Thundercat at FIVE, Jacksonville (Oct 6, 2026)
Tour Dates
10/06 Jacksonville, FL – FIVE
10/07 Tampa, FL – Jannus Live
10/11 Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall
10/13 Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
10/14 Raleigh, NC – The Ritz
10/15 Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
10/17 Richmond, VA – The National
10/19 Portland, ME – State Theatre
10/20 Montreal, QC – MTELUS
10/21 Ottawa, ON – HISTORY
10/23 Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theatre
10/24 Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Riverworks
10/26 Des Moines, IA – Val Air Ballroom
10/27 Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore
10/29 St. Louis, MO – The Factory
10/30 Louisville, KY – Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
10/31 Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
11/03 Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company
11/5 New Orleans, LA – The Fillmore
11/07 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall – The Lawn
11/08 Dallas, TX – The Bomb Factory
11/10 Fayetteville, AR – Ozark Music Hall
11/12 Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion
11/13 Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha
11/15 Salt Lake City, UT – Rockwell at the Complex
11/17 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
11/19 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
11/20 Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
12/05 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
12/11 Austin, TX – Holiday Hootenanny
10/07 Tampa, FL – Jannus Live
10/11 Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall
10/13 Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
10/14 Raleigh, NC – The Ritz
10/15 Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
10/17 Richmond, VA – The National
10/19 Portland, ME – State Theatre
10/20 Montreal, QC – MTELUS
10/21 Ottawa, ON – HISTORY
10/23 Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theatre
10/24 Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Riverworks
10/26 Des Moines, IA – Val Air Ballroom
10/27 Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore
10/29 St. Louis, MO – The Factory
10/30 Louisville, KY – Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
10/31 Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
11/03 Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company
11/5 New Orleans, LA – The Fillmore
11/07 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall – The Lawn
11/08 Dallas, TX – The Bomb Factory
11/10 Fayetteville, AR – Ozark Music Hall
11/12 Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion
11/13 Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha
11/15 Salt Lake City, UT – Rockwell at the Complex
11/17 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
11/19 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
11/20 Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
12/05 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
12/11 Austin, TX – Holiday Hootenanny
Explore More
■ ThundercatThundercat is the stage name of Stephen Lee Bruner. A blend of funk, progressive R&B, soul, jazz fusion, electronica, and psychedelia. Formerly played in the crossover thrash/metal band Suicidal Tendencies (replacing Robert Trujillo) and the boygroup No Curfew, alongside session work for artists like Erykah Badu and Snoop Dogg.
Progressive funk/future jazz bassist Thundercat (Stephen Lee Bruner) is kicking off his 2026 Distracted AF Tour in Florida, starting in Miami, then Orlando, and now, on a very heavy rainy night, just headlined FIVE, in Jacksonville, Florida, last night (October 6). If you are not familiar with the area, this venue is located right in the heart of the historic Five Points neighborhood of Riverside and Avondale. You can never find parking on the main street, so I suggest driving down a block and parking at a nearby business that is closed for the night (after 7pm). Or you can always Uber or have someone drop you off.
Fans from across the board (nerds, jam-fans, jazzheads, potheads, ravers) were seen standing in line in the pouring rain. Doors were delayed in opening, and then it took a very long time to get to the door, because all those who had an umbrella were forced to coat check them for $3 an umbrella. As we got closer to the door, a staffer mentioned that if you weren’t checking your umbrella, there was a separate line. Unfortunately, I still had to stay in line, on account that the box office was also the coat check line.
Once in, you can see the well-lit merchandise room, with people already lining up to buy Thundercat logo (which was based on the cartoon ThunderCats Sword of Omen logo) merchandise. Happy to see fans buying the new Distracted (Brainfeeder) vinyl record.
Speaking of the cartoon, yes, of course Thundercat took his name from the beloved 80s animated show ThunderCats. The after-school syndicated cartoon inspired Bruner so much that he jumped at the chance guest star in the final episode of the kids show ThunderCats Roar in 2020 (as mentioned by writer/producer Marly Halpern-Graser). He wrote the song “Grune the Destroyer”.
Thundercat’s crew features two backup singers (who sometimes takes lead vocals), drummer Justin Brown (with a disco-motorcycle helmet) and keyboardist Dennis Hamm. It’s hard to ignore Thundercat’s warpaint and giant custom six-string electric bass in sparkling gold with Super Sonic (the Hedgehog). When he plays the bass, all eyes are on Thundercat.
If you look at all of Thundercat’s previous works, he prefers to have others take the spotlight: from Flying Lotus to Kendrick Lamar… but it seems like he’s really been enjoying having the spotlight on him for this tour. Most of the songs on the setlist are, of course, from his latest Distracted album, including “Candlelight” and “No More Lies” (both played early in the set), and “Walking on the Moon” (played late).
For the Florida dates, Brooklyn’s Kitty Ca$h was the opener. Ca$h had a 40-min DJ set that mixed R&B, D&B, hip-hop, big thumping bass, and gospel (a dance/electronica “Praise the Lord” mix). She kept the talking to a minimum, with only occasionally asking “What’s up y’all?” and “How’re you doing?” (answer: wooo!).
