First and foremost, a sincere heartfelt wish to PA Musician family member, Chris Rider and his girlfriend, Wendy Ellenberger who sadly lost their home and dogs in a tragic fire on October 8th. Wishing them both the best in this terribly sad time. There are two benefit concerts being held for Chris & Wendy: November 1st at HMAC featuring Martini Bros, Shea Quinn, Groove Rebels, Gillian Smith and Suicide Puppets. And November 17th at Lovedrafts featuring Cass and The Bailout Crew, Lyndhurst, Coal, Hot & Dangerous, Brenden Starr and Suicide Puppets.
Greetings Rockers ’N’ Rollers! The past month began with The Jesus & Mary Chain and The Psychedelic Furs at Philadelphia’s Franklin Music Hall on Sept 29. The two 80’s alternative bands are currently on tour together for 27-shows across America. The tour began in Philadelphia and culminates this month with 5-shows across California. Harrisburg University brought singer/songwriter Mat Kearney to XL Live on Oct 2. Harrisburg University Presents has three shows upcoming: The Struts at XL Live (Oct 29), Dawes at XL Live (Nov 20) and Michael Feinstein (Tony Bennett tribute) at Forum (Feb 22). Last month required concert road trips to Philadelphia, Washington DC, Baltimore and New York City. Cumgirl8 held a record release party for their debut record at Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right on Oct 5. A great show with a tremendous opening act, MangoDog, from Bushwick, Brooklyn. MangoDog, known for playing the streets of NYC is gaining popularity quickly for his wonderful goth, new wave sound.
80’s alternative band, Gene Loves Jezebel, also visited the East Coast as part of their ‘USA 2024’ tour of 21-dates. The band played two shows in Pennsylvania, Oct 12 in Marion Center and Oct 13 in Wayne. Sumthing Strange toured with Gene Loves Jezebel as the opening band for all dates. Fontaines DC from Dublin, Ireland just concluded their ‘Romance USA & Canada Tour 2024’ with two shows at Washington DC’s 9:30 Club on Oct 18-19 and Philadelphia Oct 20. The post-punk band has been around the past 10 years and have become huge selling out clubs every night. And three-piece indie rock band, Dehd, played Washington DC’s Howard Theatre on Oct 23. They are currently touring for their fifth studio album, Poetry, which will end with 3 sold-out shows in their hometown of Chicago on Nov 12,13,14.
Shea Quinn returned to The Village nightclub in Lancaster on Oct 25. Billed as ‘Quinn and the Finnz’ – a group consisting of Shea Quinn and Steve Zero, both from legendary local band The Sharks and also features Ian Rawhauser (son of Sharks late singer, Sam Lugar) and features Logan Bedard on drums and James Klippel on keyboards. Local hero, Jeffrey Gaines, also returned to Central PA to provide as the opening act for the show. The Village nightclub had been closed since December 10, 2022 and reopened September 20th this year by Rich Ruoff, who used to own The Chameleon nightclub in Lancaster.
Industrial rock band, KMFDM, returned to Harrisburg with a performance at HMAC on Oct 26. The German-based band are celebrating their 40th anniversary as a group with 15 concerts in America. KMFDM had played Harrisburg’s HMAC earlier this year.
Oasis announced North American dates of their “Oasis Live ’25” world tour with 9-dates. “America. Oasis is coming. You have one last chance to prove that you loved us all along,” Oasis commented. The British band will perform in stadiums in Toronto, Chicago, East Rutherford; Pasadena, California; and Mexico City – with Cage The Elephant as the special guest across all dates. Their UK dates sold out in no time, “culminating in the biggest concert launch ever seen in the UK and Ireland, with over 10 million fans from 158 countries queuing to buy tickets.” Oasis currently have 33-worldwide shows for 2025 with five dates concluding in Australia.
The ‘Cruel World’ Festival on May 17, 2025 has announced performers: New Order, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Go-Go’s, Devo, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Death Cult, Garbage, Madness, ‘Til Tuesday, She Wants Revenge, Alison Moyet, Buzzcocks and more. The show will mark ‘Til Tuesday’s first performance with the original lineup in 35 years. Death Cult — which eventually became The Cult — will perform songs from their original discography. The single-day festival takes place at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Mötley Crüe played three sold-out club shows at legendary Hollywood venues, celebrating their homecoming. The historic Höllywood Takeöver took place Oct. 7 at the iconic Troubadour in Los Angeles, followed by a night at the Roxy on Oct. 9 and another at Whisky A Go Go on Oct. 11. The band collaborated with several brands for exclusive drops and stated, “We are also excited to kick off the Mötley Crüe Giveback Initiative and are aiming to raise $ 250K before the end of this year for Covenant House, an organization near and dear to our hearts.” They put up for auction the band’s one-of-one stage-played instruments and rare collectibles from the Höllywood Takeöver to benefit Covenant House, which supports young people experiencing homelessness.
Phish’s beloved traditional New Year’s run at Madison Square Garden will return to ring in 2025. Set for Dec. 28-31, the four performances will bring Phish’s total number of shows at The World’s Most Famous Arena to an astonishing 87. Phish had a busy year – selling out four nights at Sphere in Las Vegas in April, released their 16th studio album in July, and capped their annual North American summer tour with a four-night stand in both Colorado and Delaware.
It’s been a remarkable year for The Linda Lindas, opening for The Rolling Stones in the summer, touring with Green Day and Smashing Pumpkins for the “Saviors Tour” and having a track, “Growing Up,” featured on the soundtrack for “Inside Out 2,” the highest grossing movie of 2024. With the recent release of their second album, No Obligation, the female rock band hailing from Los Angeles is ready to headline their own tour. The Linda Lindas announced they’re hitting the road in 2025 for an 18-date trek which visits Washington DC’s Black Cat April 18 and Philadelphia’s Union Transfer on April 21.
Foreigner has extended their farewell tour due to demand, after being inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall. It begins with a three-week residency at The Venetian in Las Vegas at which original members Rick Wills and Al Greenwood will sit in with the band’s current iteration. “Discussions are in hand to include Lou Gramm as Foreigner moves toward its 50thAnniversary in 2026,” according to a press release. Foreigner will then cut across America for 26 shows concluding in Atlantic City, NJ on Oct 10 & 11, 2025.
Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys will tour 14 cities for their annual St. Patrick’s Day tour in 2025, concluding with four shows in the band’s hometown of Boston, March 14-17, featuring Bouncing Souls and Hot Water Music. The tour visits The Anthem in Washington DC on Feb 27 and Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, PA on March 11. The Menzingers and Teenage Bottlerocket will support on most statewide dates.
This year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony features inductees from a wide selection of musical genres, including rock (Peter Frampton, Foreigner), hip-hop (A Tribe Called Quest), pop (Cher), funk (Kool & the Gang), metal (Ozzy Osbourne), rock-jazz-jamband fusion (Dave Matthews Band) and R&B/hip-hop (Mary J. Blige). The event takes place at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Oct. 19 and features presenters: Dr. Dre, Dua Lipa, James Taylor, Jelly Roll, Julia Roberts, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Demi Lovato, Busta Rhymes, Chuck D and Ella Mai. Livestreamed on Disney+ or Hulu and broadcasted later on ABC.
The Warped Tour has declared “we are so back,” announcing dates for its 2025 return with events planned in Washington, D.C. June 14-15; Long Beach, California July 26-27 ; and Orlando, Florida Nov. 15-16. The lineup is still not announced but each city will host between 70 to 100 bands, marking the traveling festival’s 30th anniversary.
Massive Attack canceled their U.S. fall tour dates, citing “unforeseen circumstances.” The dates were set to kick off on Oct. 17 in Atlanta and an appearance at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. The shows were set to Massive Attack’s first U.S. tour in five years, and the group did not elaborate further except to say they, “appreciate your understanding at this time.”
Coldplay released their 10th studio album, Moon Music, Oct. 4, as well as 10 North American shows on their record-setting “Music Of The Spheres World Tour.” Cities include Stanford, California; El Paso, Texas; and Madison, Wisconsin. More debut stadium performances are scheduled in Denver, Colorado; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Nashville, Tennessee. Coldplay continue “to make good on their efforts to reach every corner of the globe.” Since kicking off in March 2022, the “Music Of The Spheres World Tour” has sold over 10 million tickets making it the all-time highest attended tour by a group.
NOVEMBER CONCERTS: Chris+Wendy Benefit w/ Shea Quinn / Martini Bros – Harrisburg HMAC Nov 1. Steel – New Oxford Bourbon Mill Nov 2. The Virus – York Skid Row Nov 3. Sebastian Bach – Harrisburg HMAC Nov 3. Anthrophobia – York Skid Row Nov 8. Rumours – York Skid Row Nov 10. The Super High-Tech Jet Fighters – York Skid Row Nov 14. Jeffrey Gaines – Pottstown Rivet Nov 16. All Mighty Senators – Towson Recher Theatre Nov 23.
