Happy Record Store Day!

On Saturday, April 12, make sure to head to your participating indie store, to score limited edition, exclusive releases, from just about anyone who is anyone! Peep the list Here!

On a more somber note, our hearts go out to the 221 lost in the recent Jet Set nightclub collapse in the Dominican Republic- people who were just out to have a good time and see live music in a locally popular spot.

Let’s take look at the Kansas City / Lawrence KS metro for the weekend’s musical and cultural happenings for April 11th-13th:

(ticket hyperlinks are embedded in each show’s headline)

FRIDAY APRIL 11

Neon Trees, Apr 11, Granada- Lawrence,$26-$30

It started with more than a whisper with the release of their debut album, “Habits,” in 2010. Since then, Neon Trees have show themselves to be a fun engaging band and amassed one billion streams and recently logged over 40 million views on TikTok.

There was a brief hiatus, but the band has returned with their latest album, “Sink Your Teeth,” released in 2024. Singer Tyler Glenn (lead vocals, piano, keys) approaches everything, from making music to living authentically to creating welcoming spaces for those around him. It’s also a sensibility that’s evident in the pop-rock band’s fifth studio album.

The album’s debut single, “Favorite Daze” started as a poem, and was a collaboration between Glenn and Joe Janiak. The song has a frenetic, fast-paced rock vibe with an anthemic chorus. He explains. “It feels like something new. But I’m also being really specific and explicit in the lyrics. I’m speaking honestly and directly to the listener, and I want them to feel that — not just on this song, but on the entire album.”

Colorblind, Capstan, True North, Apr 11, recordBar,$22

The Austin, TX dreamcore quartet (vocalist Travis Moseley, drummer Tyler Moseley, bassist Nicholas Asper, and guitarist Justin Page) have a brand new single “Car Crash.” Fans of Pierce the Veil and Dayseeker will find themselves unable to resist the magnetic pull of their sound.

‘“Car Crash’ is about that overwhelming moment when someone grabs your attention and you can’t look away. [It’s about] how consumed you are in those feelings,” shares singer Moseley.

They’ve racked up some 28 million Spotify streams — with 20 million of those last year alone — Building on the success of the 2021 hit “Motionless” and self-titled 2022 EP, the band is currently in the process of finishing their debut full-length, scheduled for release in 2025 via Solid State/Tooth & Nail,

Rx Ghost w/ The Creepy Jingles and Alien Hellbop, Apr 11, Replay- LFK, PWYC

‘Scaffolding” is the debut full-length effort from sorrowcore KC band RxGhost, aka Josh Thomas (High Diving Ponies, Spidermums) along with drummer Justin Brooks, guitarist James Capps, and bassist Chris Smead join him in what Thomas describes as “weirdo shoegaze music.”

The result of getting back on the right side of the fence is their emotionally charged new EP, Scaffolding. Although the content is distorted and melancholic, the album serves as a catharsis for Thomas and the rest of the band.

“I’m probably about as happy as I’ve ever been,” he enthuses. “Things feel fresh and exciting. It was rough last decade, but I feel more on top than I ever have.”

Pet Symmetry April 11, The Rhino,$17-$20

The power-pop emo band from Chicago formed over a decade ago and are currently signed to Storm Chaser Records. The band’s name is a play on words taken from Stephen King’s novel “Pet Semetary” and their influences include Hot Snakes, the Promise Ring, Jimmy Eat World, Smoking Popes, and Harvey Danger.

In 2013, the band’s three members, Evan Weiss (Into It. Over It.), Erik Czaja (Dowsing) and Marcus Nuccio (What Gives), started kicking around ideas that were more fun in nature than their full-time projects and almost by accident, the result of their collective morphed into something real, and became Pet Symmetry.

SATURDAY APRIL 12

Daisy the Great w Benet, Apr 12, recordBar, $20

Emerging from Brooklyn’s indie scene, NYC indie rock/dream pop duo Daisy the Great is out on tour just weeks after the release of their newest EP “Spectacle: Daisy the Great vs. Tony Visconti”.

The band also announced their new record The Rubber Teeth Talk (out in June) and shared the first single “Ballerina”, produced by Catherine Marks (boygenius, St. Vincent, Alanis Morissette) and their live show is getting buzz on its high fun factor.

Record Store Day, Apr 12- worldwide, free!

RSD is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to “celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store”. Held every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together fans, artists, and thousands of independent record stores around the world. A number of records are pressed specifically for Record Store Day, with a list of releases for each country, and are only distributed to shops participating in the event. Get up, to line up early for the best selection!

Post Malone was announced as this year’s RSD Ambassador and commented:

“What an honor, I can’t believe I was chosen to be Record Store Day’s Ambassador for 2025. Record Store Day is so important and I really hope to do my part to keep it alive. We love hitting local shops when we’re on the road, seeing all the crazy artwork, the whole energy in a record store is just super inspiring. I feel at home. It’s really an unexplainable feeling to hit up a shop and dig through crates, just see what grabs your eye. You can be looking for something super specific and end up finding something totally different. It’s the best. Keep supporting y’all and let’s keep records and these local shops going strong. Happy Record Store Day everybody!“

Jonny Manchild and the Poor Bastards, Apr 12, minibar, $18.86

Oklahoma City band Johnny Manchild and the Poor Bastards (JMPB) just released new tune “Voluntary Animals” last Friday. Written by Manchild, the song, he says, “is about ego and ignorance, but also the acceptance of how little control we really have to change things in the grand scheme. We seem to think as a species that we’re above everything, when we’re really just another animal running around and trying to comprehend the world.”

Founded by Manchild (writer, producer, vocals, keys), JMPB have morphed into a collective of sorts with as many as ten collaborators affectionately named “the Poor Bastards” in regular rotation, with Johnny Manchild at the helm and includes core members Ethan Neel (drums) and Alex Coleman (bass) who will be joining Manchild for the tour.

With almost 30 million streams and 60,000+ monthly listeners on Spotify, playing over 300 shows, releasing numerous singles, four albums, and a fifth album on the way in 2026, Manchild is looking forward to watching their fanbase grow.

Remi Wolf, Apr 12, Grinders KC, Sold Out

The Los Angeles by-way-of Palo Alto, CA singer-songwriter will play 21 shows on the continent on this leg of her Big Ideas! Tour and the KC show, like many others, is very sold out.

In 2019, Wolf released her solo debut EP, “You’re a Dog!” followed by the EPs I’m Allergic to Dogs! in 2020 and We Love Dogs! In 2021 (…seeing a theme here…) Wolf’s breakout single “Photo ID,” went viral on TikTok in 2020 and later became her first RIAA-certified gold record. In 2021, her debut album Juno arrived behind singles like “Liz” and “Liquor Store” and sophomore album was last year’s successful, Big Ideas with lead single “Cinderella.”

Jazz Walking Tour, 18th Vine, Apr 12,$25

Weather shows low 70s and partly sunny- perfect for a walk! From 10a-Noon, learn some fascinating history about Kansas City jazz, led by Chuck Haddix, Director of UMKC Marr Sound Archives, host of KCUR 89.3 “Fish Fry” and author of “Bird – The Life and Music of Charlie Parker” and “Kansas City Jazz – From Ragtime to Bebop.”

Accompanying with also be Glenn North, an award-winning poet, activist, educator and arts executive who will share the insights from his youth, growing up in the 18th and Vine Historic District. Tour attendees will receive a coupon for a discount admission to the American Jazz Museum.

Big Freedia, Apr 12, Warehouse on Broadway, CANCELED

SUNDAY APRIL 13

Bury Tomorrow w/ While She Sleeps, Vended Apr 13, Granada – Lawrence,$29.50

UK metalcore outfit While She Sleeps have embarked on a North American tour to promote their latest album, Self Hell with support from Bury Tomorrow and Vended.

The band comments: “We’re excited to be coming back to the USA and bringing a bunch of friends with us. We’ve been touring with Bury Tomorrow since 2010, so it’s going to be special being on the other side of the world together. After sadly having our last USA headline run cut short on the West Coast by the dreaded 2020 Covid outbreak, we are picking up where we left off and are back with more energy than ever, well-oiled after a world tour celebrating the release of ‘Self Hell.’ It will be amazing to bring this lineup to places we’ve never headlined before & after so many tours in the US supporting other bands, finally be able to play a more expansive set of the songs from the past 18 years. We can’t wait to be back.”

Poison the Well w Glassjaw, Apr 13, Liberty Hall,$35-$50

Poison the Well is out on a North American tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album, “The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation.” The tour will feature Glassjaw as one of the supporting acts, along with Better Lovers and Teenage Wristand the band will be performing their entire debut album every night of the tour.

“The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation” was first released in December 1999 and it went on to become a benchmark of metalcore that has inspired a generation of bands. They are also looking forward in 2025 by releasing their first new song in 15 years with “Trembling Level” and is now with SharpTone Records.

“For me, I was trying to figure how to effectively incorporate elements from our whole discography into one song,” guitarist Ryan Primack reveals. “We ended up with this, and it has a little bit of everything we’ve done throughout the course of our existence.”

More new music is expected and the band officially welcomed bassist Noah Harmon and guitarist Vadim Taver into the fold after playing together for years.

Ninja Sex Party, w/TWRP, Apr 13, Uptown, Sold Out

NSP and TWRP are back on tour together, and they’re doing it with pure elegance! It’s the 2025 Pure Elegance Tour, featuring everything you’ve come to expect from NSP: “Classy songs, exquisite showmanship, a refined, debonair atmosphere, and face-melting solos that will rend your flesh from your bones and leave you gasping for breath yet desperate for more as you fall, screaming, to the floor” (as the press release says).

TWRP was formerly known as Tupper Ware Remix Party, is a Canadian rock band, from Toronto, by way of Halifax and both acts have to be seen live, instead of trying to describe them, but lo, the show is long sold out.

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