Last week we went over the Top Ten most badass things we saw from touring acts in 2024. As is tradition, we will now go over the most badass things we saw from the locals. This was a year where we got to see new bands pop up, a regional city make a big impact in Lawrence, and country getting gay again (hooray!).
Now remember, we didn’t get to every single show. So take it with a grain of salt. But we did see a lot. Here are, in our professional opinion, the most badass things we saw from local acts this year.
10. The Fun Guy
We are really enjoying the Fun Guy’s political discontent. Fronted by staggeringly tall Ranjit Arab (who is not Arab, but actually Indian and American), the band has been indulging us with a perfectly retro punk vibe (think The Clash).
Their latest album tackled everything from identity to politics to crimes against indigenous populations (when a seven-foot-tall brown man is yelling at you about stealing land from the indigenous, you need to listen), all against some speedy guitar riffs and beats that always get the crowd going. The band burst out the gate strong at the beginning of the year, and don’t seem to be slowing down.
9. City Hall
New bands were hard to come by after the pandemic, but it really feels like Lawrence is back in the full swing of things now. One of our favorite new bands is City Hall.
We first noticed them at the beginning of the year opening for The Velveteers. This is a great example of the energy we expect from the college rock scene. Great guitar riffs, solid drummer (an anomaly in the college scene some years), and the powerhouse vocals on their singer? To die for. Absolutely raw, knocks you off your feet, and he somehow makes it look effortless. In fact, the entire band has that “too cool for school” aura about them, which inevitably makes them very cool.
Our favorite new track from the band: Radio. Listen below.
8. The Pedal Steel Festival
We love innovative musicians and promoters who step outside of their comfort zones, one of them is Billy Ebeling, who must found just about every pedal steel guitar player between here and Tonganoxie.
Ebeling is normally known for his accordion work, but it’s a good thing he likes to meddle with the pedal. When he schemed up the idea (that Billy, always scheming!) to throw a pedal steel guitar fest in Lawrence, he called on former teachers and fellow players for the Granada event. Nine, count ’em, NINE pedal steel guitars took up the entire width of the stage (and then some, as they had to curve the line of instruments to accommodate everyone). They played in-the-round, but then all together at the same time at the end of the show, and it was a FANTASTIC sound to experience.
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7. The Wichita Invasion
I know Lawrence is seen as a music town, but trust us when we say that some of the best music in Lawrence right now is coming from Wichita. The city has consistently for the past year (and then some) been providing a pipeline of nonstop killer musical acts.
Case in point: Keo and Them. This is a band that mixes so many genres, yet has the power to create a silky smooth sound that had the audience just eating out of the palm of their hand. Their no-frills Midwestern sensibility approach to funk and R&B was enhanced by sultry vocals, thick bass lines, and a guitarist who absolutely shredded, but with intention. They were instantly likable but never had to boost their volume to gain everyone’s attention. We want you to think about that for a moment, what a band with a certain level of gentleness has to do to get everyone’s attention over the batshit madness of the obnoxiously loud dance floor outside. There are a lot of good bands coming out of Wichita right now. Keo and Them are hands down the best one.
6. Silent Ave
This is one of Lawrence’s rising stars and biggest hustlers.
Silent Ave consistently brings us one of our favorite things in performers: the unexpected. Never in our wildest dreams would we expect a rapper to successfully blend hip-hop, emo, pop and country music so well together, but he did it (and he has the cowboy boots to match!). You could probably throw any genre at him, and he’d make it work.
Silent Ave is also one of those performers that does what seems like the impossible in any scene: getting the locals to collaborate. He divides his time between throwing shows and working on his own act, and we have big expectations from him over the next year.
5. Lauren Lovelle and The Midnight Spliffs (and the topic of reclaiming country)
There’s a new crop of young artists in the scene making a return to old (like, old) country music while turning the genre on its head at the same time. One of the bands leading that charge is Lauren Lovelle and the Midnight Spliffs.
This band is so delightful, we had to see them TWICE over one weekend in July (once at the Replay and another time at Lucia). Each time, the lineup was different. But both times, they were ear candy for Loretta-Lynn-era honky tonk and outlaw country.
There’s a seismic shift happening in country music anyway. Black artists are reclaiming the charts, the LGBTQ community is also claiming their rightful space in the genre. We see people from all backgrounds at country shows now as the world moves away from the “You’re with us or against us” bullshit mentality of Toby Keith-era country, and more towards the outlaw country origins of the 50’s and 60’s. We’re here for it.
4. Live on Mass with Split Lip Rayfield, PopSkull Rebels
Lawrence loves two things: a good street party and bluegrass. So you can imagine the fervor when the two came together for an unforgettable night.
We can’t really seem to go even three weeks without having a street party here in Lawrence, we have a rabid hunger for them– and the music scene here seems to deliver every time. Best part? It’s almost always free.
Such was the case when fans turned out hard (and early) for Live on Mass in August. The big story was that this was a free Split Lip Rayfield show. Think back to June when the band played Kaw River Roots Fest, an event that costs MONEY, where they turned out in massive numbers we hadn’t seen at the venue before. The crowd was huge for THAT show. So in August, when the band played for free, the fans didn’t mess around. They showed up early for the stellar lineup in large
One of our favorite parts of the show was watching rowdy rockabillies PopSkull Rebels finally get a stage that matches their energy. They used every side of that stage to get rowdy and work the crowd, a rare treat since they tend to play smaller dive bars.
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3. Tech N9ne Incognito
No surprise that Tech N9ne ended up on this list. He is, after all, the King of Halloween and good times. There’s no better musical act to see in this region during the scary season than Tech N9ne. He has an admiration and respect for the macabre, and he wears it year-round.
But ahead of his sold-out show at the Granada this year, he delivered both a trick AND a treat for the fans by leading the annual Zombie Walk as the Grand Marshall… but he did it in costume! So when “Dr. Satan” from “House of 1000 Corpses” glided by the line wrapping around the Granada, little did fans know it was actually who they were in line to see (though some were tipped off by Tech N9ne’s bodyguard, who was humongous and terrifying and gave major Shredder vibes). Video below.
The show was kickass, but the extra mile he goes to bring the Halloween vibe to everyone is what makes him a local treasure.
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2. Son Venezuela having the best year ever
No one in local music had a better year than Son Venezuela.
They are nothing if not consistent. Every other week, I can hit up Lucia or a street party and find them leading a dance party. In fact, they’ve done it for so many decades that they were honored for their work this year.
They closed out the Kansas Music Hall of Fame ceremony with an absolute barn burner of a set. This was shortly after they were honored with a proclamation by the Governor of Kansas. They’ve also enjoyed headlining a series of live events and street parties, recorded a live set with the Kansas Arts Commission at KTWU, and more. You really cannot go anywhere in Kansas without seeing traces of their influence.
They are legends, they are Latin Music leaders, they are one of our greatest gifts in the local music community. I cannot believe we get to have these guys all to ourselves. I mean, have you been to a Son Venezuela show and tried to NOT dance? It’s impossible! They are our strongest good-time ambassadors, and a can’t-miss act every time.
1. Krizz Kaliko
We called it back in April when we said this would be our number one best show of the year.
It’s hard to believe the Bottleneck set was part of Krizz Kaliko’s first national tour. The way he commands a stage would make anyone believe he’s a veteran performer holding the nation’s attention. We were absolutely shocked and thrilled to see him bring this show to The Bottleneck, and it did not disappoint. With the energy of a thousand suns, he set the Downtown Lawrence venue on fire with his expert skill and nonstop potency, bringing a sort of animation to the Bottleneck stage you normally see on big festival stages. When we saw him last year at Lawrence’s Juneteenth celebration, we were quickly reminded of the type of fire he brings to his shows, so our expectations were high for this night. However, he quickly shattered that ceiling as his endurance remained high throughout the set. He is truly one of the greatest showmen around.
With Krizz Kaliko being a KC rapper, he also brought along a host of local favorites. The big standouts were Mizznekol (our personal favorite) who exuded female empowerment, and Topeka’s Seuss Mace.
Lawrence is absolutely DISRESPECTFUL towards hip-hop, rarely turning out for local performers yet posturing at the big names when they come through. This list-topper doesn’t come without a snare of disapproval from us towards the fans. If you don’t show up for rap and hip-hop, not only are you missing out on a good time, but you risk turning artists from the genre off to Lawrence. This show was a blessing, the place was thick with only good vibes. We genuinely wish you could have felt it. But you HAVE TO SHOW UP.
Do better, Lawrence, so we don’t have to chew you out in a best-of-list next year.
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Honorable Mentions:
The Flash Floods set they played at the Replay in April (no notes, the vibes were just right), The Hembree hometown reunion show, Louiz Rip, They’re Theirs, Julia Wildstar, Radkey’s January show at the Bottleneck .