paris jackson brings own brand of vulnerability to the stage in kcmo

paris jackson brings own brand of vulnerability to the stage in kcmo

Paris Jackson – yes, Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris Jackson – is opening for Incubus right now, and is an absolute must-see. Walking out onto the stage at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri on a sweltering Tuesday night in July, she seemed to almost float. Barefoot, and with a flowy outfit befitting a fairy – or, dare I say it, Stevie Nicks – she wasted no time picking up the guitar and belting her heart out through an impressive twenty minute set as the sun set.

Setlist
Maker
Happiest Day of My Life
Zombies in Love
Gaslight (with Mike Einziger)
The Colour Blue
My Buckling Knees

Her simple goodbye to the crowd? She stood up, and said, “I’m Paris Jackson, and I’m from Los Angeles, California.”

A handful of favorites below. More featured on our Instagram.

honestav can’t stop smiling at boulevardia 2025

honestav can’t stop smiling at boulevardia 2025

Honestav took the main stage at 8pm on Saturday, June 14th, in the lead up to headliner Tech N9ne. His joy was palpable from the moment he stepped on stage, as the hip hop artist from a small town in southern Missouri kept smiling and talking about how he was living his dreams. 2024’s “I’d Rather Overdose” gained him traction, and – having spent a life trying to be a rockstar along with his brothers and sisters – it seems like his dreams are finally coming true.

Take a peak at this up-and-comer below.

yoke lore pumps energy into a pre-jack’s mannequin crowd in kcmo

yoke lore pumps energy into a pre-jack’s mannequin crowd in kcmo

Yoke Lore – the alternative/indie project from musician Adrian Galvin – tore up from the floor up opening for Jack’s Mannequin at The Truman in Kansas City, Missouri on June 17th. What would have otherwise been a quiet Tuesday night was lit up with the energy of this incredible musician as he and his band – expertly comprised of Rafe Bouchard and Michael Vokes – dazzled the audience with dance-worthy titles like “Hallucinate” and “Chin Up.” They slowed down a couple of times, namely for crowd favorite “Beige.”

What really got me was Adrian’s stage presence. The last time I had the opportunity to catch these guys, they played a much smaller venue down the street. The Truman had more space to move around on stage (and off), so we got to enjoy some dance moves and a bevy of lighting changes that we couldn’t before.

Highlights from the magical evening below.

jack’s mannequin thrills sold out kansas city crowd

jack’s mannequin thrills sold out kansas city crowd

Kansas City is really lucky, because we get to witness Andrew McMahon in all of his forms pretty frequently. While other musicians skip our metropolitan area more often than now, we are seemingly prioritized by his tour manager and team every single time, be it for Andrew McMahon in The Wilderness, Something Corporate, or Jack’s Mannequin.

And we show up.

Kansas City sold out the Tuesday night show at The Truman, a warehouse venue in the downtown area that has space to move — which is great, given the amount of dancing – and llama crowdsurfing – that was happening.

As we head banged through “Holiday From Real,” “Kill The Messenger,” “Amy, I,” and “Miss California,” a genuine feeling of camaraderie seemed to echo through the space. Per usual, Andrew provided anecdotes for a few songs, giving us a true look at what his life was like twenty years ago when Everything in Transit was released. It was during this time that he was battling cancer.

While some fans seemed to be learning of his earlier health woes at this show, he has been touring with his Dear Jack Foundation – which raises funding to improve the lives of young people with cancer and their families – in tow for years.** At this particular show, he was raffling off a signed drum head for donations. Toward the end of the show, he boarded a llama pool floatie and crowd surfed from the stage to the back of the venue to find out the winner of the raffle. Known for being interactive with his crowd, this was a really entertaining approach. (And we didn’t drop him!)
**Not for nothing, we played his “Dear Jack” documentary at the inaugural cancer walk at my university, as suggested by my rad twin sister. His story, his strength, and the way he has allowed his life to open up since is quite inspiring and fun.

The set list for The MFEO Tour has varied slightly. The following songs were played by Jack’s Mannequin at The Truman on June 17th.
Holiday From Real
Spinning
The Mixed Tape
Release Me
Kill the Messenger
Crashin
Miss Delaney
Swim
Television
I’m Ready
Amy, I
Bruised
Miss California
The Resolution
Rescued
MFEO: Pt. 1 – Made for Each Other / Pt. 2 – You Can Breathe
Hammers and Strings (A Lullaby)
La La Lie


Encore:
Last Straw, AZ
Dark Blue

tech n9ne headlines 10th boulevardia festival in kcmo (roll)

tech n9ne headlines 10th boulevardia festival in kcmo (roll)

Tech N9ne was so excited to take the stage as the headliner for Saturday’s Boulevardia Festival in his native Kansas City, that he started his set 10 minutes early. We were on the other side of the festival walking over, so only got one song to grab highlights. But as we walked up to the stage, you could feel the energy oozing from the crowd. And when we approached the front, we saw that – on the day of NO KINGS – or very own hometown hero was wearing a headband that read “KING.”

It has been seven years since his last appearance at the festival, and headlining the 10th anniversary more than makes him Kansas City’s version of a king. Some fun snaps below.

the greeting committee make a statement at boulevardia 2025

the greeting committee make a statement at boulevardia 2025

Boulevardia really brought the heat – as it does every year – for its tenth anniversary, set with a backdrop of the skyline in Kansas City, Missouri. The festival grabbed local headliners for the decade anniversary of its existence on one of the hottest weekends of the year, a lineup that featured The Greeting Committee at 6:30pm as the sun started to make its way down into the trees. We caught some highlights from the performance, below.