Alien Ant Farm + CKY
The Academy, Dublin
27th November 2024
Doors 6:30pm | 18+
Alien Ant Farm have announced an EU/UK tour for October/November 2024 which they will co-headline with CKY. The tour announcement follows the release of their new album ~mAntras~ which was released on April 26th on highly acclaimed label Metalforce Records.
In exciting news, Alien Ant Farm & CKY support Music Venue Trust by becoming the first American bands to add an optional £1 donation to support Grassroots Music Venues on the UK dates. Music Venue Trust will distribute donations to small, local, grassroots music venues across the country to ensure the music ecosystem continues to support new and developing artists.
“We’ve always loved our UK tours! For over 20 years we have been able to play shows all around our “home away from home” and we’re excited to see old friends and fans on this run. We’ve watched CKY as fans through the years but have never had the pleasure to meet and tour with them. We think this is a proper nice fit.” says Alien Ant Farm frontman Dryden Mitchell. “As a band, we have seen the work that Music Venue Trust are doing for grassroots venues across the UK and were inspired to lend our support. We are honored to be the first American bands to be involved in this initiative and would urge other artists who enjoy playing in the UK to follow suit. Personally, my favorite. Don’t tell the States.”
Mark Davyd, CEO of Music Venue Trust, added, “Every ticket you buy to see Alien Ant Farm and CKY’s exciting UK tour will not only grant you an unforgettable experience but also serve as a beacon of support for our cherished local music venues. As the first American bands to grace the UK’s stages with the added option of a ticket donation, Alien Ant Farm and CKY set a precedent for global solidarity within the music community. Let’s not merely spectate but actively participate in shaping a more sustainable future for live music. Join us in this pivotal moment, and let your contribution resonate beyond this tour, supporting Grassroots Music Venues across all four nations.”
“We are beyond ecstatic and ready to cross the pond once again, and return to one of our most favorite places in the world to perform and tour, celebrating 25 years of CKY! We are playing songs spanning our career and looking forward to an amazing tour with AAF.” says CKY’s Chad I Ginsburg.
Last week, Alien Ant Farm released their new album ~mAntras~. Its a record that will not only challenge your preconceptions of the band, but will also firmly reassert their place in the world. The band’s sixth full-length, it was shaped by personal change and growth, and it represents as close to a new beginning as a band first formed in 1996 can get. At the same time, it’s not a record that dismisses and disregards the past. Far from it. A record of deep contemplation, ~mAntras~ was born out of various trials and tribulations—its songs don’t just take the listener on a musical journey, but, as its title suggests, also on a personal and spiritual one.
Alien Ant Farm have encountered a lot of adversity since blowing up in 2001 with two iconic songs—first their own composition, “Movies”, and then their classic, generation-defining cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal”—but none more so between the release of Always And Forever and this record. It’s no surprise, then, that a lot of it has been captured on the 11 tracks that make up ~mAntras~. As guitarist Terry Corso puts it: “Growing up, divorce, children, family, death, band break-ups, surgeries, illness, health—everything is in this record. It’s literally a product of all the fucking shit, good and bad, that we went through.”
All of it, though, was channeled into crafting the most confident and self-assured album of the band’s career (“The manure makes the flower grow,” quips vocalist Dryden Mitchell). And despite the false start, when Alien Ant Farm felt they could pick things up again in terms of making new music, they did just that. What’s more, they found themselves thoroughly reinvigorated and re-inspired. Older and wiser and no longer as eager to please the music industry, the band really leaned into what it meant to be themselves on this album.
“For a band that released “Smooth Criminal”, we are a crazy prog band,” chuckles Mitchell. “If you scratch that just a couple of songs in, there’s some real goodness going on in there.”“Longevity has kind of become the luxury,” adds Corso, “because it lets us do all this stuff that we want to do. It gives us a bit wiggle room to have those prog tendencies and move in ways that feel good to us.”
Alien Ant Farm is vocalist Dryden Mitchell, guitarist Terry M. Corso, drummer Mike Cosgrove and bassist Timmy Pee. They have released five studio albums, and have sold over 5 million units worldwide.
Music Venue Trust (MVT) is a registered charity, created in January 2014 to protect, secure and improve the UK live music network by securing the long-term future of iconic grassroots music venues that play a crucial role in the development of British music, nurturing local talent and providing a platform for artists to build their careers and develop their music and their performance skills.
MVT works to gain recognition of the essential role these venues fulfill, not only for artist development but also for the cultural and music industries, the economy and local communities. The charity aims to preserve and improve venues, making them more efficient and improving the experience for performers and audiences. Long-term we plan to acquire the freeholds of as many of these vital venues as possible.
Music Venue Trust is a Charity registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, registration no: 1159846.
Music Venue Trust (Scotland) is a charity registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity
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