Blue October at the Rust Belt -- March 2.
Thursday, March 2, 8 p.m.
The Rust Belt, 533 12th Avenue, East Moline IL
Currently touring in support of their latest album Spinning the Truth Around, a 2022 recording that Sputnik Music called "a powerful new statement from a seasoned band," the alternative rockers of Blue October will headline a March 2 concert event as East Moline venue The Rust Belt, their 25-year repertoire boasting 17 top-40 singles and such chart-topping studio albums as Any Man in America, Sway, and Home.
Formed in Houston, Texas, by singer/songwriter and guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, his brother Jeremy, and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye in 1995, Blue October was discovered by former Kid Rock manager Michael Rand when the musicians were performing at the Papadeaux Cafe in Houston in 1998. Rand's agency proceeded to book over 350 concert engagements for the group, and the band released its first album The Answers in 1998 – a well-received debut that sold more than 5,000 copies in Houston alone. Sophomore release Consent to Treatment came out in 1999, and with the song “Calling You” from third album History for Sale, Blue October had a major hit on 2003 airwaves, eventually receiving 56,585 spins from radio stations nationwide. The song remained the band's largest mainstream success until the 2006 release of “Hate Me” from the album Foiled, which climbed to number two on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart and remained in the top five for 20 straight weeks. It was also the song Blue October performed on their network television premiere on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the appearance leading to bookings on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Foiled went on to become Blue October's first platinum-certified recording, with “Hate Me” and its followup “Into the Ocean” emerging as platinum-selling singles. The band's new public awareness led to the musicians touring internationally in England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands, and when it was released in 2009, fifth studio album Approaching Normal debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart. Over the past decade-plus, Blue October has released a sextet of additional albums – with 2011's Any Man in America, 2013's Sway, and 2016's Home all reaching number one on Billboard's U.S. Alternative charts – with their hit singles including “The Chills," "Bleed Out," "I Hope You're Happy," and "Oh My My." Meanwhile, Blue October's most recent recording Spinning the Truth Around is the first part of a scheduled triple-album project, and led Keynote Music Collective to rave, "Much more experimental than past albums, loads of wonderful new elements and layers drench this album in delicious polyphony. This band forever stretches and grows itself musically."
Blue October headlines their East Moline engagement on March 2, admission to the 8 p.m. concert event starts at $37.75, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRustBeltQC.com.
