The Current's Music On-A-Stick featuring The Hold Steady with special guests Bob Mould Band and Dillinger Four

Grandstand Stage
• Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023 at 7:00 pm

The Hold Steady

Formed in 2003, this Brooklyn-based band originally from Minneapolis has released eight albums to date, numerous singles and played more than a thousand shows, including in all 50 U.S. states and throughout Canada, Europe and Australia. The Hold Steady’s music has appeared in movies, advertising and TV, including on “Game of Thrones” and “Billions.” In addition, the band has written original material for the Seth Meyers cartoon “The Awesomes” and Meyers’ 2019 stand-up special “Lobby Baby.”

2023 marks The Hold Steady’s 20th anniversary and will bring an expanded collection of music and activities to celebrate the milestone with fans. The band’s ninth album, “The Price Of Progress,” was released in March on its own Positive Jams record label via Thirty Tigers. Akashic Books published the first-ever The Hold Steady book in July. Titled “The Gospel of The Hold Steady: How A Resurrection Really Feels,” the book was written by Michael Hann and the band and features an oral history of The Hold Steady’s 20 years, along with stories from renowned music writers and contributions from fans of The Unified Scene.

Released in 2021, The Hold Steady’s record “Open Door Policy” achieved the band’s highest chart position of any album, debuting at No. 6 on the Billboard Current Album Chart. Vulture gushed that the record “expands their horizons” and “gives The Hold Steady new heft and variety without undercutting the sharpness of the hooks or singer-guitarist Craig Finn’s heart-wrenching novelistic lyricism.”

The Hold Steady is Bobby Drake (drums), Craig Finn (vocals), Tad Kubler (guitar, vocals), Franz Nicolay (keyboards, vocals), Galen Polivka (bass), and Steve Selvidge (guitar, vocals).

Bob Mould Band

Legendary musician Bob Mould continues his “Distortion and Blue Hearts” tour later this summer, making a stop at the Grandstand joined by Jason Narducy on bass and drummer Jon Wurster. Mould’s show will span his entire career of 40-plus years, including songs from the “Distortion” collection and from his landmark band Hüsker Dü, as well as songs from last year’s explosive and critically acclaimed album “Blue Hearts” – about which Rolling Stone’s 4-out-of-5-star review raved, “Feels like a lost Hüsker Dü album with Mould howling invective over his buzz-sawing guitar.” In late 2021, Demon Music Group concluded their year-long Bob Mould retrospective campaign with the fourth vinyl box, “Distortion: Live.” The eight-LP set includes live recordings from Mould’s solo career and his band Sugar. This box follows October 2020’s eight-LP “Distortion: 1989-1995” vinyl set, which took in Mould’s early solo outings as well as his records with the much-beloved Sugar; January 2021’s nine-LP “Distortion: 1996-2007” box set continuing through the next steps in Mould’s solo career and his outings as LoudBomb and Blowoff; April 2021’s seven-LP “Distortion 2008-2019” covering District Line to Sunshine Rock; and the 24-CD “Distortion: 1989-2019” box, which covers the entirety of his post-Hüsker Dü output.

Dillinger Four

Dillinger Four is a punk band formed in Minneapolis in 1993. Founding members Erik Funk, Lane Pederson and Patrick Costello were later joined in 1995 by Billy Morrissette, who is still often referred to as "the new guy," although the band has maintained the same lineup for nearly 30 years. Creating a hybrid of the noisier elements of hardcore punk with classic punk's catchier leanings, along with a reputation for energetic, unpredictable and even occasionally legendarily chaotic live shows, Dillinger Four developed a loyal cult following and influenced many bands coming after them despite a surprisingly unprolific musical output. They are a rare band in punk that blurs the lines within its many subgenres and enjoys support from a broad audience. Their catalog consists of a few self-released 7-inch records followed by the albums “Midwestern Songs of the Americas” (1998) and “Dillinger Four Versus God” (2000), both on Hopeless Records, then “Situationist Comedy” (2002) and “C I V I L W A R” (2008), both on Fat Wreck Chords.