Friday July 18th
It never happens like this.
Out of the Midwest, Tech N9ne broke all of the rules, subverted expectations, dumbfounded the system, and set a precedent for hip-hop and independent music often imitated (but never duplicated) by generations to follow. At the helm of his own Strange Music proudly based in Kansas City, MO, he has notched four
It never happens like this.
Out of the Midwest, Tech N9ne broke all of the rules, subverted expectations, dumbfounded the system, and set a precedent for hip-hop and independent music often imitated (but never duplicated) by generations to follow. At the helm of his own Strange Music proudly based in Kansas City, MO, he has notched four platinum singles, eleven gold singles, and two gold albums. After three decades in the game, he landed “the biggest hit of his career”with 2021’s “Face Off” featuring Joey Cool, King Iso, and none other than megastar Dwayne Johnson. What other 50-year-old rapper has sent TikTok into a tizzy, generated a quarter-of-a-billion stream, and incited a frenzy from Variety, People, TMZ, NY Post, Today, and Entertainment Weekly with just one track?
It’s unheard of in typical hip-hop, but Tech and Strange Music are anything but typical…
Representing the underground, he’s practically “a regular” on the Forbes “Cash Kings” list. Beyond gracing the cover of XXL and the stage of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he wound up on the playlist of none other than Sir Elton John and performing to 1 million-plus at the parade for the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory. He’s the only artist (on this planet) who has collaborated with Eminem, Tupac, Lil Wayne, and Kendrick Lamar as well as The Doors, Slipknot, System of a Down, Deftones, Jelly Roll, and MGK. He holds down the record for “most Top 10 albums on the Billboard Rap Chart” and staked a spot in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200 four times. On top of a thriving self-sufficient merchandising empire, he notably joined forces with Kansas City’s own Boulevard Brewery for his craft beer Bou Lou. Moreover, his output is nothing short of staggering.
However, he never rests on his laurels. Instead, Tech reaches higher than ever on his 24th full-length offering, BLISS [Strange Music].
“It’s a new me,” he exclaims. “I’m evolved with a new brain, a new soul, and a new heart. I want to start conversations, so we can find a middle ground even if we are different. We can agree to disagree. I want conversation, and these are my observations. I’m opening up and talking about things I’ve obsessed over. To me, this album is a mirror of society.”
Following the “ignorance” of ASIN9NE, Tech found himself on another level.
“BLISS comes from ignorance,” he goes on. “I’m BLISSful, so I can say whatever the hell I want. The reason I took this direction was maturity and evolution. As an O.G., I’m going to speak on what I’m seeing.”
A standout collaboration from the album is “Fatha Fig Ya (Food For Thought)” featuring RMR. Complemented by an anxious keyboard loop, Tech kicks knowledge with the cadence of a quietly confident dynamo and the care of a committed dad (both of which he is). In between, RMR’s hook practically levitates over the percussion.
“I wanted to give my perspective to the youngsters,” he notes. “As I sit right now, I’m a father literally offering you a fig of life to eat in the song; it’s food for thought. RMR’s voice is so distinct that it made the song beautiful.”
“Knock” unites four of the game’s tightest lyricists from across the country with Conway the Machine repping Buffalo, X-Raided of Sacramento, Joyner Lucas hailing from Boston, and Tech out of KC. Minor keys cut through a head-nodding beat as a lyrical masterclass ensues as each MC passes a scorching hot mic back-and-forth.
“You’ve got a quartet of MCs from different regions just crushing it,” smiles Tech. “My East Coast fans are always like, ‘We want to hear you on some boom bap!’ So, we got this incredible beat from Dame The Producer. ‘Knock’is amazing for 50 years of hip-hip.”
On the other end of the spectrum, glitchy electronics give way to jarring distortion on “W H A T (We’re Hungry And Thirsty)” [feat. HU$H & Kim Dracula]. The refrain’s scream practically pierces the sky.
“I’m talking some shit I’ve never talked before,” admits Tech. “These songs mean a lot to me. I’m not trying to do what’s hot now; I want forever music. This one could be controversial, because I’m talking about people who wrote the Bible and how we’re waking up and being controlled. Kim Dracula was a perfect specimen for this because they are fucking lyrically crazy. HU$H killed it.”
In another departure, he joined forces with none other than Durand Bernarr and Qveen Herby on “Red Aura.” Durand’s soulful crooning floats atop the skittering beat only for Qveen Herby to stomp over the bass line with bold bars of her own.
“It’s another lane,” Tech continues. “I was so moved by Durand’s Tiny Desk. I reached out. He said, ‘Thanks, I was your Uber driver in Salt Lake City. I sang over ‘Redbone’ for you’. I couldn’t believe it. I’m glad I was nice to him on the ride,” he laughs. “We decided to cook up. I found Qveen Herby, and I needed to call her. The ‘Red Aura’ is the welcoming energy I give off.”
Guitar accents the dreamy production on “2 Happy.” Together, NNUTTHOWZE’s Zkeircrow and Phlague The Grimstress join Tech in the madness as the chorus assures, “I’m happy happy to be mentally fucked up.” Then, there’s the closer “Got What I Wanted” [feat. Navé Monjo]. Tech adopts a flow as if he’s six-feet-under, paints a provocative portrait from inside of his final resting place.
“People wait until a lot of legends die to give them their flowers and the respect they deserve,” he notes. “So, I decided to position this like I’m already dead. I’m talking about all of these things that haven’t happened yet in my career. It was the best way to end the record.”
For as unconventional as Tech’s story may be, he actually embodies what hip-hop was meant to be all along.
“I love words, because they can heal,” he leaves off. “When you say certain things, the crowd gets louder. That’s a Master of Ceremonies. Our words move people and save them. So, I’m going to keep rapping for a while longer.”
— Rick Florino, June 2023
The combined chemistry of Wrekonize and Bernz, two of hip-hops most dynamic emcees, is what makes ¡MAYDAY! the boundary-bending group it is today. Constantly experimenting, ¡MAYDAY! has paradoxically made never having a definable signature their signature. It’s that visionary work that has resulted in a collaborative track list including
The combined chemistry of Wrekonize and Bernz, two of hip-hops most dynamic emcees, is what makes ¡MAYDAY! the boundary-bending group it is today. Constantly experimenting, ¡MAYDAY! has paradoxically made never having a definable signature their signature. It’s that visionary work that has resulted in a collaborative track list including Cee Lo Green and Del The Funky Homosapien, gold record “Fragile,” and one of the most iconic project in Strange Music history, a joint effort with label mate MURS aptly titled ¡MURSDAY!. Their fearless commitment to their craft (and love for Jack Daniels) always has fans across the world wondering what the ¡MAYDAY! crew will devise next.
Saturday July 19th
Few hard rock albums are as intimate as the modern output from OF MICE & MEN. While their songs pack the kind of rhythmic punch and anthemic bombast that thrills festival crowds, the confessional lyrics, and haunting melodies are the heart of what they do. Taking all creative matters into their own hands, the Southern California quartet
Few hard rock albums are as intimate as the modern output from OF MICE & MEN. While their songs pack the kind of rhythmic punch and anthemic bombast that thrills festival crowds, the confessional lyrics, and haunting melodies are the heart of what they do. Taking all creative matters into their own hands, the Southern California quartet self-produced and engineered all of the songs on Tether, their astonishing eighth album. Frontman Aaron Pauley mixed and mastered the album while Drummer Valentino Arteaga designed and painted the album's artwork. As a legion of devoted listeners worldwide has come to expect, guitarists Phil Manansala and Alan Ashby, Aaron, and Tino poured their hearts and souls into every note, creating another sonic document of their lives.
“With this one, we weren’t really focused on how it sounded as much as we focused on how it felt,” Pauley explains. “And that’s a weird thing to do when all you’re working with is sound. But that was really the goal. And we walked away from making it, feeling like we’ve accomplished that.”
OM&M take sobering looks at depression, anxiety, loneliness, and existential dread, powering through the darkness, and emphasizing the importance of creativity as a balm for mental health.
A commanding tempest of sounds coalesces within Of Mice & Men, blending the uplifting eloquence of modern active rock with the atmospheric dissonance of experimental post-rock. The band first emerged as part of a vanguard of future aggressive rock hitmakers. Over the years, they’ve distinguished themselves with musicality, creative ambition, and resilient determination.
Songs like the GOLD-certified “SECOND & SEBRING,” “Would You Still Be There,” and “Obsolete,” from 2021’s Echo, cemented OM&M at the forefront of hard rock and post-hardcore music. (WWE superstar Rhea Ripley counts “SECOND & SEBRING” among the ten songs that changed her life, alongside classics from Queen, Taylor Swift, Falling In Reverse, and Motionless In White.)
The rumble of their 2010 self-titled debut; the following year’s follow-up, The Flood; and 2014’s No. 1 Billboard Independent album, Restoring Force, catapulted them onto a massive tour with Linkin Park. Cold World (2016) saw them on the road with Slipknot and Five Finger Death Punch.
The California band took home the Best International Newcomer prize at the 2013 Kerrang! Awards and were twice nominated as Artist Of The Year at the APMAs, where Manansala took home Best Guitarist.
2018’s Defy put longtime bassist Aaron’s voice front and center. “Of Mice & Men don’t miss a beat with Pauley as the frontman,” wrote Loudwire. “Defy delivers the sound fans have come to expect (big hooks, monster grooves, and singalong melodies) while still breaking some new ground.” The band supported Defy on the road, including tours with Bullet For My Valentine and Nothing More.
Kerrang! heralded the incredibly heavy Earthandsky (2019) as “confident, cohesive,” and “angry.” Australia’s Wall Of Sound called it “the perfect balance in melodic metalcore” and “a great addition to their legendary catalog and contribution they’ve brought during their entire career as a band.”
Earthandsky cleared a path for the diverse trio of EPs that followed, collected as Echo in 2021. As OM&M wrote in a shared statement, Echo “covers life and impermanence, love and the infinite - how the most wonderful and most tragic parts of the human experience deeply intertwine.”
Album eight is no less ambitious. Tether is anchored by a reflective meditation on what it means to draw together as friends, family men, artists, and bandmates. What does it mean to be there for the people who depend on us, knowing we can’t fully protect them from the hardships of life?
“We’ve worked with so many talented producers and artists throughout our career, and we’ve been able to learn something from each of them,” Pauley explains. “We really left ourselves open as we wrote. Anytime a spark of imagination made anybody’s ears perk up, we pursued it.”
Tether is the next step in OM&M’s evolution, combining their core sound with experimental and ethereal sound designs. The creative process focused on the excitement of discovery rather than preconceived “goals.” Pursuing the moments when the elusive “x factor” reveals itself in the songs. Those moments are palpable in songs like “Integration,” “Warpaint,” “Enraptured,” and “Indigo.”
“Emotions and feelings are fleeting and change. Things that excite you one day don’t always excite you the next,” Pauley says. “For us, it was so much about continuously and endlessly chasing a feeling. Not only do we feel like it produces an album we can be proud of that will resonate with our fans, but there’s something deeply human about chasing the excitement in the process. As they say, ‘The man who loves walking will go further than the man who loves the destination.’”
The Of Mice & Men core since 2016 – Aaron, Alan, Tino, and Phil – maintain a powerful bond with their audience and each other, no matter the obstacles. Whether a powerful anthem or atmospheric confession, their songs translate in intimate clubs and massive festivals. “It’s about creating moments for people,” Pauley says. “Music is the soundtrack to people's lives.”
Los Angeles based rock band Point North hit the road early 2025 with their friends Set It Off for their first ever UK and European tour. Having released their sophomore record ‘Prepare For Despair’ to great acclaim in August 2023, they’ve spent the year on tour as direct support for bands from Atreyu to From Ashes To New, and opening f
Los Angeles based rock band Point North hit the road early 2025 with their friends Set It Off for their first ever UK and European tour. Having released their sophomore record ‘Prepare For Despair’ to great acclaim in August 2023, they’ve spent the year on tour as direct support for bands from Atreyu to From Ashes To New, and opening festival main stages across North America this summer for the likes of Slipknot and Motley Crue.
With recent breakout hits ‘Safe And Sound (ft. The Ghost Inside)’ and ‘Below The Belt (ft. Set It Off)’ both hitting the top 20 at US rock radio, the band now bring ‘Prepare For Depsair’ to Europe, along with fan favorites from their debut LP ‘Brand New Vision’ and recent new single ‘Bring Me Down’.
Ahead of their debut UK/European run, Point North will headline across North America in Autumn 2024, with support from Nevertel, Elijah and Rivals.
About the Event
Northern Nevada's biggest party is back! This two-day event will host four amazing musical artists at the Elko County Fairgrounds in Elko, Nevada. Starting Friday, July 18th, we will be kicking off with ¡Mayday!, followed by our headliner Tech N9ne. Continuing on Saturday, July 19th, Point North will take the stage, followed by headliner Of Mice and Men! Gates open at 5 PM at the Elko County Fairgrounds in Elko, Nevada.
Local food trucks will be there serving up delicious eats during the show. All concert ticket holders are invited to keep the party going at our after-hours dance bash, happening each night from the end of the concert until midnight, featuring DJ Chip Stone.
All proceeds made from this event will go toward furthering the mission of Family Resource Centers of Northeastern Nevada, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Our Venue
The Elko County Fairgrounds has played host to all of Northeastern Nevada's premier events. The venue host seating for 2,000+ in the grand stands, 1,000+ front of stage standing access, 300+ box seating. With multiple food and drink vendors and the infamous cowboy bar, you are sure to have a good time.
food vendors
EVENT SPONSORS
sUMMER DAZE 2024
Summer Daze 2023
Summer Daze 2022
