Texas Hippie Coalition, September 10

Saturday, September 10, 8 p.m.

The Rust Belt, 533 12th Avenue, East Moline IL

With their most recent album High in the Saddle praised by Metal Temple as "crisp, resonating, and thick with bass which compliments Big Dad Ritch's vocals," the heavy-metal and southern-rock musicians of Texas Hippie Coalition headline a September 10 concert at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, their 2019 recording's song "Tongue Like a Devil" boasting what Maximum Volume Music called "a hook so big you could hang your barbecue on it."

Formed in Denison, Texas, in 2004, Texas Hippie Coalition was founded by current lead vocalist Big Dad Ritch and then-bandmate John Exall, and is currently completed by musicians Joey Mandigo, Cord Pool, Lorado Romo, and Nevada Romo. Influenced by bands including Molly Hatchet, Pantera, and ZZ Top, Ritch and Exall's ensemble released the group's first studio album Pride of Texas in 2008, and after several lineup changes, sophomore recording Rollin', created with with producer Dave Prater, arrived in 2010 and reached number 29 on Billboard's U.S. Heatseekers Albums chart. Two years later, Peacemaker was released and hit the top 20 of the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart. Its singles "Damn You to Hell" and "Turn It Up," meanwhile, were the first by Texas Hippie Coalition to chart on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, peaking at 40 and 39, respectively.

The group continued its escalating success with fourth album Ride On, which made the top five of both the U.S. Heatseekers Albums chart and the U.S. Hard Rock Albums chart, and led to the ensemble performing at Rocklahoma, Rock on the Range, and the Mayhem Festival in the spring and summer of 2014. Texas Hippie Coalition made it to position number two on the U.S. Heatseekers Albums chart with its 2016 recording Dark Side of Black, and performed in support of the release at River City Rockfest in addition to Rocklahoma and Rock on the Range. And while Exall announced his departure from the band in 2018, leaving Ritch as the only remaining original member, Texas Hippie Coalition came roaring back in 2019 with High in the Saddle, an album that Metal Injection said "has something for everyone" and "will seem to end just as quickly as it began."

Texas Hippie Coalition plays their East Moline engagement on September 10, admission to the 8 p.m. concert is $25-35, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRustBeltQC.com.