Toadies Fill District Music Hall With a Mix of Nostalgia and New Sound
For a band that has been together for well over 35 years, Texas grunge band Toadies drew a well-mixed crowd to Norwalk, Connecticut. Hate to age myself, but Toadies were huge when I was a teenager, with the platinum hit “Possum Kingdom” playing often on the local rock radio station. Imagine that? A time before streaming, where your means to absorb music was by trading CDs or listening to whatever came across the airwaves. In a week full of shooting metal shows, slowing it down with a bit of nostalgia was well worth the visit to District Music Hall.
VANDOLIERS
Opening the evening was Vandoliers. And I'll be honest with you, I had not heard of the band before. But as I made my way to the photo pit, I noticed the Punk Rock Saves Lives table tucked away in the corner. If our friends from PRSL showed up to this show, I knew I would be pleased with the outcome.
What the crowd got was a violin-driven, honky-tonk cowpunk band from Texas. Think Dropkick Murphys if they grew up south of the Red River and their bass lines and drums picked up a southern twang.
As frontwoman Jenni Rose jokingly announced at the top of the set, "We're the Vandoliers and we're weird as f*ck!" Rose publicly came out as a trans woman in 2025, doing so while fronting a band in the deeply macho worlds of Texas country and punk rock. Rather than make it overly political, you could just tell the band loved leaning into their unique vibe and oozed positivity from start to finish.
The band closed with a cover of "I Would Walk 500 Miles" and somehow by the end of the song the bass player, violinist, and drummer had all ended up shirtless and pumping up the crowd. I rarely use this word, but I consulted our RØKKR expert Nathan, and this did indeed qualify as a hootenanny.
LOCAL H
Based out of Illinois, Local H is just two guys sharing the stage. A popular and established act that tours the Northeast often, Scott Lucas and Ryan Harding eased the crowd into a heavier sound, from hootenanny to headbanging. The physicality of Lucas's playing was something to watch, he never stops moving across the stage. Young kids even opened up a small mosh pit mid-set.
They played a long set for just a two-piece, and impressed throughout. At the end of their set, Toadies bassist Donivan Blair joined them on stage. It was a nice surprise, but of course they could hold their own without him. What I got out of both opening acts were artists who know exactly what they bring to the table and deliver it effortlessly.
TOADIES
The Toadies are out on the road behind The Charmer, their new album recorded with the late Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago. Frontman Vaden Todd Lewis mentioned that this album was all their own, released independently. To the relief to the band, they were no longer funneling money away to a corporation. Just as with the first two acts, you could they genuinely enjoyed playing a show and celebrating both their newer material, as well as old classic.
The post-punk grunge sound flowed so well, I wouldn't be able to tell you what was thirty years old and what came out within the last year. Fans didn't even have to wait until the end of the set to hear “Possum Kingdom", it was sandwiched right in the middle.
Lewis made a point to discuss how much The Charmer came from a personal place. He mentioned struggling with thoughts of self-harm since he was a teenager, and getting the point of seeking help five years ago, reaching the point where he could talk about it at all. He looked out at the room and said, “I know you're hurting. We want you here. Please stay here with us."
It made complete sense why Punk Rock Saves Lives was asked to volunteer at the show. The band then dropped into “Normal" off the new album, which spoke to all of the above with the lyrics: I don't wanna be angry // I don't wanna be sad // I don't wanna be sorry // Just wanna be fuckin' normal.
Later in the set, Jenni Rose from the Vandoliers came back out to lend her vocals, a great way to bring the evening full-circle. And when it came time for a cover of "I Put a Spell on You," Scott Lucas from Local H joined them on stage to play guitar. The room had already been won over by that point.
After a night with Toadies, it was hard not to feel like the music was doing exactly what it was supposed to do: healing people and saving lives.
