Nonpoint at the Rust Belt -- August 16.
Friday, August 16, 6:30 p.m.
The Rust Belt, 533 12th Avenue, East Moline IL
On August 16, fans of nu metal, rap metal, and post grunge will be treated to a full quintet of acclaimed, charting rock outfits at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, with the eagerly awaited night of pulsating sounds boasting the talents of co-headliners Nonpoint and Taproot.
As stated at AllMusic.com, Nonpoint was “founded in Miami in 1997 by drummer Robb Rivera and vocalist Elias Moriano – the bilingual Soriano sings and raps in Spanish, although the vast majority of Nonpoint's lyrics are in English. The group released its debut album, Separate Yourself, independently. They moved to now defunct Jugular Records for 1999's Struggle, which caught the attention of MCA, who signed the band the following year. Their major-label debut Statement arrived in 2000, and cracked the Billboard 200 on the strength of the single 'What a Day.' Tours alongside contemporaries like Sevendust, Linkin Park, and Staind preceded the release of their next studio effort, the more streamlined and melodic Development, which yielded the singles 'Your Signs' and 'Circles,' the latter of which appeared in the EA Sports video game Nascar Thunder 2003. They returned to the hard-hitting attack of prior outings on Recoil in 2004, a 13-track collection of raw power that included a hit cover of Phil Collins' 'In the Air Tonight.'
“Nonpoint signed on with producer Jason Bieler's Bieler Bros. Records for their next effort, 2005's To the Pain – the singles 'Bullet with a Name' and 'Alive and Kicking' were used in the pro-wrestling game WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007. A concert LP,, Live & Kicking, arrived the following year, with the studio LP Vengeance dropping in 2007. The band's sixth full-length effort, Miracle, was issued in 2010 via their own 954 Records, debuting at number 59 on the Billboard 200 chart and landing at number five on the Rock Albums chart. The Johnny K-produced eponymous Nonpoint, which was released through Razor & Tie in 2012, saw the band adding a dash of post-grunge to the mix. Arriving in 2014, The Return would be the group's highest-charting LP to date, debuting at number 38 on the Top 200. In early 2016 Nonpoint released the single 'Generation Idiot' in anticipation of their ninth studio long-player, The Poison Red, which dropped later that summer – it debuted at number two on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart and number seven on the Alternative and Top Rock Albums charts. Two years later they released the punishing X, which coincided with their 20th anniversary as a band. The Ruthless EP appeared in 2021, and included the hard-hitting, Billboard-charting title cut. In 2022, Nonpoint issued the single 'Paper Tigers.' Produced with considerable heft by Chris Collier (Korn, Lynch Mob), the song was released by the band's new independent label, 361 Degrees Records.”
Best known for their hit single "Poem,” which peaked at number five on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart in 2002, Taproot originally consisted of vocalist/guitarist Stephen Richards, bassist Phil Lipscomb, drummer Jarrod Montague, and guitarist Mike DeWolf. After a few independent releases in the late 1990s, they signed to the major label Atlantic Records in 1999. Their debut album on the label, Gift, was released in 2000. Both of the album's singles, "Again & Again" and "I,” attained moderate success. Taproot's breakthrough came in 2002 with the album Welcome, which featured the lead single "Poem" as it peaked at number five on the Mainstream Rock chart and number 10 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Ultimately, Welcome sold more than 500,000 copies. The release of 2005's Blue-Sky Research produced the single "Calling,” which peaked at number 11 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
The band released Our Long Road Home in 2008, which was immediately followed by drummer Montague's departure and the addition of Nick Fredell. Taproot then released Plead the Fifth in 2010, which featured the successful single "Fractured (Everything I Said Was True),” followed by The Episodes in 2012. Subsequently, Fredell was replaced on drums by Dave Coughlin in 2013, and guitarist DeWolf was replaced by Dave Lizzio in 2015. The band's seventh album, SC\SSRS, came out in 2023, the record's announcement coinciding with the return of Montague on drums and the addition of Taylor Roberts on guitar.
Nonpoint and Taproot play their co-headlining engagement in East Moline on August 16 with additional sets by Hed PE, Smile Empty Soul, and Simon Says, admission to the 6:30 p.m. concert event is $29.75-42.46, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRustBeltQC.com.
