Violent Femmes to play Charleston Music Hall October 1

Author:

Robin Gibson

May 22, 2024

By Robin Gibson

The local show on the limited-run tour will include songs from its sophomore release Hallowed Ground celebrating its 40th anniversary this year along with their ground-breaking debut and several fan- and band-favorites.

Fans of the iconic, punk band Violent Femmes have a lot to look forward to this holiday weekend. On Friday, May 24, at 10 A.M., tickets go on sale for their upcoming performance atCharleston Music Hallhappening Tuesday, October 1. The local show on the limited-run tour will include songs from its sophomore release Hallowed Ground celebrating its 40th anniversary this year along with their ground-breaking debut and several fan- and band-favorites.

Femmes’ Lead Vocalist and Guitarist, Gordon Gano, the talented voice of an angst-ridden, disenchanted and alienated generation, wrote songs for both albums while he was still in high school. The tracks for Hallowed Ground came first but their experimental nature took a back seat to the more favored pop-forward, upbeat songs that formed the basis of the band's debut album. Once both were released, however, they ultimately revealed entirely unique and vastly varied sounds. In the years since its release, the wildly successful debut album has surpassed three million copies in sales worldwide and still receives airplay on top rock stations. Hallowed Ground, on the other hand, infused country, gospel and blues, surprising an audience expecting more teen-rage punk songs. Instead, they were treated to an eclectic piece of art featuring "Sweet Misery Blues" and the banjo-fueled "Country Death Song" to name a few.

New material followed over the years while television shows and movies at the time solidified their original work at the top of pop culture history. 10 studio albums later and their appeal shows no signs of slowing down across a wide swath of age demographics. Pitchfork had this to say about them: “The Femmes don’t signify an era so much as a time of life,” adding that “for young people growing up in the internet age” their music “is part of a shared language.”