Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 06/07/2023
(SAYREVILLE, NJ) -- After enjoying an entirely sold out Spring 2023 Tour, Iconic Alt Rockers Violent Femmes have announced that that they are adding more dates in the Fall to continue the 40th anniversary celebration of their ground-breaking self-titled, debut album. The Platinum-selling group will, once again, perform the record from cover to cover, during the month-long tour that comes to Webster Hall in New York City on October 17th and the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on October 18.
Select dates will feature symphony accompaniments, including the esteemed Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra at the Bradley Center at the start of the tour on October 3 and two nights with the iconic, 90-year-old Grand Rapids Symphony at the DeVos Performance Hall on October 6 and 7.
Tickets go on sale Friday, June 9 at 10:00am local time at https://vfemmes.com/tour.
Once hailed as the “soundtrack to male puberty,” Violent Femmes’ first record amplified teenage angst and alienation in the 1980s with such songs as “Kiss Off,” “Add It Up,” and “Gone Daddy Gone,” written by Lead Vocalist and Guitarist Gordon Gano before he’d even gotten his driver’s license. The album, which was mostly autobiographical, would later prove to embody some of the most powerful anthems of a disenchanted youth that the world has ever known. And while it took 10 years to go Platinum and hit the Billboard Top 200, it has now sold three million copies worldwide and is still in rotation on today’s top rock stations, substantiating it as more than a simple battle cry for a misunderstood youth. Today, it stands as a pillar of an American underground movement, and one of the best early examples of alternative rock.
For the remainder of the ’90s, Violent Femmes continued to record new material, while their earliest songs remained in the zeitgeist, thanks to popular shows and films like “My So-Called Life,” Reality Bites, and Grosse Pointe Blank. Since that time, the band has released 10 studio albums including their most recent Hotel Last Resort (2019). Today, Violent Femmes continues to resonate with audiences of all ages. Upon the band’s 40th anniversary, Pitchfork wrote that “The Femmes don’t signify an era so much as a time of life,” adding that “for young people growing up in the internet age” their music “is part of a shared language.”
The official tour dates are as follows:
Dates subject to change.
Oct 3 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Symphony Center*
Oct 4 Madison, WI The Sylvee
Oct 5 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
Oct 6 Grand Rapids, MI DeVos Performance Hall*
Oct 7 Grand Rapids, MI DeVos Performance Hall*
Oct 9 Cleveland, OH TempleLive at Cleveland Masonic
Oct 11 Toronto, ON Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Oct 12 Montreal QC MTELUS
Oct 13 Boston, MA MGM Music Hall
Oct 14 Kingston, NY Ulster Performing Arts Center
Oct 15 New Haven, CT College St Music Hall
Oct 17 New York, NY Webster Hall
Oct 18 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
Oct 20 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live!
Oct 21 Norfolk, VA The NorVa
Oct 22 Richmond, VA The National
*Symphony performances.
EVENT PREVIEWS
Grounds For Sculpture and Third Way Cultural Alliance to Present an Intimate Evening of Art and Music on July 18th
(HAMILTON, NJ) -- Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) and Third Way Cultural Alliance announce a special evening celebrating the power of creative freedom through music, art and conversation. "Creative Freedom: A Salon Experience featuring Marshall Allen, Salvador Jiménez-Flores and Jamaaladeen Tacuma," will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2026 from 7:00pm to 10:00pm.
bergenPAC presents Swingtime Big Band on Saturday
(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- New York's high-powered Swingtime Big Band returns to Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) on Saturday, July 18, 2026 to celebrate America250 by showcasing the popular music that kept Americans dancing for decades—from the Lindy and Fox Trot to the Cha Cha to the Twist! Showtime is 8:00pm.
DePue Brothers Band to Bring "Grassical" Music to Sewell
(SEWELL, NJ) -- Music at Bunker Hill welcomes the DePue Brothers Band on Sunday, July 19, 2026 at 3:00pm. In a departure from the series' customary chamber music fare, the DePue Brothers Band has long coined their music with the term "grassical," the combination of bluegrass with jazz, blues, rock, folk, and classical.
Albert Music Hall's "Back to Our Roots" Benefit on Sunday to Support Preservation of Pinelands Music History
(WARETOWN, NJ) -- Albert Music Hall will present Back to Our Roots, a special fundraising concert on Sunday, July 19, 2026, inviting music lovers to enjoy an afternoon of live performances while helping preserve an important piece of New Jersey's musical heritage.
Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Heather Maloney & Hayley Reardon on Sunday
(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Heather Maloney & Hayley Reardon on Sunday, July 19, 2026. Doors are at 7:00pm, showtime is 7:30pm.
New Jersey Symphony to Make Rowan's Marie Rader Series Debut with "Life & Liberty" on July 22nd
(GLASSBORO, NJ) -- The Marie Rader Series will launch its 2026-27 season, entitled "Life & Liberty," with the New Jersey Symphony's Rowan University debut. On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, New Jersey Symphony Chamber Players featuring Rowan University Strings Faculty & Alumni will perform at Pfleeger Concert Hall. Showtime is 7:00pm.
The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Blues For Greeny and the music of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Blues For Greeny - The Music of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. Dude Cervantes & The Panchos will open the night. Doors are at 7:00pm, music starts at 7:30pm.
Shinedown to Play Shows in Newark and Philly in July
(NEWARK, NJ) -- One of the biggest bands in the world, Shinedown, will be releasing their brand new studio album EI8HT on May 29, 2026 (via Atlantic Records) and released the new song "Outlaw." In addition, they announced their massive Dance Kid Dance Act II World Tour, taking the band to 11 countries across 54 dates, including local stops at Prudential Center in Newark on Tuesday, July 21st and Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Thursday, July 23rd.
Middletown Arts Center presents Reina Williams + The Remedy
(MIDDLETOWN, NJ) -- The Middletown Arts Center presents a concert featuring Reina Williams + The Remedy on Thursday, July 23, 2026. Special guest performers Renee Maskin and Patrick Bamburak will open the show. Enjoy an evening of original music spanning reggae, hip-hop, soul, folk, Americana, and indie rock from some of New Jersey's most talented musicians. Showtime is 7:00pm.
Harmonium Choral Society presents "I Dreamed Last Night" on July 23rd
(MADISON, NJ) -- On Thursday, July 23, 2026, Harmonium Choral Society presents I Dreamed Last Night. Directed by Lennie Watts with music direction by John Fischer, I Dreamed Last Night is a one woman show with Gloria Bangiola. There are songs and stories about dreams, hopes, wishes, ambitions, fantasies, nightmares, impossibilities and that big ol' American one we are all still working to make real. Showtime is 7:00pm.
FEATURED EVENTS
