In 2025 I covered 73 shows. I snapped and edited hundreds of
photos for each, edited videos of the performances, and wrote about
every single one. It nearly killed me. Here are the ones that made it
a pleasure.
10. The Oxys, Madman, & The Unfinished
March 26th, 2025 at Minibar
see the full list
Advance Base, Kristin Daelyn, & Empty
Moon delivered warmth without the
Christmas cheer.
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Bands were struggling in 2025. Talking to musicians I
heard so much burn out. The biggest complaint was the
requirement to be on social media 24/7 and the constant
release cycle required to feed beasts like Spotify. No one
has it figured out, but these bands put out great records
this year despite everything and I thank them sincerely for
the tremendous effort it took.
Favorite Local Albums of 2025:
10. Shiner - Believeyoume
9. Til Willis & Erratic Cowboy - Glass Cactus
see the full list
Podcast #765 counts down my top tracks of
2025 featuring Fullbloods, Ryan Allen, Allo
Darlin', The Casket Lottery, Hunx and His
Punx, Daniel Gum, & Guided by Voices.
Here is the Too Much Rock Top 35 Songs of 2025. This year came
together pretty quickly (two weeks?) so I'm paranoid that I missed
something. And speaking of which, at the end you'll see three
bonus 2024 tracks that I didn't pick up until after last year's
list was complete.
35. "True Beliver" by Art d'Ecco
Horn-fueled glam stomp will forever have my heart.
see the full list
Here is a list of my favorite albums of 2025 presented in order
but lacking any supporting evidence. All are great albums from top to
bottom. Check the end of the article if you're
curious how this list was compiled.
50. Comet Gain Letters to Ordinary Outsiders
49. Ryan Allen One Week Off
see the full list
Another Hillsiders night of psych, punk,
and vocal cord damage courtesy of Greg
Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops, Pale
Tongue, and Cyanides.
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I took attendance at the Agga Dagga and
Headlight Rivals show.
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RxGhost, The Touchdowns, & Misguided Men
appeared in Lawrence.
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No time, just notes: Lene Lovich
(iconic), Reviser (dark).
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My recap of the doom-heavy Hollowedween
arrives dangerously close to Christmas.
Check out my coverage of the event
featuring Hollowed, Drifter, Stoney-
Doom, and Buzzard Fight.
>>view
Five states sent their worst to Lost
Weekend Fest IV. See the highlights from
Terry Malts, Criminal Kids, Wayne Pain,
Wet Denim, and Pimp Magic Guts.
>>view
Podcast #764 is the 2025 Christmas Spectacular
featuring 18 holiday could-be favorites
from The Intercepteurs, The Supernaturals,
Perilous, Make Like Monkeys, The Letterwriters,
The Bacarrudas, Jeanines, Bhopal's Flowers,
Silver Biplanes, Fightmilk, The Kung Fu
Monkeys, Tracy Bonham, Laufey, The Soda
Poppers, Vista Blue, Geoff Palmer, XMASX,
& The Krayolas.
Podcast #763 is for comebacks and underdogs
w/ Pulp, The Sleeveens, Suzie True, RxGhost,
They Are Gutting a Body of Water, Tortoise,
& Boys Life.
If Too Much Rock delays equal quality,
then this night from The Whiffs, Scott
Yoder, Freezing Hands, and The
Flaming Ghoulies must have been
flawless.
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Podcast #762 is haphazard thanks to Unwed
Sailor, The Peppermint Kicks, The Jam, Sharp
Pins, Thimastr, Militarie Gun, & Pigeon
Pit.
Shonen Knife and The Pack A.D.
entertained Kansas City but you won't
read about it on Too Much Rock.
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Podcast #761 goes prix fixe with Boyracer,
Neutral Milk Hotel, The Mountain Goats,
Squint, Toledo Panic, Killer Hearts, &
Lafayette.
Read my unauthorized punk intelligence
report on The Oxys, The Unfinished, and
Crash before the feds do.
>>view
Podcast #760 likes new tunes from Big Life,
The High Frequencies, Nervous Twitch, Guided
by Voices, Tape Trash, Damien Jurado, &
Cataphract.
After playing hooky for a month, I try
to remember the gauzy sets of Slow
Crush, Faetooth, and NVM.
>>view
Podcast #759 returns bright-eyed and
bushy-tailed with Flying Color, Ryan Allen,
The Lemonheads, Shiner, The Courettes, The
Bacarrudas, Greg Wheeler & the Poly Mall
Cops, & Pale Lights.
At Play Loud Fest RecordBar did what it
has done for 20 years - rocked out.
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Model/Actriz made Monday at RecordBar
strange and wonderful.
>>view
Empty Moon, Fritz and Sons, and Matt
Rice made sure everyone at Hillsiders
had fun on a Friday night.
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Podcast #758 ain't done nothing wrong thanks
to The Wulongs, Nico Bones, Brad Marino,
The Knee-Hi's, The Windmills, Massage, &
Tristeza.
Nite, Immortal Girlfriend, Redder Moon,
Bobcat Attack and an Advil that wasn't
enough.
>>view
Mr. Gnome and Lavish made Sister Anne's
the loudest room in town.
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Podcast #757 begins preparations for spooky
season with AFI, The Cords, The Spongetones,
Neko Case, Bright Eyes, & Moonsorrow.
Castle Rat, They Watch Us from the Moon,
Cobranoid, and Hooded Grave ruled a
sold-out realm of doom.
>>view
Podcast #756 has all the pep thanks to Booze
& Glory, The Prize, The Oxys, MnMs, No
Tears, Tamar Berk, & Faetooth.
Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds,
Thimastr, and Dan Jones and the Squids
reminded KC that rock & roll is always
worth the effort.
>>view
A surprise act led to a sleepless night when
The Whiffs, Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds,
and Drastic Plastic played a $5 gig.
>>view
Podcast #755 is for the punks still making
music: The Iron Roses, Horace Pinker, Teenage
Bottlerocket, Redder Moon, Religion of
Heartbreak, & Lafayette.
RecordBar celebrated Slim's 50th with
Men of Men, TsuShiMaMiRe, The Almighty
Trouble Brothers, and cake.
>>view
Killer City and Hexicharmed played it
strange at Velo Garage.
>>view
Podcast #754 feels every note from The Boy
Least Likely To, Loose Lips, The Hives,
Street Eaters, The Touchdowns, The Casket
Lottery, & MÃÂ¥negarm.
Nan + The One Nite Stands and Rude
Cousin played theatrical sets at Velo
Garage... I think.
>>view
Podcast #753 makes the case for The Loyal
Cheaters, The Bats, Comet Gain, The 1981,
The Parker Posies, Winter, Slow Crush, &
Randells.
Interesting gigs:
1/10 Still Ill @ Blip
1/10 Touchdowns @ Replay
1/15-18 Sequins Before Noon @ Black Box
1/16 Spine @ Bottleneck
1/16 Bowie Tribute @ RecordBar
1/17 Bowie Tribute @ RecordBar
1/21 Daniel Gum @ White Schoolhouse
1/23 Thimastr @ Replay
1/23 Bowie Tribute @ RecordBar
1/24 Bowie Tribute @ RecordBar
1/24 Neko Case @ Uptown
1/31 Agriculture @ RecordBar
1/31 Virga @ Bottleneck
2/6 Heat Seger @ Hillsiders
2/6 Canyons @ Farewell
2/6 Blanky @ Liberty Hall Basement
2/14 Calvin Arsenia @ Knuckleheads
2/14 Madman @ Hillsiders
2/18 Rev Horton Heat @ Bottleneck
2/18 Oxys @ Hillsiders
2/23 Drifter @ Replay (matinee)
2/27 Mace Mouth @ Hillsiders
3/6 William Elliot Witmore @ RecordBar
3/6 Rex Hobart @ Knuckleheads
3/13 Lucero @ Knuckleheads
3/14 Glass Jaw @ Bottleneck
3/19 Drug Church @ Bottleneck
3/21 War on Women @ Bottleneck
3/25 Ratboys @ RecordBar
3/26 Voivod @ RecordBar
3/31 Wonder Years @ Truman
3/31 Spin @ Howdy
4/1 Jordana @ RecordBar
4/7 Menzingers @ Warehouse on B'way
4/8 Eyehategod @ RecordBar
4/17 Stoner Doom Festival @ Bottleneck
4/18 Stoner Doom Festival @ Bottleneck
4/21 Amon Amarth @ Midland
5/1 AFI @ Truman
5/3 Jason Isbell/400 Unit @ Uptown
5/4 Lords of Acid @ Warehouse
5/12 Dry Cleaning @ Slowdown (Omaha)
5/15 Silversun Pickups @ Warehouse on B'way
5/15 Phil Kinsley Celebration @ RecordBar
5/27 Rilo Kiley @ Uptown
6/6 Rainmakers @ Knuckleheads
6/9 Joe Jackson @ Uptown
7/10 The Church @ Knuckleheads
10/13 Osees @ Bottleneck