road is paved in love and soul and Thee Sinseers are on their way to a venue near you soon.
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
BALLYHOO!
with SERANATION and THE HARBOR BOYS
Through 25 years and eight independent albums, the last four on their own Right Coast Records, Ballyhoo! have earned the exclamation point which marks their name. Starting in the basement of their mom’s Aberdeen, MD, home, rocking out on guitar and drums respectively, practicing every day, brothers Howi and Donald Spangler formed the proto-punk band in the mold of Green Day and Nirvana, with an eye towards the emerging ska genre led by Goldfinger, Sublime, 311 and No Doubt.
The group’s eighth and most recent studio album, the breezy, ska-fueled, hook filled Message to the World, on their own Right Coast Records, finds the self declared “beach-rockers,” having grown up in public, accepting the responsibilities of adulthood while still hanging on to their dreams of world domination. Stylistically, their music ranges from the hard-edged punk of 2018’s Detonate, which captured the feelings of anger and depression from dealing with personal loss and the exhaustion generated by over a decade on the road to the island reggae beats of the follow-up, Message to the World. “Whatever you want to achieve, just focus on that and work towards it,” explains Howi about the Ballyhoo! ethos. “Don’t worry about followers, views, or even money. Just keep making good stuff. One day it may be possible to finally quit that day job and live your dream full time.”Ballyhoo! is still doing just that, purveying good vibes, positivity and fun live shows meant to take you away from real life...
Show 8:30pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
MAGIC CITY HIPPIES - ENEMIES TOUR
with MUSTARD SERVICE
Show 8pm
FULLY SEATED
V.M.H. & Rum & Humble Present:
LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO
Let us tell you a story. An impossible to believe, yet, true story. Once upon a time there was a teenage boy working on his family farm in apartheid South Africa. The year was 1960. This boy loved to sing, in fact he loved to sing so much that he allowed himself an impossible dream. In his dream he would create a group of singers, from his family members, to sing traditional South African songs. His group would perform all over South Africa and they would become the greatest music group his country would ever know. How could such a dream come to a young farm boy in a country rife with hardship, violence and trouble? Well, Joseph Shabalala was this young farm boy and his dream would become Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
The year 2023 marks the 63rd anniversary of Joseph Shabalala forming Ladysmith Black Mambazo. His group would not only conquer all of South Africa, but would become a worldwide phenomenon, winning more GRAMMY Awards (Five), and receiving more GRAMMY Award nominations (Nineteen), than any World Music group in the history of recorded music.
During the dark years of South African Apartheid, Ladysmith Black Mambazo followed a path of peaceful protest through songs of hope and love. When Nelson Mandela was released from prison, in 1990, he said that Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s music was a powerful message of peace that he listened to while in jail. When Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1993, he asked the group to join him at the ceremony. It was Mandela who called Ladysmith Black Mambazo “South Africa’s Cultural Ambassadors to the World.”
The group sings a traditional music style called isicathamiya (Is-Cot-A-Mee-Ya), which developed in the mines of South Africa. It was there that black workers were taken to work far away from their homes and families. Poorly housed and paid, the mine workers would entertain themselves, after a six-day work week, by singing songs into the wee hours on Saturday night and Sunday. When the miners returned to their homes, this musical tradition returned with them.
In the mid-1980s, American singer/songwriter Paul Simon famously visited South Africa and incorporated the group's rich harmonies into his renowned Graceland album – a landmark recording considered seminal in introducing World Music to mainstream audiences. This brought the group to the attention of music lovers all over the world, the beginning of a global musical career that shows no sign of ending.
After leading his group for over fifty years and approaching his seventy-fifth birthday, Joseph Shabalala retired in 2014, handing the leadership to his three sons, Thulani, Sibongiseni and Thamsanqa Shabalala. Having joined their father’s group in 1993, their many years of training had prepared them in ways no others could be trained. Now, carrying their father’s dream into the future, the Shabalala Family continues the group’s success for the world to hear.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is Thulani Shabalala, Sibongiseni Shabalala, Thamsanqa Shabalala, Msizi Shabalala, Albert Mazibuko, Abednego Mazibuko, Mfanafuthi Dlamini, Pius Shezi and Sabelo Mthembu.
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
SUN ROOM
Born and raised in SoCal's surf-rock scene, Sun Room, quickly went from getting the cops called on them for playing too loudly at house shows to performing their music in sold out room across dozens of countries.
After a series of unexpected viral moments, two of their songs were included on the hit Netflix series, Outer Banks, which continued the wave of excitement online. So within just six months of the band forming, Sun Room went on to sell out a run of shows across the US, support Louis Tomlinson's North and South American tour, and support Inhaler in Europe.
Making their way back to the US in Fall 2022, Sun Room embarked on their first headline tour across North America, selling over 13,000 tickets. Getting back on the road in Spring 2023, the band toured the US with Inhaler, then went straight into their own headline run.
After returning home to San Diego for the summer, Sun Room finished their latest EP "At Least I Tried" - A 4 track EP produced by Zac Carper from FIDLAR, one of the band's biggest influences growing up in the California DIY scene. The project was met with great responses from the public, scoring playlist covers across DSPs, a highlight from Iggy Pop on BBC 6 and DIY Mag describing them as "a band so unashamedly indebted to the garage rock'n'roll of decades past..." The project dropped as the band kicked off their second headline tour across all of North America, playing in over 30 cities, before finally jetting off to Australia for a headline tour and series of festivals for December 2023 - January 2024.
Coming off a headline run and festival circuit in Spring 2024, Sun Room is gearing up to release their latest EP on August 9th with the first singles "Hate It When You Call" and "Get Me Outta New York City" out now. Watch the music video for "Hate It When You Call" HERE. This EP drops, just before the band joins Dayglow on his fall headline tour for 20+ dates across the US before jumping into their own biggest West Coast tour yet.
In 2023, Sun Room gained over 500k followers across social media with a steady flow of global listeners that continue to grow as they experiment with their sound, play in new cities, and pull influences from the unique experiences they have encountered in just three years of being a band.
Show 8pm
FULLY SEATED
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
SONJA MORGAN: Sit Down with Sonja in Your City
Sonja is coming to your town for an unfiltered cabaret comedy show that will have you seeing
double and feeling single!!! Sit Down with Sonja in your City for a show unlike any other where
YOU are the star! Well, Sonja is the star, but she wants to meet you too. Come ready to ask all
your burning questions and you know Sonja will answer in her unabashedly unlike anyone
fashion. Bawdy and real.
Show 8pm
GA tickets are standing room only, with very limited seating available first come, first served.
Ventura Music Hall Presents:
GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR
Godspeed You! Black Emperor released a string of albums from 1997-2002 widely recognized as redefining what protest music can be, where longform instrumental chamber rock compositions of immense feeling and power serve as soundtracks to late capitalist alienation and resistance. The band’s first four releases—especially F#A#∞ (1997) and Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (2000)—are variously regarded as classics of the era and genre. Godspeed’s legendary live performances, featuring multiple 16mm projectors beaming a collage of overlapping analog film loops and reels—along with the distinctive iconography, imagery and tactility of the band’s album artwork and physical LP packages— further defines the sui generis aesthetic substance, ethos and mythos of this group. GY!BE has issued two official band photos in its 25-year existence (the second, left, a 2010 recreation of the first from 1997) and has done a half-dozen collectively-answered written interviews over that same span. The band has never had a website or social media accounts. It has never made a video. Few rock bands in our 21st century have been as steadfast in trying to let the work speak for itself and maintaining simple rules about minimising participation in cultures of personality, exposure, access, commodification or co-optation.
Following a seven-year hiatus that began in 2003, Godspeed returned to the stage in December 2010 (curating the UK festival All Tomorrow’s Parties) and the band’s post-reunion period has now lasted over a decade, marked by hundreds of sold-out live shows and three additional albums, all of which have been met with high acclaim.
G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! – the band’s fourth post-reunion album (and eighth overall) – was released on April 2nd, 2021.