Never Mind. They’re Coming West.
Last Monday I ran this column under the headline “Everybody’s Touring, Nobody’s Coming West.” Six days later three tours got announced and every single one of them stops in Southern California. Two of them stop here twice. I’m choosing to take credit.
Ghoul & Dry Socket — Weapons of Mosh Destruction VII
Ghoul have been running the Creepsylvania bit for over twenty years and it still lands, which is the whole trick. Nine dates, all of them west, and three of them sit inside driving distance: 1720 on a Sunday, then Lancaster and Murrieta on consecutive nights. That second part is what I actually care about. Plenty of bands route LA and San Francisco and call it a West Coast tour, but booking Transplants in Lancaster and Solaris in Murrieta back to back is a different kind of decision, and Dry Socket hauling down from Portland for it makes the run feel like a favor to people who almost never get one.
- 10/16 — Sacramento, CA — Harlowe’s
- 10/17 — San Jose, CA — The Ritz
- 10/18 — Los Angeles, CA — 1720
- 10/19 — Las Vegas, NV — Grey Witch
- 10/20 — Phoenix, AZ — Nile Underground
- 10/21 — Lancaster, CA — Transplants
- 10/22 — Murrieta, CA — Solaris
- 10/23 — San Luis Obispo, CA — The Humdinger
- 10/24 — San Francisco, CA — The Mab
Big Ass Truck I.E. — North America 2026 (Nuclear Blast)
with Chamber · Mugshot · Load Tha Nine · Surfaced · Restrictor Plate · Lie (rotating)
A Nuclear Blast band named after the Inland Empire, with a semi on the poster and a rotating support cast that reads like a festival bill. Twenty-eight dates across North America, San Diego opens the run on October 20, and they close the entire thing at the Glass House in Pomona on November 25. That is not a routing accident. You do not end a national tour in Pomona unless Pomona is the point, and I would rather watch a band come home than watch one pass through.
- 10/20 — San Diego, CA — Corazon Del Barrio
- 10/21 — San Francisco, CA — Neck of the Woods
- 10/23 — Portland, OR — High Limit Room
- 10/24 — Spokane, WA — The District Bar
- 10/25 — Seattle, WA — El Corazon
- 10/26 — Boise, ID — The Shredder
- 10/28 — Denver, CO — Ante Up
- 10/30 — Minneapolis, MN — Underground Music Venue
- 10/31 — Chicago, IL — Gods of Chaos
- 11/01 — Milwaukee, WI — X-Ray Arcade
- 11/02 — Detroit, MI — Catacombs at The Sanctuary
- 11/03 — Pittsburgh, PA — Preserving Underground
- 11/04 — Cleveland, OH — Mahall’s
- 11/05 — Toronto, ON — Hard Luck Bar
- 11/07 — Hartford, CT — Webster Underground
- 11/09 — Baltimore, MD — Metro Gallery
- 11/10 — Worcester, MA — Palladium Upstairs
- 11/11 — Brooklyn, NY — Saint Vitus
- 11/12 — Philadelphia, PA — Ukie Club
- 11/13 — Richmond, VA — Canal Club
- 11/14 — Atlanta, GA — Masquerade (Purgatory)
- 11/15 — Orlando, FL — Warped Tour Orlando
- 11/17 — Houston, TX — The End
- 11/18 — Dallas, TX — Three Links
- 11/20 — San Antonio, TX — Rock Box
- 11/23 — Mesa, AZ — Rosetta Room
- 11/24 — Las Vegas, NV — American Legion Post 8
- 11/25 — Pomona, CA — The Glass House
Distant — Into Despair USA Tour 2026
with Heavy//Hitter · Torn Open · Katywentmissing (Squelching on select dates)
Into Despair lands in November and Distant are finally running the States as a headliner instead of sitting third from the top on somebody else’s package. Twenty-six dates, and the lone Southern California stop is House of Blues Anaheim on November 21. I wrote a whole guide to that room, so consider this me putting my money where my mouth is. Heavy//Hitter on the undercard is worth the door on its own.
- 11/16 — Dallas, TX — TX Tea Room
- 11/17 — Houston, TX — The Secret Group
- 11/18 — San Antonio, TX — The Rock Box
- 11/20 — Mesa, AZ — The Rosetta Room
- 11/21 — Anaheim, CA — House of Blues Anaheim
- 11/22 — Roseville, CA — Goldfield Trading Post
- 11/24 — Portland, OR — Dante’s
- 11/25 — Seattle, WA — El Corazon
- 11/27 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Urban Lounge
- 11/28 — Denver, CO — Marquis Theater
- 11/29 — North Kansas City, MO — The Rino
- 11/30 — Chicago, IL — Cobra Lounge
- 12/01 — Indianapolis, IN — Hoosier Dome
- 12/02 — Detroit, MI
- 12/04 — Lakewood, OH — Mahall’s
- 12/05 — Columbus, OH — Ace of Cups
- 12/07 — Rochester, NY — Montage Music Hall
- 12/08 — Worcester, MA — Palladium
- 12/09 — Brooklyn, NY — The Meadows
- 12/10 — New Kensington, PA — Preserving Underground
- 12/11 — Baltimore, MD — Metro Baltimore
- 12/12 — Philadelphia, PA — Ukie Club
- 12/14 — Nashville, TN — Eastside Bowl
- 12/15 — Greenville, SC — Radio Room
- 12/16 — Jacksonville, FL — The Albatross
- 12/17 — Orlando, FL — The Abbey
Three tours, six Southern California dates, and the two I would clear a night for are the ones playing the smallest rooms on the list. Ghoul at 1720 is the one that sells out first. Move accordingly.