VICTOR, Idaho — Music on Main’s second week at Victor City Park fuses punk and country with Ft. Worth, Texas’ cowpunk pioneers, Vandoliers.
For the uninitiated, even the most melancholy Vandoliers song has a degree of exuberance and verve, full of an irrepressible energy that has led the band to tour with everyone from Flogging Molly to the Turnpike Troubadours to fellow Dallas-Fort Worth natives the Toadies and the Old 97s. Fans of Young Dubliners and Social Distortion will enjoy the extra Tex-Mex flavoring the band brings to the strings.
“The central mission of this band is to be a positive force for good. And even by doing that and by being there for everyone with that mindset, sometimes it does ruffle feathers,” Josh Fleming told the Dallas Observer in 2024.
Songs like pandemic anthem (only Vandoliers could make those two words fit together) “Every Saturday Night,” “Cigarettes in the Rain,” “Sixteen Years” and their irresistible take on the Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” have helped the band find a devoted following across the world. Their most recent album “Life Behind Bars” is the fifth studio album from the beloved Texas country-punk ensemble, and with it brings new meaning to the phrase.
Recorded at the Sonic Ranch studios in West Texas, the new collection of songs offers a window into frontwoman Jenni Rose’s journey and her decision to come out as a “trans woman while working in the macho worlds of Texas country and punk rock, at a moment when the rights of trans people are more intensely threatened by the day.”
In an artist statement, band lead singer, Jenni Rose said “It’s heavier than our other stuff.”
“Why is this country punk band that’s usually a source of positive energy so melancholy? It’s because I was dealing with accepting my gender dysphoria, while also trying to get sober.”
The plaintive title track, co-written by Rose, Graves, Joshua Ray Walker and John Pedigo, also has multiple meanings. “The first thought was the double entendre of working behind a bar and prison,” said Rose in the statement. It has all the sharp observations and catchy melodies of Vandoliers’ best work, but with the added context and depth of Rose’s path to self-discovery.
Week two will open with an early short set from Tyse Buck. State Champion at the Oklahoma State FFA Convention Talent Show and later a National Semi-Finalist at National FFA Convention, at 16, Buck has already performed for crowds of 14,000. The Depew, Oklahoma native reached out that he would be passing through with his family this summer, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome him to the stage this Thursday.
Buck’s set will start at 5:30. Adeem the Artist will play closer to 6:15. We recommend being at the park by 7:30 for Vandoliers.
Music on Main is a community driven concert series, please show support by volunteering–find out more–or by making the $5 suggested donation each week.
Teton Valley Foundation is high fiving our volunteers this week. Some have been with Music on Main since 2006, and some joined us last week for the first time. Please thank them for all their support when you’re in line at concessions or walking around the venue. It takes a valley.
Quick Park Reminders: No outside alcohol and please no dogs. We will be selling drink tokens at the Teton Valley Foundation tent this week in addition to the concession line.
Not sure what kind of music is coming to town this summer? Don’t forget to check out the 2025 Music on Main playlist.
