Bush at the District of Rock Island's Rock the District -- June 29.

Friday, June 29, 8 p.m.

The District of Rock Island IL

An iconic group of chart-topping, multi-platinum-selling rockers from England serve as headliners for the District of Rock Island's annual, outdoor Rock the District concert on June 29, with the late-June heat given extra sizzle by the post-grunge musicians of Bush led by founder, lead vocalist, and rhryhm guitarist Gavin Rossdale.

With its current lineup boasting Rossdale, lead guitarist Chris Traynor, bassist Corey Britz, and drummer Robin Goodridge, Bush originated when Rossdale met former King Blank guitarist Nigel Pulsford in 1992. The two bonded over an appreciation of the alternative rock group The Pixies and decided to form a band (then called Future Primitive), recruiting Goodridge and bassist Dave Parsons to complete the lineup. After changing their group moniker to Bush – naming themselves after Shepherd's Bush in London, where the band members used to live – the musicians signed an American record deal before they even had a British label, and released their debut album Sixteen Stone in late 1994. By the end of December, Bush's video for “Everything Zen” had landed in MTV's Buzz Bin and the album began to take off; by spring of 1995, Sixteen Stone had achieved gold certification; eventually the album would be certified 6X-multi-platinum by the RIAA.

Buoyed by the strength of that debut, Bush went on to become one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the 1990s, selling over than 10 million records in the United States and 20 million in the world. While the band remained less well-known in their home country despite considerable success in the United States, the musicians have had numerous top-10 singles on the Billboard rock charts – among them the chart-topping hits “Comedown,” “Glycerine,” and “Swallowed” – and released a number-one album in 1996's Razorblade Suitcase. (Bush has also been acclaimed for its music videos helmed by the likes of feature-film directors Joel Schumacher and John Hillcoat.) The band broke up in 2002 but reformed in 2010, releasing three additional albums in 2011's Memories, 2014's Man on the Run, and 2017's Black & White Rainbows, the latter of which, according to AllMusic.com, “hints at a late-era trajectory shift and a reinvigorated spirit for Rossdale and company.”

Bush plays its 7 p.m. Rock the District concert with support provided by the rockers of Helmet (cited by the New York Times as “a band that made important connections between indie-rock and metal”), 3 Years Hollow, and The Last Glimpse. The gates for the June 29 event open at 6 p.m., general admission is $35, and more information is available by visiting DaiquiriFactory.com or RIBCO.com.

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