11.20.25

This newsletter is presented by

St. Louis musicians and native St. Louisans who have taken their talents elsewhere are over-represented in some of the top shows in the city this week, a phenomenon that we can likely attribute, at least in part, to our proximity to Thanksgiving and the attendant travel that comes with it. In any event, you’ll find no complaints from us! Tonight brings native St. Louisan Brian Hurd and his blues-rocking NYC trio Daddy Long Legs to Off Broadway; Saturday will see St. Louis rapper Sexyy Red pack ‘em into Enterprise Center for her rescheduled Back 2 School event; and Wednesday will see the bevy of St. Louis musicians that call themselves The Stag Nite All-Stars deliver their 19th annual rendition of The Band’s performance from The Last Waltz at South Broadway Athletic Club. As if that weren’t enough, we got another exciting homecoming this week, as the massively influential St. Louis math-rock act Dazzling Killmen plays its first show in its hometown since its reformation earlier this year after 30 years of dormancy—read more about that in a deeper dive with the band below.

As always, we’d love to hear from you, so feel free to reply directly to this newsletter with any thoughts, questions, or story tips that you think should be on our radar.

KNOW SOMEONE WHO'D ENJOY THIS EMAIL? DIRECT THEM HERE TO SIGN UP.

Sexyy Red hits the Enterprise Center on Saturday. Courtesy of Ticketmaster

Critic's Picks

NOVEMBER 20 | OFF BROADWAY

Daddy Long Legs with Handsome Jack

What to Know: St. Louis native Brian “Howlin’” Hurd brings his NYC-based trio of blues rock misfits Daddy Long Legs back to the city that birthed him for a show at a decidedly more intimate setting than that of his Evolution Fest set last month. Those who were unable to make it to that show get a second bite at the apple tonight, as the Yep Roc Records–approved blues-wailing stompers descend upon Off Broadway for a night of raw and real rock ‘n’ roll. Since getting its start in 2010, the band has amassed an impressive collection of accolades, with its two most recent albums, 2019’s Lowdown Ways and 2023’s Street Sermons, even cracking the top 10 on the Billboard blues chart. Standout notices from the national press include Esquire, which described Daddy Long Legs as “drunken cowboys with fuzzy mics and rip-roaring harmonica solos,” and Rolling Stone, which noted its music is “like Chicago blues fired at the moon, played by the demented children of the Pretty Things.” Treat yourself to a night of rip-roaring roots music while delivering a warm “welcome home” to a local boy made good.

Everything's Gonna Be Alright: Like-minded New York rockers Handsome Jack will open the show with a fiery blend of country, soul, and blues rock that will be a welcome thrill for fans of the headliner.

NOVEMBER 22 | ENTERPRISE CENTER

Sexyy Red & Friends Back 2 School Bash

What to Know: One might argue that mid-November is somewhat of an odd time for a Back 2 School event, but one would thereby be gravely overestimating just how much Sexyy Red cares about such trivialities as “school” and “calendars.” St. Louis’ ratchet rap queen clearly has far more important things on her mind, like her countless gold- and platinum-certified singles, her bevy of award nominations and wins over the last two years, and the scores of collaborations she’s done with such top names as Tyler the Creator, Lil Wayne, SZA, and many more. Of course, we’ll also grant that the fact that this show is a rescheduled one from back in early September, when such a scholastic naming convention made a lot more sense, certainly also factors in here—but we think it’s more on-brand to conclude that Sexyy Red quite simply doesn’t give a f***.

Game Changer: The roster of announced Friends who will be joining Sexyy Red for this “& Friends” affair has shifted somewhat from what was on tap in September. That original lineup included GloRilla, G Herbo, Kodak Black, Rob49, Meek Mill, BossMan Dlow, and Loe Shimmy; the updated one sees Kodak Black and Rob49 dropped and replaced with Hurricane Wisdom, though promotional material does tease that there will also be “surprise guests.”

NOVEMBER 26 | SOUTH BROADWAY ATHLETIC CLUB

19th Annual STL Last Waltz Celebration

What to Know: Martin Scorsese’s 1976 music documentary The Last Waltz is widely regarded as one of the best of the genre, a cultural touchstone that has influenced countless films in its aftermath, and one which captured indelible rock history in the form of the farewell performance of legendary Canadian-American act The Band. For the past two decades, a vast assemblage of some of St. Louis’ finest musical talent has gathered together under the banner of The Stag Nite All-Stars—named after local impresario Johnny Vegas’ long-running and much-missed Stag Nite concert series, where many of the musicians on hand cut their teeth—to pay tribute to The Last Waltz by performing its music in its entirety. Top names such as Cree Rider, Sean Canan, Irene Allen, The Maness Brothers, Old Souls Revival, The Funky Butt Brass Band, and many more are among those that will contribute to the effort this year, with promotional material promising additional songs from The Band as well—”including the Dylan stuff.”

Take a Load Off: As in years past, the show will conclude with what is arguably The Band’s best-known song, 1968’s “The Weight.” Or, to borrow again from this show’s promotional material in the name of greater accuracy, “the worst version of The Weight you've ever heard… guaranteed!” Now if that’s not some damn fine salesmanship, we don’t know what is.

A MESSAGE FROM ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Beethoven’s Seventh: A spirited Thanksgiving weekend at Powell Hall

Ignite your senses with Beethoven’s fiery Seventh Symphony, Bartók’s rhythmic Dance Suite, and Rachmaninoff’s dazzling Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. A Thanksgiving weekend of pure musical exhilaration.

Get Tickets »

Newly Announced Shows

Emperor

🗓️ April 5 📍 The Pageant
Long-running Norwegian black metal act Emperor crosses the pond for a North American tour that will make its way to The Pageant on April 5. Get tickets.

Shovels & Rope

🗓️ April 24 📍 Off Broadway
Husband-and-wife folk duo Shovels & Rope brings its potent blend of Americana, rock, country, and blues to Off Broadway on April 24. Get tickets.

Mötley Crüe

🗓️ August 19 📍 Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Hair metal legends Mötley Crüe hit Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre on August 19 as part of the band’s The Return of the Carnival of Sins tour. Get tickets.

Check out the full concert calendar »

NEW! Keep up with what’s happening in Chesterfield with St. Louis Magazine’s new Chesterfield newsletter. It’s quick, it’s weekly, it’s free!

Subscribe Today »

They’re Baaaaaack

Dazzling Killmen rise to rock again after 30 years

After more than 30 years, influential St. Louis band Dazzling Killmen has reformed. While original members Nick Sakes and Blake Fleming initially tried to get the full lineup back together, both Darin Gray and Tim Garrigan wanted to leave their time in Dazzling Killmen in the past. But they’ve given Sakes and Fleming their blessing to carry on the band’s legacy, and Ben Greenberg of the band Uniform and Evan Jagels have stepped in to form a new lineup that will bring their heavy experimental music back home for a show at Red Flag on November 22.

Origin Story: “I remember going to shows and seeing the same three or four pop-punk bands that would always get picked to open for iconic, huge bands like The Jesus Lizard,” Sakes says. “And I thought, Hey, I could do that! I bet if I put something together, we could do that.” Sakes linked up with his friend Darin Gray, who was playing bass in a band called Culture Shock, and helped teach Sakes guitar. Gray also brought in drummer Blake Fleming, who he has played with in jazz combos at Lewis & Clark Community College. The three-piece played their first show together in 1990, later adding guitarist Tim Garrigan into the mix to round out the lineup.

Gone Too Soon: In their original five-year run, Dazzling Killmen released two EPs and two full-length albums, put out by the St. Louis label Skin Graft Records. The albums included Dig Out the Switch in 1992, recorded by Steve Albini and produced by Jeff Tweedy, and Face of Collapse in 1994, also recorded by Albini, which Alternative Press declared “The number one heaviest album of the decade.” Dazzling Killmen officially broke up in the fall of 1995, shortly before a planned tour of Japan with Jim O’Rourke. They played their final show in 1994 at The Other World in St. Louis.

Back in the Saddle: With a new lineup and several 2025 shows under their belt, Dazzling Killmen are looking forward to sharing their hard, jazzy, genre-defying brand of rock with a new generation. “We’re excited to keep going with it,” Fleming says. “There are so many people who didn’t get to see us the first time around, and luckily for us our audience seems to have grown. We have a lot of reasons to keep going forward with it and we’ve really enjoyed doing this as a group together again.”