Ok, we’re biting our tongue,

We recently claimed we hadn’t been rained out at a show in two years, then promptly were washed out with flash floods for +LIVE+ / Collective Soul, and this week’s weather forecast calls for triple-digit heat everyday- welcome to Mid-America in late July.

In recent music news, we thought it was funny (and sad) that Coldplay accidentally exposed a CEO’s affair with their kiss cam and were impressed that Metallica saved the Tomorrowland Festival in Belgium after the EDM Fest’s main stage burned down, right before the weekend. The band volunteered to fly their stage (in storage in Europe until their next leg) from Austria, to allow the festival to go on as planned- a very kind and noble gesture.

Let’s take look at the Kansas City / Lawrence KS metro musical happenings for the upcoming week of July 21-25^th.

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

MONDAY JULY 21

TUESDAY JULY 22

Ain’t Too Proud (musical), July 22-27, Starlight, $14.72-$126.50

It’s the electrifying musical that follows The Temptations‘ journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With their signature dance moves and unmistakable harmonies, they rose to the top of the charts, creating 42 Top Ten Hits with 14 reaching number one. The show also covers how they met, the groundbreaking heights they hit, and how conflicts threatened to tear the group apart as the nation fell into civil unrest. It’s a story of brotherhood, family, loyalty and betrayal is set to the beat of the group’s well-known classic hits, including “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and many more.

Blood Incantation, July 22, Granada- Lawrence, $32.84

The rising Denver progressive, psychedelic black metal masterminds released the critically acclaimed ‘Absolute Elsewhere’ late last year via Century Media, and multiple and very different outlets all praised the album and included it on their year-ending Best Of lists.

The newest album (a follow-up to their 2016 debut Starspawn and sophomore release,2019’s Hidden History of the Human Race) is composed of two progressive movements and was recorded at the famous (and we thought closed) Hansa Ton studios in Berlin in July 2023 to record with producer Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Spectral Voice, Kreator, Wayfarer, Sumerlands, etc).

WEDNESDAY JULY 23

THURSDAY JULY 24

Mumford and Sons, July 24, Azura Amph, $44-$285

The trio’s (Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, and Ted Dwane) U.K. arena tour this autumn sold out in under two hours and most US shows are sold out, or very close to. The 32-show tour is in support of new album, Rushmere, released in March and named after the spot where Mumford & Sons first met in Wimbledon and was produced in collaboration with the nine-time Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb.

Through four albums, Mumford & Sons have accumulated various awards for their work, notably two BRIT Awards, two Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year), multiple chart-topping, multi-platinum albums across the globe, festival headlining performances (including Glastonbury), and selling out arenas. It’s a long way from their start as Laura Marling’s backup band, if anyone remembers their first shows in the US.

For the 2025 tour, the band partnered with PLUS1 to support War Child; $1 from every ticket sold will be donated to the organization, which aims to “shape the systems that protect and support the well-being of children affected by conflict.”

Gregory Alan Isakov will open the show, who we saw live back in 2022 in Kansas City with The Lumineers.

Sharpie Smile, July 24, recordBar, $23.23

Sharpie Smile is the duo of Dylan Hadley and Cole Berliner, who met in 2015 and used to make psychedelic art-rock under the moniker Kamikaze Palm Tree. ‘Sharpie Smile’ also happens to be the name of a song on Kamikaze Palm Tree’s 2019 debut LP, Good Boy.

Halfway through making a new record, they decided it should be a different project, so opted for this name and released The Staircase, their debut album out via Drag City. Reflecting, the pair share: “‘The Staircase’ is about trying to reconnect with a fractured self — losing sight of oneself while maintaining relationships that aren’t working anymore, and the process of rediscovery after the fact.”

Rodrigo y Gabriela, July 24, Uptown Theater, CANCELED

FRIDAY JULY 25

America, July 25, The Midland, $76-$215

Can you believe it?!- America is celebrating their 55th anniversary with a series of tour dates with original member Dewey Bunnell at the helm. The “Encore Tour 2025,” launched March 7 in Atlantic City, NJ and makes a summer stop right here in KC!

The Grammy Award-winning perennial classic-rock favorites will draw on their deep catalog of hits including signature song “A Horse With No Name,” a Number One hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1972.

The band is also now the subject of a new documentary I Need You: 53 Years Of The Band America. After 53 years of touring and over 5000 performances, the original members of ‘America’ are ready to reflect on their journey. The documentary takes audiences backstage as Gerry Beckley and Bunnell privately say goodbye to a lifetime together on the road (Beckley remains a member of the band but retired from touring last year).

Also last year, the band released a live album, America – Live From The Hollywood Bowl 1975 (via Sun Records) so remains very active, over five decades on.

Old Dominion w Ernest, Redferrin, July 25, Azura Amph, $38-162

Old Dominion is out on their How Good Is That – World Tour and the band’s seven consecutive Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music Group of the Year awards speak for themselves. Quite a leap from playing the free stages at the MN State Fair, back in 2018.

“There’s something special about the energy when you’re outside,” lead singer/guitarist Matthew Ramsey shared about this mostly amphitheater tour, “It’s a whole other vibe. When you’re out there under the stars, that energy amplifies everything we’re doing. So after a year of playing all the festivals, it was the only way to match that crazy energy.”

Openers are 2X ACM Award nominee, 2X CMA Triple Play Award winner, and 2022/2023 Variety Hitmaker ERNEST, along with rising country singer/songwriter Redferrin, who we caught live at this same venue, just last summer. Shhh! Some $20 tix are here: Old Dominion How Good Is That Tour Ernest Redferrin Azura Amphitheater Bonner Springs KS 2025 – From $20 – Bonner Springs | Groupon

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