Dawes at Ameristar Star Pavilion, North Kansas City MO (07 June 2025)

DAWES TOUR DATES

Things Happen–

As a band continues, their sound evolves, members may come and go, and life’s priorities change, with families begun, important events taking precedent, and the public’s often fickle preferences changing with the times. But, in the end, you hope your favorite band stays together; and at the core, that’s been the case with LA-based folk rock band Dawes, after over fifteen years as a musical unit.

Formed out of the ashes of Simon Dawes (following musician/producer Blake Mills’s exit) in 2009, singer/guitarist Taylor Goldsmith and his younger brother drummer Griffin were always the band’s foundation; and now, with the release of their recent ninth studio album, Oh Brother (released last October via Dead Ringers), they are down to just a brotherly pair for the first time.

This change alone, was enough to start a new chapter in the band’s annals (as well as each sibling recently welcoming new children); but add to that, the devastation of January’s Altadena and nearby area wildfires (that affected Taylor’s studio and Griff’s home) which thrust them into an unexpected limelight to open up the recent Grammy Awards broadcast and take part in the related FireAid benefit concerts, and you have a very obvious turning of the page.

The Goldsmiths have (re)recruited veteran guitarist Trevor Menear and Austin TX bassist Z Lynch, along with Brooklyn-based Frank LoCrasto on keyboards (for this night, as it’s a slightly rotating role), to reconvene as a five-piece and resume their road work, with the Kansas City show being the final stop of the leg. After some brief time off, the brothers will embark on their first duo tour, and the full band will be out with the Avett Brothers and then Turnpike Troubadours into the early fall.

As far as the Kansas City show itself, it seemed an odd venue (a casino showroom north of downtown) and no opener generally means two full Dawes sets with an encore, but this was instead a single ninety-minute, encore-less set (perhaps due to venue restrictions).

We’re used to seeing the band in the Minneapolis area (for our previous eight times), a market which is one of their strongest, but KC still has a little work to do, though many of the fans attending were very loyal and sang along all night. The good news is the band was musically spot-on, as usual.

The group keeps their setlist changing (though admittedly, Taylor showed a basic flow of how the tracks fit together, on social media and his Substack) which keeps fans guessing, and more serious fans that see them on multiple stops, get a fresher show every time. On this tour, they would open with a track from the new album, “The Game” where he notes, “losers only think about the winners, the winners only think about the game.”

“Still feel like a Kid” got everyone in a lighthearted mood, and “Million Dollar Bill” was an unexpected pleasure, taken from the one-off 2011 album by songwriting trio Middle Brother that included Taylor, and closed that particular record.

The limelight stayed on him for the Dawes hit, “Most People”, performed primarily solo, and we’ll admit we were disappointed that drummer Griff stayed back at his kit for the show, and didn’t take on a lead vocal for a song, or two (as it seems like they could be/should be this generation’s Frey and Henley).

Perhaps due to the time constraints, Taylor didn’t say too much between songs, mentioning it “had been a little while” since they last played in the KC metro (their previous time in the area was in Lawrence in 2023) but wasn’t completely sure, since casinos don’t have any windows.

“Comes in Waves” featured an expert guitar duel between Taylor and Menear and dedicated fans were shouting requests between songs, causing Taylor to use the James McMurty quote that goes, “Some of you know what you want to hear, but none of you know what you’re going to hear” which quelled things admirably.

Many of the songs featured extended end jams and fans knew exactly what to do when Taylor rotated the mic towards the crowd for the choruses of “When My Time Comes” (which we’re also hearing again in ads for the Owen Wilson streaming series, “Stick”). Looking Dylanesque and alone on stage, there was complete silence as Taylor performed “House Parties” completely off-mic and to the hushed audience.

He prefaced “From the Right Angle” as admitting it was about falling in love with “a young musician in his 20’s that doesn’t know what he is talking about” and for the storytelling opus of “A Little Bit of Everything”, he headed back to play piano for the song, as LoCrasto embellished the chords on his nearby organ.

“When the Tequila Runs Out” came to a bit of an abrupt end (maybe it did run out…actually, time was getting short to venue curfew) and the final “All Your Favorite Bands” has the crowd up and each other’s arms, swaying left and right and singing along to the chorus, and stayed up to leave them with a standing ovation.

We’re happy to have followed the band since its early days (anyone remember those two stellar nights on the Leinie Stage at the MN State Fair?), have heard and embraced their evolving musical identity as they explored more electronics with heavier bass, taken on more of a jam band approach, and were the backing band to the likes of Jackson Browne, Stephen Stills, Phil Lesh, and Bright Eyes. We’ve continually been amazed at their versatility, adaptability, resilience and musical curiosity, and will always be interested in where Dawes goes next.

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