Ryan Davis. Photo by Chris May. Despite it being the week of the turkey holiday, there are three gigs I highly recommend you attend. On Sunday, Columbus hardcore band En Love and Kenosha duo Livid headline what may be one of the most raucous Kansas City hardcore gigs of the year. Wear ear protection (and maybe even a helmet if you're prone to getting moshed upon). On Wednesday, the Continuous Improvement crew that is New Jersey rapper Papo2oo4, Massachusetts rapper/producer DJ Lucas, and New Jersey producer/DJ Subjxct 5 returns to the area for their third Shuttlecock show (their first ..read more

Harm's Way. Photo by Vanessa Valadez. Harm's Way has been a pillar of Chicago's hardcore scene for roughly 15 years now. It's been almost six years since they last visited the area (opening for Every Time I Die at The Granada in 2017). Thursday night they headline recordBar on a tour celebrating the release of their devastatingly heavy new album, Common Suffering, with support from Fleshwater, Ingrown, and Jivebomb. I'll be out of town, so please stage dive in my name (unless the staff doesn't want you to do that; this is not legal advice). Other acts worth catching this week include ..read more

Halloween This Wednesday, just a week after the band's namesake holiday, catch Halloween at Farewell. The Philadelphia indie rock band features singer-songwriter of note Justus Proffit and just released its self-titled debut EP via Julia's War Records. Support includes Columbia, Missouri's Tri-County Liquidators (debut LP out now) and the hypnotic stylings of Kansas City's own 2w33dy. Other acts worth catching this week include Worlds Worst, Bedridden, Citizen, Narrow Head, Modern Color, Spine, Sarushibai, Cindy Lee, Creeping Death, Awakebutstillinbed, and Kevin Morby. Find ticket l ..read more

Powerplant. Photo by Pawel Starzec. This sentence is where I would make a little Halloween pun. This sentence is where I would tell you that Powerplant (the exceptional British punk band playing Farewell on Thursday) and Flooding (hometown heroes returning from tour to their album release show on Saturday at Howdy) are two of the most important gigs in Kansas City this week. This sentence is where I would make a snide, self-assured little comment to drive home my authority on these matters. Other acts worth catching this week include Wheeler Walker Jr., Self-Checkout Renaissance, Scr ..read more

Portrayal Of Guilt. Photo by Aaron Rhodes. There are two Shuttlecock heaters happening this week. Montreal crossover thrash warriors Prowl and Portland skramz revival revivalists Pretending play Howdy on Tuesday night with locals Dead On Collision, Failure Drill (first show), and DFITD (a last minute addition following a canceled gig next door). Then, Portrayal Of Guilt returns to Kansas City for the second time this year for a gig at Howdy with Abandoncy and Missouri Executive Order 44 (home fresh off a tour of the Midwest). Other acts worth catching this week include Still Ill, The ..read more

Destiny Bond. Photo by Marc Canfield. Denver hardcore punks Destiny Bond released their ripping debut LP, Be My Vengeance, via Convulse Records back in June and are returning to Kansas City on Monday night. This gig also includes Buffalo's inventive and chaotic Science Man, Foil (celebrating the three-year anniversary of frontperson Jame Mendenhall's Dirtbag Distro), and the tour kickoff of Farewell favorites Missouri Executive Order 44 and Joust. You'd be a fool to miss it. Other acts worth catching this week include Class, Kevin Gates, The Appleseed Cast, Muscle Worship, Young Bull ..read more

Mask This Tuesday night, Shuttlecock presents Salt Lake City "death punks" Mask at Howdy. The band just dropped a new EP called Payment In Blood and is on its way to meet up with Spy for a run of shows starting in Louisville. Lilith from Seattle, Still Ill, and Skuffed open the gig. Other acts worth catching this week include bands Sheer Mag / Hotline TNT, The Mars Volta, Dry Socket, Snooper, Model/Actriz, Bombino, Big Boi, Via Luna, Tommy Genesis, and Animals On LSD. Find ticket links, show details, and more gigs below. See beyond this week on our full calendar here. Sunday The Ma ..read more

Stick To Your Guns The Kansas City metro hasn't seen a week of live music like this, from what I can recall, in many months. Heroes of hardcore, a Top 40 superstar, a living legend of folk, three different Australian bands, and a whole lot in between are descending on our humble patch of the Midwest in the next seven days. We're excited to be a partner in Stick To Your Guns celebrating 10 years of their album Diamond at The Bottleneck on Thursday. In addition, we're presenting gigs this week from hardcore bands Trucha and Dose from Omaha and Des Moines respectively (Sunday night at Ho ..read more

Spaced. Photo by Sam Tilkins. Kelce and Swift may be dominating headlines on Stadium Drive this week, but the real story is that Shuttlecock is hosting three killer gigs down there. Tonight (Sunday) get your goth on and catch Boise's Street Fever and Los Angeles' Provoker (the latter on an off night from touring with Glaive) at Farewell. Monday night, catch a stack six-band bill featuring Candy Apple, Raw Breed, and Victim Of Fire from Denver and Spaced from Buffalo. Then on Wednesday, it's the return of melodic punk vets Off With Their Heads. Other acts worth catching this week incl ..read more

Torena Oxnard, California has a history of producing punk and hardcore bands that act as a sonic punch in the mouth. Torena is one of the latest in that lineage, crafting hardcore songs with catchy rhythms, memorable lyrics, and devastating, well-earned breakdowns. Their latest EP, Evil Eyez, was released via Daze and they play Tuesday night at Howdy with God Talk and Burning Bush. Other acts worth catching this week include Lukas Nelson, Nickelback, Eyehategod, Peelander-Z, Katie Alice Greer, Sarkatha, The Used, Fotocrime, Enforced, Herb Alpert, Nuovo Testamento, Ebony Tusks, Natali ..read more