Skillet with Escape the Fate and Autumn Kings at The Midland Theatre, Kansas City, MO (2026-10-20)

Paranoia
Gorgeous Nightmare
Idle Potential
Money Power Fame
Deja Vu
Broken Heart
Low
Last Goodbye
This War Is Ours (The Guillotine II)
One for the Money

SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD
POWER (w/ Drum Solo)
GONE, GONE, GONE
Tongue Tied
Become Numb
Only Human
Young Bloods
Snake Charmer
HELLBOUND

Two decades later and still screaming,

23x-platinum rock band Skillet is currently out on their Comatose: 20 Years, Still Screaming Tour, celebrates their 2006 album, along with newer music like new single, “Scream,” and which made a stop in downtown Kansas City at The Midland.

To share the stage, Skillet brought along Escape the Fate along with risers Autumn Kings- all acts with individual and distinct sounds but a commonality in power vocals, hard-hitting guitars, and singable songs, that easily appealed to fans of rock, faith-based, and harder music, and to fans both old and new.

The first half of their headlining set was devoted to a performance of the album in its entirety, though not exactly in running order, which was celebratory and a bit nostalgic, and also set up the crowd for the second half of other hits and a broader overview of their thirty plus-year career.

Their previous and twelfth full-length, Revolution, from 2024 wasn’t represented on the setlist, as it only left time for more older favorites but recent single, “Scream” from the new After the Storm 6-track EP (released Oct 9) showed a taste of things to come for the band.

There was a definite musical cohesiveness heard from the band, with John Cooper’s confident vocals and driving bass lines, wife Korey Cooper’s rhythmic guitar and keyboard work, Seth Morrison’s complementary and always in stride guitar playing, and Jen Ledger’s powerful drumming and vocals. Ledger’s vocals on “Awake and Alive” and later, “Hero” added emotion and welcome texture to those songs, when coupled with Cooper’s more weathered voice.

The main set ending with “Hero” and their biggest hit, 2009’s “Monster” (a song probably getting more airplay again now that it’s close to Halloween) showed how much energy and sonic muscle (as well as crowd participation) the band can deliver on, and why they remain vibrant and relevant after several decades.

Las Vegas band Escape the Fate has a new full-length out, The Last Goodbye, which was released earlier in the month (via Big Noise Music) featuring its three recent singles, “Deja Vu”, “Idle Potential” and “Paranoia”, all of which were heard live and the latter having opened their set.

The band brought a noticeable intensity to their performances, slightly darker, a bit risky, and keeping in tradition with their unique blend of metalcore, hard rock and post-hardcore. Ex-BlesstheFall vocalist Craig Mabbitt has truly made the songs and the band his own, even when dipping into the former mid-2000s Ronnie Radke-era.

The set seemed to get heavier as it went along, ending strongly with 2008’s “This War Is Ours (The Guillotine II)” and 2013’s “One for the Money” which had the crowd singing over the guitar work, on the song’s memorable chorus.​

Ontario Canada (via Detroit) band Autumn Kings got the night underway, somewhat famously replacing Bad Wolves, who called their touring model untenable so decided to step anyway.

The band has a new full-length out, Epiphanies (via Hopeless Records), featuring lead single, “Gone, Gone, Gone” which the band played early-on, following an even earlier drum solo. Other new tracks, “Become Numb”, “Only Human” and “Young Bloods” were also worked in and their higher-energy modern rock sound is said to take some influence from the likes of Linkin Park and Fall Out Boy, with a touch of Metallica.

Though together over a decade, the band really broke through only a couple years ago with “HELLBOUND,” a collab with LA rockers Point North, and which of course, ended their set.​

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