Music❯Metal

Thursday, November 5th, 2026 6:30PM Roseland Theater All Ages General Admission Floor | 21 & Over Reserved Seating Balcony No refunds or exchanges. Tickets are non-transferable. Will Call name changes not permitted. Print at home tickets can be...

For over two decades, Railroad Earth has captivated audiences with gleefully unpredictable live shows and eloquent and elevated studio output. The group introduced its signature sound on 2001’s The Black Bear Sessions. Between selling out hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO, they’ve been responsible for launching signature festivals Hangtown Music Festival in Placerville, CA and Hillberry: The Harvest Moon Festival in Eureka Springs, AR. Sought after by legends, the John Denver Estate tapped them to put lyrics penned by the late John Denver to music on the 2019 vinyl EP, Railroad Earth: The John Denver Letters. Beyond tallying tens of millions of streams, the collective has earned widespread critical acclaim from David Fricke of Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, Glide Magazine, and NPR, who assured, “Well-versed in rambling around, as you might expect from a band named after a Jack Kerouac poem, the New Jersey-built jam-grass engine Railroad Earth has let no moss grow under its rustic wheels.”

Halfway through the four-year touring cycle for their eighth full-length record Gnosis, Chicago-based instrumental trio Russian Circles hit the two-decade anniversary of their formation. One might expect a band to capitalize on such a major milestone. Instead, guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz, and bassist/keyboardist Brian Cook spent 2024 unceremoniously touring in support of their most recent album across Australia, South America, Europe, and North America. After all, this is the work ethic that built Russian Circles into one of the biggest heavy instrumental rock bands in the world. This is a band with no hit songs. No fan consensus on their best album. Just a reputation for consistency and quality.

Not that things haven’t changed in the last 22 years. The band is now spread out between Chicago, Los Angeles, and a rural island off the coast of Seattle. While the trio insists their music is a confluence of broad-ranging influences-the formidable Touch & Go artists of the Midwest, the prog giants of late ’60s and early ’70s England, the hypnotic motorik and kosmische grooves of West Germany, the international underground’s most caustic strains of metal-it is fair to say Russian Circles’ adventurous diversity has evolved into its own distinct sound. As one of the notoriously press-shy members anonymously mentioned, “the music we make is a collective process of reconciliation, navigation, and reflection upon aging both as individuals and as a creative entity. Life has created very real distances between us, but the band continues to be at the center, and this creative collaboration is a way of charting the passage of time while also giving us a reason to look to the future.” On their latest album, Nine, the band triangulates their relative positions into singular seismic long-form album-oriented soundtracks to the trials and tragedies of life in the modern age.

For Nine, Russian Circles adhered to their strategy from Blood Year (2019) and Gnosis (2022) by teaming up with engineer Kurt Ballou (Converge, Mastodon, High on Fire). Basic tracking took place at Electrical Audio in Chicago while the finishing touches occurred at Ballou’s GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts. Recording at Electrical Audio allowed the band to retain a thread to their earliest endeavors, with the band having recorded at Steve Albini’s exalted studio as far back as their debut album Enter (2006). The relationship with Ballou is a more recent development stemming back to the band’s sixth album Guidance (2016), owing to his ability to highlight the weight and entropy of metal and hardcore bands in their natural environment while enhancing the clarity and articulation often lost in walls of distortion.

Nine continues Russian Circles’ unhurried evolution and disciplined refinement, leaning into their strengths while pushing at the boundaries of their sound. Album opener “Borehole” offers what might be the band’s closest approximation of a traditional rock song schematic, with a structure of repeating parts that takes the listener on a journey promising hope only to bring them full circle to the dark, desolate, and dystopian futility of the song’s namesake: Russia’s abandoned Kola Superdeep Borehole. From there, the band launches into a ferociously concise overview of metal battle tactics with “Empath”-where a Godflesh-style bass crunch and tornado siren drone ushers in thrash-inspired guitars, venomous black metal attacks, d-beat forays, a deliciously knuckleheaded hardcore breakdown, and a final scorched earth war metal riff, all in just under five minutes. Side A closes with Nine‘s grand centerpiece-the patiently cataclysmic “Eluvial.” Centered around the kind of ping-ponging delayed guitar patterns that Brian Eno and The Edge developed for The Joshua Tree, guitarist Mike Sullivan slowly unfurls a winding, linear melody against the backdrop of drummer Dave Turncrantz’s Latin-rhythm-inspired groove and Brian Cook’s pairing of grinding bass and stuttering electronics. “Eluvial” slowly builds to an apex, leaving only the vaguest breadcrumb trail of obscured percussive and melodic motifs to the song’s final cleansing tempest.

The latter half of Nine builds on Russian Circles’ aural expansion. Side B opens with bottom-end synth pulses, dubby bass lines, serpentine finger-tapped guitar patterns, and nimble rhythmic shifts on “E2.” On “Meridian,” the band once again employs the slow-build strategies of their post-rock inclinations, with Turncrantz’s propulsive drums and Sullivan’s Steve Reich-esque arpeggios giving the song a sense of constant forward momentum, perfectly suited for gliding along the expressways of towering metropolises on neon nights. The album ends with the light and dark contrast of “Arletta” and “Seventh Seal.” Much like Cliff Burton-era Metallica’s penchant of pairing melancholic classical guitar passages with the blunt force trauma of their heaviest tracks, so does the stark beauty of Sullivan’s nylon string solo composition usher in the band’s most unapologetically straightforward metallic assault.

The album art for Nine consists of photographs of Snowpile for Chicago, a sculpture by Tony Tasset that’s been on display in the windows of Chicago Public Library’s West Town Branch since 2004-the year Russian Circles formed. Constructed out of cast bronze, brass, fiberglass, resin, and oil paint, Snowpile for Chicago is a convincing recreation of the mounds of dirty snow that occupy city streets throughout Midwest winters. The inclusion of this image is partially a nod to the band’s hometown, but more importantly serves as an analogy for Russian Circles’ music. It’s a meticulously crafted piece that documents a cold, harsh, and ugly reality. Even though this artifact captures something that is unpleasant, its rendering by human hands gives it a quality of striking beauty. There is a larger conversation to be had about transgressive art, ephemera, the devaluing of art in a cultural landscape that craves constant content, the advent of AI in creative realms, and the general sense of futility that looms over musicians in the modern age, but as an instrumental band, Russian Circles opt to plant these notions in the listeners’ heads through the image of a haunting sculpture in a stark interior space rather than through crafting online manifestos, social media rants, or topical lyrics.

Reinvention is unnecessary when the path forward has always been an open horizon. When it comes to Russian Circles, you can go back through their catalog and find a vast array of moods, stylistic shifts, and timbral experiments across any given album, yet there has been a noticeable progression in the overall experience of taking in any one of their albums as a whole. Whereas earlier albums were almost playful in their traversing of territories, Nine is a document of a band that knows the lay of the land and is fortifying their dominion over the varied terrain.

Nick Dumas leads on mandolin and vocals, bringing the soulful foundation he learned from his dobro-playing grandfather in Washington State, now living in Wisconsin. Nick is a former member of Grammy-nominated Special Consensus and a three-time IBMA award winner. Nick has performed across the globe and recently released his solo album "Details" on Nashville's Skyline Records. Nick now has three new singles released on Skyline Records from a soon-to-come project, all of which have made it to #1 on the bluegrass airplay charts. When not touring with the trio or his own band, "Nick Dumas and Branchline," Nick teaches mandolin lessons at home and with The Fiddler's Farm Band in WI. He also co-founded the well-known Northwest bands "Northern Departure" and "North Country Bluegrass".

Chris Luquette showcases his virtuosic guitar work alongside vocals, drawing from his 11 years with the celebrated Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen. This multi-instrumentalist has shared stages with Jerry Douglas, Emmylou Harris, and The Steep Canyon Rangers, earning multiple IBMA awards and a Grammy nomination along the way. Originally from Seattle's vibrant music scene and now based in New York City, Chris brings an eclectic musical palette that spans from traditional bluegrass to world music influences. Chris is a co-founder of Northern Departure along with Nick.

Andrew Knapp anchors the trio with his exceptional bass playing and rich vocals. He is one of the premier bassists to come out of the Pacific Northwest. Andrew can also be seen with Seattle-based bluegrass band The Warren G. Hardings, as well as Nick Dumas and Branchline. As a classically trained jazz bassist, he has performed with nationally recognized artists such as Kenny Garrett and Terence Blanchard, toured Europe and Brazil, and played on ships for Carnival Cruise Lines. Also, a graduate of the Whitworth University Jazz program. He is one of the best in the business.

Platinum certified singer, songwriter, producer, and multi instrumentalist Sueco has established herself as one of alternative music’s most versatile independent artists, amassing over 1 billion global streams and billions of views across social platforms. Since breaking onto the scene in 2018, he has been at the forefront of a new generation of internet native artists, leveraging viral storytelling, digital marketing, and direct fan engagement to build a global audience. By consistently creating moments that resonate both online and on stage, Sueco has cultivated a loyal worldwide fanbase while establishing himself as one of alternative music’s most recognizable voices.

Known for seamlessly blending rock, punk, metal, hip hop, and pop into a sound entirely his own, Sueco has built a catalog that refuses to be confined by genre. Equal parts songwriter, producer, and performer, his ability to pair massive hooks with raw emotion and explosive energy has earned him a reputation as one of the genre’s most exciting crossover artists while maintaining an unmistakable artistic identity.

That momentum has continued through 2026. Sueco returned with “REARRANGING SCARS,” featured in the latest installment of the Scream franchise, before joining forces with blackbear on the explosive single “ENEMY.” He followed it with “ARE YOU ENTERTAINED?” alongside longtime friend and collaborator Jeris Johnson, delivering one of the year’s standout alternative collaborations and further showcasing his versatility as both a songwriter and artist.

Now fully independent, Sueco continues to build momentum through major film placements, high profile collaborations, and a growing international audience while maintaining full creative control over his music and career. His fearless songwriting, genre bending creativity, and instinct for connecting with fans have positioned him among a new generation of artists redefining what an independent career can look like.

Senses Fail have been called any number of things across their near 25 years as a band - emo, screamo, post-hardcore, metalcore, pop punk. It's testament to the band's perpetual evolution as much as it is their steely endurance - a quality which frontman Buddy Nielsen has required bottomless reserves of along the ride. It's through the songs of Senses Failthat Nielsen has forever made sense of and peace with life's highs and lows; a journey that began in the leafy suburbs of Ridgewood, New Jersey with the iconic Gold-selling debut album Let It Enfold You, and which has since seen Senses Fail become one of rock music's most cherished, celebrated names.

Los Angeles based nineteen year old Jeremiah Mark (they/he) released their first full-length endeavor under the moniker Lucy Bedroque, their deadAir Records debut. With no prior singles, the breakneck seventeen track shotgun blast of Digicore and Hardcore Hip Hop, titled “Unmusique” has established them as a bastion of these underground sounds. The release date coincided with their first show on the Jane Remover and Dazegxd tour “TURN UP OR DIE”, along with a full west coast run.

Leading up to this moment, Lucy Bedroque gained a cult following in the shadowy sectors of the online underground, with a break-out debut LP “Sisterhood” as Lostrushi. This is the name that raised them to notoriety alongside peers 9lives, prettifun, and egobreak. The new material continues further down the same path, combining cutthroat rage, with the eclecticism and sensitivities of Stereolab, Radiohead, and Deftones.

While forging their distinct multi-media surrealism, Mark also found a penchant for customized linguistics and contorting the English language. Most notably, the title “Glutmother” (the name fans chose for a hyper-active Subreddit) graces the cover art of the debut and the packaging of “Unmusique. “The role of motherhood here is representative of a superiority to everything around it. But beyond humans, it’s a reference to mother nature and creation.” They explain. As for why it’s juxtaposed with gluttony, that’s because “People want more than anyone can handle, and I’ve responded to it with a perfectionist’s mindset.” They combine into a deep resonance of identity that’d easily evade a new listener.

Super-Deluxe Fiddle, Banjo, and Song

Through twenty years and a couple of thousand shows together in bands such as The Foggy Hogtown Boys and The Lonesome Ace Stringband, John Showman and Chris Coole have developed a deep and instinctual musical bond. Their music lurks in a truly unique space, somewhere on the outskirts of old-time, bluegrass, and folk. The songs of John Hartford, Hank Williams, Dock Boggs, and The Band share space with the fiddle tunes of Eck Robertson and Ed Haley. The duo's original songs and tunes take in all these vistas and paint something both personal and timely.

They have performed across North America and Europe at festivals such as Merlefest, Rockygrass, Greyfox, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Mariposa, Wintergrass, The Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival, and The Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum. In addition to the five Lonesome Ace albums, John and Chris have released two duo albums - " Afield" a collection of old-time fiddle tunes, and "Much Further Out than Inevitable - A Tribute to Some Music of John Hartford."

"Powerful musicians, playing and singing some powerful music" - Bluegrass Unlimited

"Danceable, poppy, and soulful, it's old-time that's modern and timeless, both" - Bluegrass Situation

(Roddy Campbell, Penguin Eggs Magazine)