Hawthorne Heights Launches New Festival

Courtesy: Ashton-Magnuson Media

Emo rock band Hawthorne Heights is launching a new music festival.

The California Is For Lovers Festival is scheduled to take place Aug. 26 at oak Canyon Park in Orange, CA. Oak Canyon Park is located at 5305 E. Santiago Canyon Road in Silverado, CA. The brand-new festival, which is one of eight “Is For Lovers” festival dates nationwide, will feature performances from bands, such as Sleeping With Sirens, Bayside, Atreyu, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and of course Hawthorne Heights.

Tickets are available now here. Tickets for the all-ages festival start at $79 plus fees. The festival is scheduled to run from noon to 10 p.m. Aug. 26.

Hawthorne Heights front man JT Woodruff talked about the new festival date during a recent interview.

 “It’s easy to choose Orange County, California as one of our favorite places in the entire world,” Woodruff said. “The OC epitomizes California culture for us that live in the Midwest. Some of the best fans of any genre flock from all over the world to what seems like another dimension, just to experience a punk/emo/hardcore show in Orange County, and that’s exactly why it’s for Lovers.”

Woodruff continued, “The weather, the people, the culture, and the topography are what our festival is all about. We are trying to take your favorite memories of your favorite bands, in our favorite locations and create a world that you never want to leave. It starts with having top tier artists, and we are extremely excited to have such an amazing music lineup for California Is For Lovers in its first year. We, as Hawthorne Heights, are simply trying to be curators and good stewards for the music scene we have been a part of for nearly two decades. All of the sleepless nights are worth it when you see the smiles from people who have grown up on this music, and are now raising their kids on it.”

He concluded, “We are planning several onsite activations that allow fans to have fun, help local charities, and take a break from the stress in their lives. As you step into our time capsule, you can ‘MySpace Your Face’ at a make-up tent while watching punks getting soaked in the dunk tank, as you hear the soundtrack of your childhood fill the wonderful landscape of Orange County. What may seem steeped in nostalgia is really just a snapshot of who you have grown to be in 2023. See you in the park!” 

The full list of “Is For Lovers Festival” dates is as follows:

June 24 – Lake Tahoe Is For Lovers – Outdoor Arena at Harveys

July 21 – Utah Is For Lovers – Granary Live

July 22 – Colorado Is For Lovers – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre

July 29 – OBX Is For Lovers – Roanoke Island Festival Park

August 19 & 20 – Iowa Is For Lovers – Harrah’s Council Bluffs

August 26 – California Is For Lovers – Oak Canyon Park

September 9 – Ohio Is For Lovers – PNC at Riverbend Amphitheatre

September 10 – Tennessee Is For Lovers – The Caverns

September 17 – Massachusetts Is For Lovers – Xfinity Center

More information on the upcoming California Is For Lovers Festival is available at https://www.isforloversfestival.com/california.

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Riot Fest Lineup Announced

Courtesy: Western Publicity

Organizers of the annual Riot Fest music festival announced the lineup for this year’s event.

The Cure, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, The Postal Service, and Death Cab For Cutie will headline the three-day festival, which is in its 18th year in 2023. Also on the bill for this year’s festival are the likes of AFI, Flogging Molly, Pennywise, and The Interrupters. Tickets are available here.

The lineup for the 2023 Riot Fest is noted below.

LINE-UP:
Friday 9/15: Foo Fighters, Turnstile

Saturday 9/16: The Postal Service/Death Cab for Cutie, Queens of the Stone Age

Sunday 9/17: The Cure, The Mars Volta

070 Shake
100 Gecs
AFI
Ani DiFranco
Balance and Composure
Bayside
Bearings
Black Angels
Bowling for Soup
Braid
Caroline Rose
Cassyette
CK Vassi
Code Orange
Corey Feldman
Cults
Death Grips
Drain
Earth Crisis
Empire State Bastard
Enola Gay
Enter Shikari
Eshu Tune / Hannibal Buress
Fade ‘Em All
Fake Names
FEA
Finch
Fleshwater
Flogging Molly
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls
Free Throw
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Gorilla Biscuits
H2O
Hawthorne Heights
Head Automatica
High Vis
Hotline TNT
Insane Clown Posse
Jehnny Beth
Just Friends
Just Mustard
Kim Gordon
LS Dunes
Microwave
Mr. Bungle
Nothing
nothing,nowhere.
Olivia Jean
Origami Angel
Parliament Funkadelic ft. George Clinton
Pennywise
Pinkshift
Plosivs
Pool Kids
PUP
Quasi
Quicksand
Ride
Rival Schools
Say Anything
Screaming Females
Silverstein
Sleep Token
Sludgeworth
Snapcase
Spitalfield
Steve Ignorant Band / Crass
Tegan and Sara
The Aquadolls
The Bobby Lees
The Breeders
The Bronx
The Dresden Dolls
The Exploited
The Gaslight Anthem
The Interrupters
The Used
The Wrecks
Thursday
Total Chaos
Viagra Boys
Warpaint
White Reaper
Yard Act
Young Culture

More information on the 2023 Riot Fest is available at:

Website: https://riotfest.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiotFest1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/riotfest

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Wage War Debuts ‘Circle The Drain’ Acoustic Take; Announces New Live Dates

Courtesy: Fearless Records

Wage War premiered a stripped down take of its single, ‘Circle The Drain‘ Friday. The song is featured in the band’s latest album, Manic.

The stripped down approach is actually slightly similar to that of the original composition in its stylistic approach. However the lack of the layered vocals and electronics and distortion does give the song a certain new, added depth of emotion, presenting more of a sense of vulnerability.

The band offered the following statement about the new take of ‘Circle The Drain.’

“We’ve always loved taking our songs back to the basics, and ‘Circle the Drain (Stripped)’ is one of our favorites yet,” the statement reads. “We feel like the song really gets to breathe when you strip it down.”

In other news, Wage War has announced new live dates for this winter alongside Falling in Reverse and Hawthorne Heights. The dates are noted below.

WAGE WAR ON TOUR:
WITH FALLING IN REVERSE + HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS:

1/13 ­­— Atlanta, GA — The Tabernacle
1/14 — Nashville, TN — Marathon Music Works
1/15 — Cincinnati, OH  — ICON
1/17 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE 
1/18 — Silver Spring, MD — The Fillmore
1/19 — Philadelphia, PA — The Fillmore
1/21 — Boston, MA  — Tsongas Arena
1/22 — New York, NY — Hammerstein
1/24 — Detroit, MI  — The Fillmore
1/25 — Chicago, IL  — Aragon Ballroom
1/28 — Kansas City, MO — The Uptown Theatre
1/29 — Oklahoma City, OK  — Diamond Ballroom
1/30 — Dallas, TX — Southside Ballroom
2/1 — Phoenix, AZ — The Van Buren
2/4 — Los Angeles, CA  — The Palladium

More information on Wage War’s new acoustic take of ‘Circle The Drain’ and tour is available now along with all of Wage War’s latest tour dates, news and more at:

Websitehttps://wagewarband.com

Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/wagewar

Twitterhttps://twitter.com/wagewar

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The Story Changes Debuts New Single, ‘The Longest Year’

Courtesy: Earshot Media/Magnaphone

The Story Changes debuted its latest single this month.

The band — Mark McMillon, Christopher Popadak (Hawthorne Heights), Chris Serafini (The Stereo) — debuted its new single, ‘The Longest Year‘ Feb. 4. The song is the band’s first new music since the debut of the band’s then latest single ‘Golden Age‘ in March 2020. The song is featured in the band’s 2018 album To Hell With This Delicate Equation.

The musical arrangement featured in ‘The Longest Year’ is a unique presentation. At times featuring a distinct power punk style approach and sound and at others exhibiting a clear Deftones influence, it is a composition that is a good fit for any mainstream active rock radio station’s playlist.

According to information in a press release distributed Friday about the song, its lyrical theme focuses on “conquering your own anxiety and navigating depression during these uncertain times.”

‘The Longest Year’ was mixed and produced by the band’s longtime friend Jamie Woolford (Gin Blossoms, The Smoking Popes, Punchline).

More information on The Story Changes’ new single is available along with all of the band’s latest news online at:

Websitehttps://www.theStoryChanges.com

Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/thestorychanges

Twitterhttps://twitter.com/thestorychanges

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to https://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

The Story Changes Debuts ‘Golden Age’ Video

Courtesy: Earshot Media/Magnaphone Records

Emo-punk outfit The Story Changes debuted the video for its latest single last week.

The band debuted the video for its new single ‘Golden Age‘ March 25. The video pays tribute to George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy while also presenting the song, which is featured on the band’s 2018 album To Hell With This Delicate Equation.

Front man Marc McMillon talked about the video in a recent interview.

“We grew up enamored with a galaxy far, far away, and had a great time working with our friend Chris from Punchline to put together this animated parody video,” he said.  “Hopefully this can provide some laughs right now when I’m sure everyone could use a little distraction while staying at home.”

The Story Changes features members of Hawthorne Heights and The stereo in its lineup.

More information on The Story Changes’ new video, its latest album and more is available online at:

Websitehttp://www.theStoryChanges.com

Facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/thestorychanges

Twitterhttp://twitter.com/thestorychanges

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Hawthorne Heights Announces Special Anniversary Tour

Courtesy:  Earshot Media

Courtesy: Earshot Media

Ten years ago, seminal indie-rock band Hawthorne Heights released what remains one of its most talked about albums today in The Silence in Black and White.  That landmark album sold the most first-week copies of any album in the history of Victory Records.  ‘Ohio Is For Lovers’ and ‘Niki FM’, both singles from that album, went on to major success. They helped push the band to the edge of major mainstream success.  The combined sales of the band’s singles and album in whole made The Silence in Black and White the model for almost every emo band that has come along since.

In celebration of the anniversary of that album’s release, the members of Hawthorne Heights have announced that the band will hit the road for a ten-year anniversary The Silence in Black and White World Tour.  The first leg of the tour kicks off April 8th in Dublin, Ireland.  Tour dates for the North American, Asian and Australian leg of the tour will be announced at a later date.  As a thank you to its fans for their support, the band’s members also announced that it will perform The Silence in Black and White in its entirety at each show throughout its tour.

Fans can go online now to the band’s official website, http://www.hawthorneheights.com to sign-up for all of the latest tour updates and to get a free re-worked acoustic version of a Hawthorne Heights classic and the band’s latest single, ‘Spark.’  ‘Spark’ comes from the band’s latest album ZERO. VIP packages for the band’s upcoming world tour are available now.  However, they are in limited quantities.  Zero can be downloaded now via iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/id659261893 and via Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_17?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=hawthorne+heights+zero&sprefix=hawthorne+heights%2Cdigital-music%2C225.  More information on the band’s upcoming tour, its new album and more is available online at http://www.facebook.com/HawthorneHeights.  To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.