We♥KC! December 14-21, 2023, Upcoming concerts / shows (Kansas City / Lawrence, KS)
|
Read More:
|
Read more Kansas City Music Guide.
Christmas Day creeps closer and so, the amount of touring acts is funneling down, as even the hardest touring bands, appreciate being home for the holidays. Weather remains mostly mild and there are still some seasonal and non-seasonal shows this week, worth seeing.
Let’s take look at the Kansas City / Lawrence KS metro musical happenings for the upcoming week, from December 14th – 21st.
THURSDAY DECEMBER 14
Continuing– KCRep's A Christmas Carol, UMKC- Spencer Theatre (various dates through Dec. 24), $49-$109
A holiday classic! For now 42 years, this beloved tradition has created holiday memories for families all around our community, with all the heart and spectacle you’ve come to love… start your family tradition and create memories that will last for many Christmases to come!
Join Ebenezer Scrooge on his redemptive journey with Christmas Past, Present, and Future, and rediscover the true meaning of the holidays. You’ll meet the Cratchits, Tiny Tim, and the Fezziwigs, and hear the joyous Candlelight Carol — all this and more, to kindle your Christmas spirit. Share the season with the people you love,
The Menzingers w/Microwave, Cloud Nothings & Rodeo Boys, Dec. 14, Liberty Hall, $34-$50
The Scranton PA emo band had a recent song out earlier this year, "Bad Actors," which is an outtake from their fifth album, 2017's After the Party. This is a packed, four-band bill that sends the students off in holiday style, as the venue’s last live show of the year.
Joe Samba, Dec 14, Encore at Uptown, $13
The rising singer, songwriter, and guitarist is out on his first-ever U.S. headlining 23-date tour featuring support from Joey Harkum. “Embarking on my first-ever headlining tour is exciting to think about,” shares Samba. “Early on, I was performing at local pizza shops and bars envisioning the day I’d get to headline a national tour. Not only is that vision becoming reality, I also get to take some of the most amazing musicians and people along for the ride. I’m very excited to bring this show on the road. It will be a memorable one for all who attend.”
Samba finds the sweet spot between smoked-out Caribbean reggae bliss and sweat-soaked punkified energy. So far in 2023 alone, the Massachusetts-born and now New Hampshire-based artist has toured extensively supporting Pepper, Badfish: A Tribute To Sublime, and Shwayze, and played numerous summer festivals.
In 2019, he released his independent debut, The Wrong Impression, which bowed at #1 on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart and has since clocked over 2 million streams, thanks in part to the hit “How We Do.” In 2021, Samba signed with LAW Records and after a string of singles, released his sophomore album, Far From Forever, in June 2022.
FRIDAY DECEMBER 15
SATURDAY DECEMBER 16
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Dec 16, (2 shows), T-Mobile Center,$39-$119
A legendary annual seasonal tradition by this landmark symphonic rock ensemble. What began as a side project for veteran group Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra has grown into one of today's top-selling acts, with over 10 million concert tickets sold since 1999.
Now, to celebrate the band's 20th year on the road, TSO is mounting an all-new production of the show that first turned them into an arena-rock phenomenon. First performed in 1999 and recorded for a TV special – which became just as much of a holiday staple– ‘The Ghosts of Christmas Eve' was conceived by Paul O'Neill, TSO's original mastermind.
Together with Savatage members Jon Oliva, Bob Kinkel, and Al Pitrelli, O'Neill developed a unique project that married the spirit of the season with all the rock sounds, operatic grandeur, and visual bravura that fans had come to expect. After the massive success of TSO's first two albums, ‘Christmas Eve and Other Stories' and ‘The Christmas Attic,' O'Neill and his team took it on the road (and TV screens) with similarly successful results.
Jackyl, Dec 16, Uptown, $29-$30
Jackyl me off! – The wild chainsaw-wielding, whiskey-slinging southern rocker Jesse James Dupree and his “family Reunion” are back in the city where they filmed a crazy pre-pandemic tour stop which was put out on home video.
Dupree's entire career has been at full throttle, tacking non-stop projects at a speed most can only imagine, earning two Guinness World Records along the way, one for most shows performed in a single day, and one for the most in 50 days, after putting on 101 shows in 59 cities and 26 dates in only 50 days. Dupree has the Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, a cinnamon whiskey, called Devil's Devil and many other ventures under his belt. Meantime, expect some chair-sawing, rock hijinks, and a damn entertaining time.
SUNDAY DECEMBER 17
Squirrel Nut Zippers, Dec 17, Knuckleheads, SOLD OUT
The platinum-selling jazz rockers swing into the season with their 2023 Holiday Caravan Tour, playing classic Holiday songs along with Zippers’ favorites. This 21-date tour will feature songs from their Christmas Caravan and Mardi Gras for Christmas albums as well as other Zippers classics. From heartwarming ballads to boisterous dance tunes, the band conjures an atmosphere nestled somewhere between the lights of Christmas and the backroom din of a speakeasy.
MONDAY DECEMBER 18
TUESDAY DECEMBER 19
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 20
THURSDAY DECEMBER 21
Holee Tim Burton classic with a live film score! Featuring Jason Seber, guest conductor, see one of Burton's most celebrated films like never before! The full feature film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, will be projected in its entirety on a giant screen with dialogue, singing and effects, accompanied by Danny Elfman's darkly charming score played live by the Kansas City Symphony in this officially licensed Disney Concert.
National Touring act coming to Kansas City, Lawrence, KS, Topeka, KS, or vicinity? Let us know so we can spotlight the appearance-email johnc@weheartmusic.com
| john c (johnc@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ X / twitter.com |