Big Al's Live on the Patio!
2025-08-15 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-08-16 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-08-22 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-08-23 19:00 - 22:00 UTC | Big Al’s, 1900 N Eagle Rd, Meridian, Idaho
Big Al’s Live on the Patio!
Fridays & Saturdays June 6th to September 6th from 7:00PM – 10:00PM

From June 7th to September 6th, Join us at Big Al’s Patio for live music every Friday and Saturday starting at 7:00PM!
Click HERE to see our lineup of incredible bands and learn more about the performers you’ll be rocking out with all season long.
This event takes place on Big Al’s Patio, located around the corner from the main entrance, beside Chip Cookies (across from Carhartt and Purple).
Make sure to join us for Line Dancing before the band gets started with a lesson by the pros from Dirt Road Dancing, Fridays from 6PM-7PM. Click here for more details!
Performance Dates:
June: 6th, 7th, 13th, 14th, 20th, 21st, 27th, 28th
July: 4th, 5th, 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th, 25th, 26th
August: 1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, 22nd, 23rd, 29th, 30th
September: 5th, 6th

Glass Animals Tour Of Earth
2025-08-15 20:00 | Ford Idaho Center
Glass Animals: Tour Of Earth
Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
Friday, August 15th, 2025

Reggaeton Night
2025-08-15 21:00 | Knitting Factory, 416 S 9th St, Boise, Idaho, 83702
Reggaeton Night
Knitting Factory – Boise
416 S. 9th St. – Boise, ID 83702
FriAugust 159:00 pm(Doors: 9:00 pm)
21 and up
$16.92Buy Tickets

🔥 Reggaeton Dance Night – Perreo All Night! 🔥

Get ready to move, sweat, and vibe at Knitting Factory Boise on Friday, August 15th for a Reggaeton Dance Night like no other! We’re turning up the heat with non-stop perreo, Latin beats, and high-energy rhythms that will keep you dancing all night long.

🎧 DJ Giovanni spinning the best Reggaeton all night
💃 Dance floor on fire with the hottest reggaeton moves
🍹 Drink specials to keep you fueled and in the zone
🌮 Full food menu service available from El Tejano

Whether you’re a Bad Bunny fan, a Karol G lover, or just here to show off your perreo skills, this is the night to let loose and feel the Latin energy!

📍 Where: Knitting Factory Boise
📅 When: Friday, August 15th @ 9:00PM
💃 Dress Code: No Jerseys, No Bandannas, No Outfits Of A Single Color, No Gang Related Attire (Determined By Staff)

AGES 21+ WELCOME WITH ID

Tag your crew and let’s make this a noche de perreo intenso! 🔥💃🏽🎶

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AMERICA
2025-08-16 19:00 | Morrison Center, 2201 West Cesar Chavez Lane, Boise, Idaho, 83725
As AMERICA, the perennial classic-rock favorite, hits the road in 2025, they’re celebrating their 55th Anniversary with their powerful performances. America met in high school in London in the late 1960s. They quickly harmonized their way to the top of the charts on the strength of their signature song “A Horse With No Name,” becoming a global household name and paving the way with an impressive string of hits following the success of their first #1 single.
America’s best-known tunes, which include “I Need You,” “Ventura Highway,” “Don’t Cross The River,” “Tin Man,” “Lonely People,” and “Sister Golden Hair” were cornerstones of 1970’s Top 40 and FM rock radio. Yet beyond their impressive catalog of hits, listeners would discover there was always much more to America than surface perceptions. The combination of melodic pop rock and folk-jazz elements, slinky Latin-leaning rhythms and impressionistic lyric imagery contrasted well with other more traditional country-rock leanings and highly personal lyrics.
AMERICA‘s albums–six certified gold and/or platinum, with their first greatest hits collection, History, hitting four plus million in sales–displayed a fuller range of the trio’s talents than did their singles. Their material encompassed an ambitious artistic swath; from effects-laden rockers to oddball medleys to soul-bearing ballads, AMERICA displayed a flawless blend of disparate genres and styles as wide-open as the great American plains.
Enjoying massive success early in their career, AMERICA earned their stripes amidst the excess, craziness, and chaos of the 70’s. The trio won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1972 and began working with George Martin and Geoff Emerick in 1974. This successful team went on to record seven albums and several Top Ten hits, including “Tin Man,“ “Sister Golden Hair,“ and “Lonely People.”
In 2020, the band released their ultimate 8-disc anniversary box set, Half Century (America Records), and streamed their concert special America–Live at the London Palladium for the very first time (it is commercially available as a DVD and CD). 2020 also saw the release of the book “America, the Band, An Authorized Biography” by journalist Jude Warne. She weaves original interviews with the band and many others into a dynamic cultural history of AMERICA, the band, and America, the nation. Billy Bob Thornton wrote the foreword.
In 2024, the band released a live album, America–Live From The Hollywood Bowl 1975 (Primary Wave Music; distributed by Sun Records). It features never-before-heard recordings of their iconic 1975 performance backed by a symphony conducted by the legendary George Martin. This extraordinary performance has been preserved in never-before-heard tapes that were recently restored and remastered for this special release.
The band is now the subject of a new documentary, I Need You: 53 Years Of The Band America. The documentary takes audiences backstage as Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell privately say goodbye to a lifetime together on the road. Beckley remains an active member of the band but retired from touring in 2024, while America continues to tour with Bunnell at the helm. It’s currently making the rounds at film festivals this year after winning the Audience Award at Newport Beach Film Festival for “Best Music Film.”
From their formative years, America has been a band capable of transcending borders with its uplifting music and positive message. Embracing a rainbow of divergent cultures, America’s audiences continue to grow, comprising a loyal legion of first, second and third generation fans, all bearing testament to the group’s enduring appeal.

DynaDuo Presents: Weald And Woe & Friends
2025-08-16 19:00 | Knitting Factory, 416 S 9th St, Boise, Idaho, 83702
DynaDuo Presents: Weald And Woe & Friends
Knitting Factory – Boise
416 S. 9th St. – Boise, ID 83702
SatAugust 167:00 pm(Doors: 6:30 pm)
All Ages

Laura Jane Grace & Band w/ Trapper Schoepp, Team Nonexistent
2025-08-16 19:00 | Treefort Music Hall, 722 W. Broad Street, Boise, ID, 83702, United States
🎙️ American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the founder, lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me! Laura Jane Grace takes the stage at Treefort Music Hall → 8/16 with guests Trapper Schoepp and Team Nonexistent

Boise Baroque Summer Concerts
2025-08-16 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-08-23 19:30 - 21:30 | First Presbyterian Church
Join us for the 2025 Boise Baroque Summer Music Festival at the
beautiful Château des Fleurs or the acoustically perfect First
Presbyterian Church. Each weekend features a unique program, from
comedic Neapolitan opera to grand Handel coronations. Collaborations
with Opera Idaho and The Boise Philharmonic Master Chorale add to
the fun.
Enjoy unforgettable performances under the summer sky on Saturday
and Sunday evenings. Explore the full season lineup below and plan
your perfect night out!

Mt. Joy @ Outlaw Field
2025-08-17 19:30 | Idaho Botanical Garden, 2355 N Old Penitentiary Rd, Boise, Idaho, 83712
Mt. Joy @ Outlaw Field
Now at Outlaw Field at Idaho Botanical Gardens in Boise, ID

Boise Baroque Summer Concerts
2025-08-17 20:15 - 22:15, 2025-08-24 20:15 - 22:15 | Château des Fleurs, 176 S. Rosebud Lane, Eagle, Idaho

The Wallflowers, The Whitmore Sisters
2025-08-22 20:00 | Knitting Factory, 416 S 9th St, Boise, Idaho, 83702
The Wallflowers, The Whitmore Sisters
Knitting Factory – Boise
416 S. 9th St. – Boise, ID 83702
FriAugust 228:00 pm(Doors: 7:00 pm)
All Ages

Riley Green Damn Country Music Tour
2025-08-23 19:00 | Ford Idaho Center
Riley Green
with special guests Ella Langley, Mike Ryan, and Preston Cooper
Damn Country Music Tour
Saturday, August 23, 2025
Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater

Five for Fighting, Vertical Horizon
2025-08-23 20:00 | Knitting Factory, 416 S 9th St, Boise, Idaho, 83702
Five for Fighting, Vertical Horizon
Knitting Factory – Boise
416 S. 9th St. – Boise, ID 83702
Sat August 23 8:00 pm (Doors: 7:00 pm)
All Ages

PROMISCUOUS - A 2000's CLUB BANGERS THROWBACKS PARTY
2025-08-23 20:00 | Treefort Music Hall, 722 W. Broad Street, Boise, ID, 83702, United States
Ready to party like it’s the year 2000?
Get down with PROMISCUOUS, brought to you by the minds behind your favorite monthly touring throwbacks party…Sorry For Party Rocking! Dance all night to throwback club bangers from Timbaland, Nelly Furtado, and JT. Be the main character on the dancefloor
Dress code: y2k core
Follow us on Instagram for updates and for song requests
From the party creators of Sorry For Party Rocking LA

$UICIDEBOY$
2025-08-24 18:30 | Ford Idaho Center
$uicideboy$ present Grey Day Tour 2025
Night Lovell, Germ, Joeyy
Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
Sunday, August 24th, 2025

The Sword, Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol, Pink Fuzz
2025-08-25 20:00 | Knitting Factory, 416 S 9th St, Boise, Idaho, 83702
The Sword, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, Pink Fuzz
Knitting Factory – Boise
416 S. 9th St. – Boise, ID 83702
Mon August 25 8:00 pm (Doors: 7:00 pm)
All Ages

Blues Traveler - Gin Blossoms with Spin Doctors
2025-08-26 18:00 | Ford Idaho Center
Blues Traveler & Gin Blossoms
with Spin Doctors
Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
August 26, 2025

HOT AUGUST NIGHT Solitary Band - The Neil Diamond Experience w/ Red Light Challenge, Wasted
2025-08-26 19:30 | Treefort Music Hall, 722 W. Broad Street, Boise, ID, 83702, United States
Do you love the feel of Neil? Are you ready to see and hear his songs played LIVE as you would have seen in 1976? If so, you aren’t alone! Solitary Band presents classic Diamond songs performed by a group of very talented local artists. The Neil Diamond ‘Experience’ is what sets Solitary Band apart. This isn’t just a run-of-the-mill cover band! Our Neil Diamond ‘blipped’ to Boise from 1976 and has very unique perspectives on our city, his legacy, pop culture, and the impact his music has made around the world in the past 65 years. Solitary Band has been performing in in Boise since 2016 to big laughs and fun times with their faithful renditions of Neil Diamond’s catalog…21 songs across all of his albums and there’s always something to make Grandma swoon.
Solitary Band:The Neil Diamond Experience has performed almost a decade of sellout “cabaret” style shows during the Xmas Holiday, come celebrate their “arena” experience at Hot. August. Night. live on Tuesday, August 26, 2025 at the Treefort Music Hall in downtown Boise for an unforgettable night of local music. Come see, hear, laugh, and dance during a rock-n-roll evening of amazing songs, featuring Neil’s all-time greatest hits: Cherry, Cherry, Holly Holy, Cracklin’ Rosie, Kentucky Woman, Sweet Caroline and more!

Red Light Challenge
Red Light Challenge is a powerhouse pop-rock duo that’s like if The 1975 and OneRepublic had a baby at a Coldplay concert. It’s Sean and Kyle Luster, brothers and best friends with undeniable onstage chemistry and witty banter. These two misfits, originally from Hawaii but now based in Boise, Idaho, mix catchy melodies, infectious music, and lyrics so personal, it’s like they talked to your therapist before the show. Sean plays the bass, Kyle shreds the guitar, and they alternate lead vocals over a tapestry of tracks while throwing in sibling harmonies so magical, you’ll think you’re at Disneyland.
With over 700 live shows—including festivals like Treefort Music Fest and Boise Music Festival—Red Light Challenge is known for throwing a party so electric, even the speakers get nervous. Offstage, they’re creating thoughtful, story-driven music videos (like their “Play Pretend” music video from 2024) and skits that’ll make you think, “Should I be laughing at this?” Yes, yes you should be. They’ve also got big hearts, partnering with causes like Ronald McDonald House Charities and the National MS Society to raise funds and spread good vibes.
Known for their DIY approach, Sean and Kyle write and produce their music in a tiny bedroom (it’s like, real DIY), run their own social media pages, and have a bond that makes you believe in sibling superpowers. New music? It’s coming. Summer tour? Oh yeah, it’s about to get real. Red Light Challenge is like that perfect playlist—always fresh, always fun, and always filling each listener with the right feeling at the right moment.

Wasted
Forming in late August 2023 as a tribute to their beloved friend Jadin Zurawski, Wasted is a raw 6 man beatdown hardcore band whose music embodies a slap to the face or a stomp to the head. Playing shows with the likes of Snuffed On Sight, Bodybox, Psycho-Frame, Slime, and local Idaho legends Ingrown. Vocals: Matteo Martinez, Vocals: Roanan Nelson, Guitar: Broden Rider, Guitar: Graeme Russell, Bass: Markus Zunich, Drums: Sam Finley
Wasted will have just played “Northwest Hardcore Fest” in Portland, their first out of town show, but will continue shaping their sound through live shows across the Treasure Valley. LLJZ.

Chicago
2025-08-27 19:00 | ExtraMile Arena, 1401 Bronco Lane, Boise, Idaho, 83706
Chicago
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
at Outlaw Field at Idaho Botanical Garden

The Budos Band w/ Say She She, VIKA
2025-08-27 20:00 | Treefort Music Hall, 722 W. Broad Street, Boise, ID, 83702, United States
Two years after releasing the Frontier’s Edge EP, The Budos Band are returning with their first full-length since 2020’s Long in the Tooth. Titled simply VII, the new album sees them doing what they do best: laying down hypnotic, horn-spiked grooves that menace and mesmerize in equal measure.
Produced by Budos guitarist Tom Brenneck with Simon Guzmán engineering, VII features 11 tightly constructed new tracks that draw on the group’s wide range of influences, sounding like only The Budos can. It’s music for getting down, for nighttime drives, and for alternate headspaces — a beguiling mix of mystery and rhythm that stands with the formidable work they’ve released in their two decades of recording.
“We didn’t really go in there with a concept on VII,” drummer Brian Profilio says. “It was the first time in two years that we were together in a studio so we were like, ‘Let’s see what happens.’ We ended up writing 11 songs in three days.”
These 11 songs run the gamut, featuring sweaty, hard-hitting funk workouts like “Escape from Ptenoda City” alongside explorations of Turkish psych in “Night Raid” and Zambian rock in the riff-heavy “Overlander.” It continues the stylistic evolution the group began with 2014’s striking, shake-things-up album Burnt Offering.
“It’s almost like we’ve refined the sound we were going for on Burnt Offering,” Brenneck says of VII. “It’s not quite as raw.”
“That’s the genreless aspect of the band,” saxophonist Jared Tankel agrees. “We’re not Afrobeat, we’re not Ethiopian jazz. We’re not world music. We’re not really funk, we’re not soul. We’re not rock. We’re just an amalgam of all these different sounds, so things pop out in all directions when you listen.”
As usual, these songs are chopped up and splashed with the heavy horns so integral to The Budos sound, weaving melodies through the muscular rhythms and even deepening the groove when it calls for it.
“Horns can occupy a melodic space, even though it’s not a voice,” Tankel says. “They can also occupy an articulated and rhythmic space. Playing with that duality is cool.”
VII was recorded in California and serves as The Budos Band’s first full-length album on Diamond West, the independent label founded in 2023 by Tankel and Brenneck. It’s also the group’s first album to include instrumental contributions from percussionist Rich Tarrana, who previously played in the Frightnrs. All told, it succeeds in opening up some new sonic spaces while staying tethered to the intuitive, unique musicality that made them such a sensation from the jump.
“Sometimes it’s like we’re speaking some esoteric language that no one else understands except us, and we’re doing it wrong,” Brenneck says. “It’s like how the Stones tried to play the blues and they missed the mark and they made something new — everything The Budos tries to do, we do wrong, and it sounds like The Budos.”

Say She She
Say She She, the soulful female-led trio, stand rock solid on their disco-delic duty with their boundary-breaking sophomore album Silver (released September 29 on Colemine/Karma Chief Records). The strong voices of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair, Chicano Batman), Sabrina Mileo Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown front the band. Following the NYC siren song, the trio was pulled from their respective cities — Piya from London, Nya from DC, and Sabrina from NYC — to Manhattan’s downtown dance floors, through the Lower East Side floorboards, and up to the rooftops of Harlem, where their friendship was formed on one momentous, kismet evening.
Silver was written and recorded live to tape at Killion Sound studio in North Hollywood in early 2023, and produced by Sergio Rios (Orgone, Neal Francis, Alicia Keys). While these analog recording techniques help root Say She She’s sound in a bedrock of tonal warmth that only tape can achieve, it is also their process of cutting the track in the moment and capturing the magic of communal creativity that have critics reeling.
Musical inspirations include Rotary Connection, Asha Puthli, Liquid Liquid, Grace Jones, and Tom Tom Club.
Described as “a glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritual elevation” (MOJO) and “infused with the wonky post-disco spirit of early 80s NYC” (The Guardian), the band consistently tops the radio charts of tastemaker stations KCRW and KEXP, as well as BBC’s Radio 6 Music. Sold out shows from London to Los Angeles and televised appearances on CBS Saturday and Later…with Jools Holland are a testament to a rapidly growing fan base. Say She She has toured with the likes of Thee Sacred Souls, and have already played iconic festivals like Glastonbury, Central Park Summerstage, and more.
Ultimately, Silver oozes with quirk and adventure and embraces the multifaceted nature of what it means to be a modern femme. Say She She fully embrace their role as beauticians, actively reminding people of the inherent beauty in the world. They skillfully employ double entendres and humor to encourage open dialogue and fearlessly address important matters that demand attention.

VIKA
VIKA coins an uncategorized vintage sound purely inspired from her own experiences with nostalgia, love and loss. Her sultry voice captivates audiences with her passion and haunting power. “Emerging on the indie scene with her raspy Amy Winehouse style, VIKA has carved out her niche, continuing to embrace crowds with her melodic lyrics, showcasing her growth not just as a musician but as a visionary artist inspired by icons of the past” (Gordie Tamayo, Boise Beat). With equal parts of heartache and hope seen through her past and latest releases, VIKA is undeniably vulnerable, cultivating a path by following the cosmic power of love.

Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening/JBLZE
2025-08-27 20:30 | Morrison Center, 2201 West Cesar Chavez Lane, Boise, Idaho, 83725
On the heels of a successful tour that wrapped last December, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening/JBLZE is back with another round of U.S. dates. The latest tour will be a first for JBLZE as it will focus on the 50th Anniversary of the Led Zeppelin classic, Physical Graffiti. The latest 21-city trek is billed as An Evening with JBLZE Celebrating 50 Years of Physical Graffiti. JBLZE has never done a tour that was centered around a specific Led Zeppelin album before as Bonham live celebrates all things about his father, drumming legend John Bonham. The show will feature all the selections from Physical Graffiti performed alongside numerous other Led Zeppelin classics.
“This is my favorite Led Zeppelin album of all time. Being able to celebrate it the way we are planning on this tour is something I am extremely excited about. I can’t wait for people to come out and see these shows and celebrate this extraordinary record with us. My goal is to play at least 50 shows to commemorate 50 years…and don’t worry, there will be plenty of other songs that you also love played that night,” explains Jason Bonham.
A spectacle of top-flight musicianship, arresting visuals, mind-blowing lighting, and emotionally charged storytelling, Rolling Stone hailed it a “set of Led Zep gems that were strikingly faithful to the originals,” while Billy Joel handpicked JBLZE to open up a handful of dates. Like his father, Jason remains forever at home on the drums.

RANDY TRAVIS The More Life Tour
2025-08-28 19:00 | Morrison Center, 2201 West Cesar Chavez Lane, Boise, Idaho, 83725
Much of the success of modern country music can be traced to one man, Randy Travis. His arrival signaled the start of the “new country” sales explosion of the mid-1980s. Travis was the first country artist to go Platinum with his disc debut, and the first debut country artist to go Multi-Platinum. With lifetime sales in excess of 25 million, Travis is one of the biggest multi-genre record sellers of all time. His honors include seven Grammy Awards, 11 Academy of Country Music statuettes, 10 American Music Awards, two People’s Choice awards, seven Music City News awards, eight Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association and five Country Music Association honors.
Now, Travis is bringing the magic back in 2025 with his highly anticipated More Life Tour! Following a successful 2024 run, Travis, his original touring band, and special guest vocalist James Dupré are set to deliver an extraordinary musical experience to fans across the country.
The More Life Tour promises a memorable journey through Travis’ extensive catalog of chart-topping hits, enhanced by video highlights showcasing his celebrated career in music, film, and television. Although Travis will not perform vocally due to the stroke he suffered in 2013, his presence on stage will be a cherished highlight of the tour. Joining him will be his wife, Mary, as they engage with fans and interact with the band, bringing the iconic songs to life once again.
James Dupré will take the stage alongside Travis’ original touring band to perform some of his most beloved No. 1 hits, including classics like “On the Other Hand,” “Forever and Ever, Amen,” and “Three Wooden Crosses.”
In reflecting on the tour, Randy Travis shared, “The More Life Tour celebrates something so much more than a musical moment in time—it’s a gift to me to spend time with my fans, and my band, as James Dupre perfectly presents the songs that best define my career. We look forward to seeing you all somewhere along the way.”

DIRT MONKEY x SMOAKLAND - SUPER BASS BROS TOUR
2025-08-28 20:00 | Knitting Factory, 416 S 9th St, Boise, Idaho, 83702
Dirt Monkey, aka Patrick Megeath, has carved his uplifting, bouncy, and unique sounds within the Denver, Colorado dubstep scene and has gained international acknowledgement with his punchy and playful sound design. His tracks have gained support and captivated audiences via many pioneers, such as: Skream, Benga, Rusko, Datsik, Excision, A-Trak, Virtual Riot, Anna Lunoe, Annie Nightingale (BBC Radio 1), Downlink, Ganja White Night, and Protohype. Dirt Monkey’s Remix of Rusko’s “Woo Boost” has recently hit the world by storm, was released on Subcarbon Records, and to top it all off, is supported by the don himself, Rusko. Although this eclectic music junky enjoys a wide-variety of music, he has gravitated towards the trippy, crisp sounds of IDM and the wonky, high-energy sounds of old school dubstep and strives to fuse the two together.
He has worked with a wide-variety of artists including: DMVU, Space Jesus, Illenium, Party Wave, Run DMT, AMP Live, and Jantsen. Dirt Monkey has performed at a countless number of breathtaking venues, including Red Rocks Amphitheatre, clubs in France, and Beta Nightclub in Denver, CO (where he has held a residency for the last 5 years). Also, for the past four years, he established and ran the record label, Kairos Audio, with the help of co-founder, Jantsen.
In the future, expect this virtuoso to continue carving a niche that does not exist yet in the music scene and stay on the look out for a 5-song EP coming out in Spring 2017 on one of the most reputable labels in the world. Although, Dirt Monkey is extremely versatile to say the least, his true wobbly greatness will continue a movement within clubs, both boutique and world-class venues, and the colorful festival scene.

Tennis w/ Real Estate
2025-08-28 20:00 | Treefort Music Hall, 722 W. Broad Street, Boise, ID, 83702, United States
Face Down In The Garden, Tennis’ seventh album, is both culmination and reflection of their career. From the perspective of fifteen years on the road and ten thousand miles at sea, frontwoman Alaina Moore attempts to distill the arc of a life into vignettes: a first moment of connection, a conversation at a wedding, a night offshore, a sprawling tour diary.
The album is succinct but potent, highlighting Tennis’ concise songwriting and unconventional arrangements. Self-produced and recorded in their studio, Tennis builds upon their early minimalist girl-group sound, expanding into more mature synth-pop and rock elements.
The duo met in the University of Colorado’s philosophy department in 2008, when Patrick Riley recognized Moore as the waitress from a diner he frequented. (This moment was later immortalized in their song Hotel Valet.) After graduating, they spent eight months living aboard a small sailboat, voyaging along the eastern seaboard–a practice that would become integral to their creative process. Their debut album Cape Dory (2011, Fat Possum) documents that experience. Tennis booked their first tour through the help of a robust DIY scene. While on the road, their lead single “Marathon” went viral, gaining them sudden notoriety. Cape Dory debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Heatseeker chart and transitioned Tennis from house shows to main stages in the course of a year.
Tennis recorded their sophomore effort Young & Old (2012) with Patrick Carney of the Black Keys, marking their first collaboration with an outside producer and their television debuts on The Tonight Show, The Late Show, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
In 2013, Tennis spent sixteen days recording with Richard Swift in his home studio in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Moore and Riley were heavily influenced by Swift’s distinctive approach to engineering. This prompted the duo to build their own studio and take over production and engineering roles on future releases.
Moore and Riley solidified their creative autonomy by forming the label Mutually Detrimental in 2016. Yours Conditionally, their first self-release, became their most commercially successful album, charting on Billboard’s top 50 vinyl sales and proving their DIY roots as a cornerstone to their sound and narrative.
Swimmer (2020, Mutually Detrimental) marked a sonic evolution. Moore and Riley expanded their palette with unique time signatures and arrangements, stepping fully into their roles as songwriters and producer-engineers. But with nearly every show sold out, Swimmer’s momentum was cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic. The duo spent the time at home exploring their role as producers by making records for other artists.
Tennis has continued to thrive by operating on the fringes of the music industry. They’ve survived the flash-in-the-pan fate of so many bands from the early ‘00’s blog-era. Their sixth album, Pollen, saw them grow into the biggest tour of their career, with sold out shows at historic venues like The Beacon Theatre and The Palladium.
Face Down In The Garden is Tennis’ most fully realized work. Crafted entirely by their own hands and guided by their fierce independence, it stands as testament to a band unwavering from their original vision. Tennis embarks on the first leg of their North American Tour in May.

Real Estate
A band for 15 years now, with a half-dozen records to its canny name, Real Estate knows how
the press cycle inevitably goes: Someone somewhere at last had a realization about what their
songs needed to say and how they should sound, so (at least according to brief biographies like
this one) they finally made the best album of their career. But here’s the thing: Real Estate has
been so consistently compelling for those 15 years, with their coruscant indie rock shuffles
perfectly reflecting the spellbinding glow of suburban ennui, that they know when they have
done it. That is, they know when they have written songs that shimmer and fetch and radiate
despite or because of the gloom lurking in their grooves. It is the gift and curse of self-
awareness, of sticking together since childhood.
So Real Estate, in turn, needs you to know that Daniel—their sixth full-length album, recorded in
an ebullient nine-day spree in RCA Studio A, in Nashville with celebrated producer and
songwriter Daniel Tashian—is quite possibly their best album. In 11 compulsively tuneful songs,
they connect the uninhibited wonder of their earliest work with the earned perspective of
adulthood. What more could you need from Real Estate at 15?
Martin Courtney knew he wanted to write a pop record, a set of instantly accessible songs where
the chorus arrived in, say, the first 40 seconds. During the last decade, or essentially since
making Atlas, Real Estate did what was only natural for any beloved and freshly aging indie rock
institution: They gently pushed back against praise as an effortlessly melodic and quietly radiant
band. Colors darkened. Textures curdled. Songs stretched toward the six- and even seven-minute
mark. But what if, as Courtney and cofounder Alex Bleeker often say these days, they again just
“Let Real Estate be Real Estate,” to shimmer and fetch and radiate without hesitation or second
guesses?
Courtney actually learned of Tashian through his daughter, who adored an album he’d produced,
Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour. The band reached out and spotted an instant connection despite
their distinct wheelhouses—the Grammy-winning Nashville country-pop guy who’d helmed
several smashes and the Northeast indie rock quintet with narcotic guitars. Real Estate had never
really worked with anyone who wasn’t already a bud. There in Dave Cobb’s famous Nashville
lair, Tashian was not shy with his outsider advice about how to boost this song or that one, even
playfully throwing the occasional candy bar to emphasize he wanted to hear more. Real Estate
had been thinking about R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People and ’90s “soft-rock radio,” the
background music of their youth. Tashian helped lead them back toward it, toward an improved
edition of the less self-conscious band they’d been at the start.
Daniel certainly sounds like classic Real Estate, simply leveled up with the subtle but unabashed
touches of a producer who has actually lived inside pop powerhouses. The chiming guitars and
plaintive verses of “Haunted World” summon the band that first emerged to acclaim in 2009,
with Courtney doing his best to sing his way around existential confusion. But in the chorus,
dexterous instrumental harmonies (that’s Nashville ace Justin Schipper on pedal steel) and faint
backing vocals propel the song anew, its tight hook snagging in a second. Tashian suggested they
fortify the refrain, and he was right.
Or there’s the marvelous thrum of “Airdrop,” with Bleeker’s busy bass and Sammi Niss’ insistent
drums pushing Courtney into the wistful chorus as if he’s riding a hang glider. “The sun went
down/We let it,” he sings four times to end the song, the lines essentially built to be cooed back
at him from a crowd. “Never been so contented/I won’t ever forget it.” That’s Real Estate’s long-
relatable smiling sadness, lifted in proper Music City style. Listen, too, for Real Estate’s
squiggly versions of classic Nashville licks during “Flowers,” where the mercury of pedal
steel and the twinkle of a Wurlitzer illuminate acoustic strums like stars in the night sky. A
song of dislocation and constancy, it’s a reminder of the common way we use music no
matter the genre or scene—to find our way forward.
Daniel is a complete string of these compulsive moments: the crisscrossed harmonies of “Water
Underground,” the delightful sway and rise of “Market Street,” the enchanting but deceptive
simplicity of “Interior.” Real Estate manages the rarest of pop tricks here—to sound effortless
but be artful, with all the flourishes and tricks tucked so smartly into songs that you only spot
them when you unpack what makes all the tunes so winning and sticky.
But this, of course, is not the Real Estate of their MP3-blog salad days. Four members are
married, with Niss in a long-term relationship. There are actual kids in the equation now. And the
world outside has darkened considerably in 15 years, in all those ways that require no recounting
here. Time and again, Daniel wrestles with that juxtaposition—external alienation and madness,
internal responsibility and hope. These are songs of confusion, of trying to find a way to be
present and better in broken times. “Now and then, I can pretend the sun is shining,” Courtney
admits during “Freeze Brain,” the keys of Matthew Kallman and guitars of Julian Lynch framing
a lambent haze around him. “Let’s let some light in.” Ain’t that the struggle, to find some joy
despite all the forces that filch it from us?
In Nashville, all five members of Real Estate shared a rental, cutting up in close quarters after the
imposition of separation of these last few years. Several days into recording, they were
discussing album titles when someone suggested “Daniel,” simply because it seemed funny to
bestow a human name upon a record. Was it for Daniel Tashian? Maybe. Was it a nod to The
Replacements’ Tim? Possibly. Was it the sign of a band that has now been around long enough to
take its music seriously without taking itself or its perception too seriously? Absolutely.
Daniel is a record of wonderful pop songs, its string of hooks and stream of worry irresistibly
connected in the way few bands have ever done better than Real Estate. But perhaps just as
important, it is an expression of the self-acceptance that can come with maturity, with realizing
it’s enough to be who you want to be. “What is it that you want to hear? There’s only so much
time,” Courtney croons during “You Are Here,” Daniel’s ingenious and strutting finale. “Best we
can do is be happy here/Sing another line.” It is a mission statement for Real Estate at 15, a
reminder that they are the band of their childhood dreams and that is cool. To that end, they’ve
never been better at being Real Estate than they are right now, on Daniel, their new best album
yet.

TOTO + Christopher Cross
2025-08-28 20:00 | Ford Idaho Center
TOTO + Christopher Cross
Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
Thursday, August 28th
