Social Distortion
Flogging Molly
Le Butcherettes
$49.50 – General Admission
*plus applicable service fees
Tickets are also available with a $5.00 service charge fee at the following location:
Fox Theater Box Office – 1807 Telegraph Ave, Oakland CA
located on the 19th Street side of the theater
HOURS: Open during shows & Fridays, noon – 7:00pm
Tickets are also available service charge free at the following location:
Zellerbach Hall – 101 Zellerbach Hall #4800, Berkeley, CA
located on the UC Berkeley campus
HOURS: Tuesday – Friday, noon – 5:30pm & Saturday – Sunday, 1pm – 5pm
All doors & show times subject to change.
Here’s how you know you’ve made it in the music business: You’ve stayed strong for three decades on your own terms, on your own time, by your own rules, and over that time your influence has only grown. Each of your albums has been stronger than your last. You’ve been brought onstage by Bruce Springsteen, because he wanted to play one of your songs. You’ve seen high times and low ones, good days and tragic days, but every night you give 100%, and every morning you wake up still swinging.
This is the short version of the Social Distortion bio — the long version could be a 10-part mini- series. For many years, the band have all but trademarked their sound, a brand of hard rockabilly/punk that’s cut with the melodic, road-tested lyrics of frontman Mike Ness. Their searing guitars and a locomotive rhythm section sound as alive today as they did in ’82, as do Ness’ hard-luck tales of love, loss and lessons learned. “The most common thing I hear is, ‘Man, your music got me through some hard times,'” Ness says. “And I just say, ‘Me too.'”
Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes (produced, for the first time, by Ness himself) is the band’s most recent release. Social Distortion experienced a significant amount of firsts in 2011. For starters, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 and was the highest debut that the band has yet seen. Hard Times was also the #1 Independent Album and the #2 Modern Rock/Alternative Album week of release. The band also made their late night television debut when they performed “Machine Gun Blues” on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and later played for Conan on Hard Times’ release date. Taking their successes to the road, Social Distortion played European festivals including Reading and Leeds for the first time. They also booked their first tours of Australia and South America. And finally, Social Distortion played Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Festival, and Coachella – all of these for the first time.
A release of new music is forthcoming in 2024.
Social Distortion’s patented mix of punk, bluesy rock n’ roll and outlaw country — while also stretching the boundaries of their signature sound is a blend of potent power that appeals to all ages. They are honored to have been able to reach as many people as they have so far. “I write songs for myself, and I hope that other people will like them too,” Ness says. “I think every record you make is showing people what you’ve learned over the past few years. It’s showing people, ‘This is what I know.’ ”
Now in their fifth decade, Ness and Social Distortion have officially achieved one of the most non- punk things possible: They’ve failed to burn out.
Flogging Molly is comprised of Dave King (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhran), Bridget Regan (violin, tin whistle, vocals), Dennis Casey (guitar, vocals), Matt Hensley (accordion, concertina, vocals), Nathen Maxwell (bass guitar, vocals), Spencer Swain (mandolin, banjo, guitar, vocals), and Mike Alonso (drums, percussion). Starting out as the house band for Molly Malone’s in Los Angeles and building a loyal following through endless touring, Flogging Molly has become a staple in the punk scene over the past 20 years, kicking off with its raucous debut showcase, Swagger, and continuing through it’s five additional studio albums. With numerous late-night television appearances under their belt, its sell-out Salty Dog Cruise through the Caribbean, and yearly St. Patrick’s Day Festival in Los Angeles, the band is currently working on the Rise Records follow-up to its latest LP, Life Is Good. Recently, the band reissued Swagger with exclusive tracks, an Irish traditional set, a 60-minute video feature, and exclusive merch in a collectable box set.
“There’s a road that goes out of every town. All you’ve got to do is get on it,” Pete Bernhard says.The guitarist/singer and his cohorts in the raw and raucous trio The Devil Makes Three have found their way onto that road numerous times since they first left their picaresque rural hometown of Brattleboro, Vermont. Back then, they had no idea it would lead them to such auspicious destinations as the Newport Folk and Austin City Limits Festivals, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, and on tours with Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell and Trampled By Turtles. Along the way, they drew numerous accolades from a growing fan base and press alike.TDM3’s travels and travails serve as inspiration for their fourth album and their New West Records debut, I’m a Stranger Here, produced by Buddy Miller and recorded at Dan Auerbach’s (Black Keys) Easy Eye Sound in Nashville.
For a band that made its bones with dynamic performances, recording an album is almost like coaxing lightning into a bottle, but Miller and TDM3 succeed on I’m a Stranger Here. Now they’re continuing the journey that began when they found their way to the road that led them out of Vermont. “I can’t wait to get onstage, I love it,” Bernhard says. “Playing music for a living is a blessing and a curse, but for us there’s no other option.”