Big Head Todd and the Monsters Announce Winter Tour

10-04-2023

(dpm) Platinum-selling blues rockers Big Head Todd and the Monsters will kick off their Winter Tour on January 11th in Omaha, Nebraska. The band looks forward to performing selections from their vast catalog of songs, spanning over three decades, and more obscure jams seldomly performed live.

Big Head Todd and The Monsters have quietly become an American institution following three and a half decades of writing, recording, and touring (totaling over 3,500 performances). After countless sold-out shows in amphitheaters and on the high seas, beaming their tunes to outer space (literally), earning the endorsement of everyone from Robert Plant to The Denver Broncos, and tallying tens of millions of streams, Big Head Todd and The Monsters cite the friendships formed in the crowd among their proudest accomplishments. Fast forward to 2023, and the Colorado quartet-Todd Park Mohr [vocals, guitar, keys, sax, harmonica], Brian Nevin [drums, percussion], Rob Squires [bass, vocals], and Jeremy Lawton [guitar, keys, vocals, steel guitar]-continue to unite audiences.

An early version of the band started in 1982 when Todd and Brian first crossed paths in their high school jazz band. Soon, the guys began to jam in Brian's basement, also joined by Rob. Sweat-soaked house party gigs and talent shows followed until they became a fixture on the bar circuit "before I was even old enough to drink," laughs Todd. As perennial outliers, the musicians performed original material at these formative gigs, standing out from a bevy of cover bands performing in the same scene.

Adopting the name Big Head Todd and The Monsters, they served up their independent debut Another Mayberry in 1989 and Midnight Radio in 1990 to critical acclaim, setting the stage for their seminal 1993 breakout Sister Sweetly. Powered by staples "Broken Hearted Savior," "It's Alright," and "Bittersweet," it eventually went platinum, and they supported Robert Plant on tour. At the time, Variety hailed Todd as "a soulful singer and nimble lead guitarist," while The Los Angeles Times claimed, "Mohr, who has a voice like smoke, writes great songs that incorporate blues, folk, rock, and country, which sounds sort of like, well, Big Head Todd and the Monsters."

Throughout the next decade, the group presented fan favorites such as Strategem [1994] and Beautiful World [1997]. The latter yielded the cover of "Boom Boom" [featuring John Lee Hooker], which famously served as the theme to NCIS: New Orleans. In 2005, they exceeded our atmosphere altogether. Friends with connections to NASA encouraged Todd to write a song for NASA, so they ignited 2005's "Blue Sky." In 2011, Big Head Todd and The Monsters played "Blue Sky" live from the middle of Mission Control to awaken the astronauts aboard the shuttle. 2017 saw them release New World Arisin' to fan adoration and critical acclaim. Glide Magazine proclaimed, "Such tracks, like most of this music, radiate a sense of optimism and purpose ever so welcome in these fragmented times."

The band joined the Denver Broncos on their Super Bowl victory parade along the way, delivering a triumphant performance. They've also headlined their own cruise multiple times - This Fall, they embarked on the Rhine River Cruise which floated it way through Western Europe. And in 2022 they did a five-night run in Jewel Paradise Cove in Runaway Bay Jamaica.

Big Head Todd and The Monsters have performed at their hometown haunt Red Rocks Amphitheatre a staggering 32 times. In 2021 they made a rapturous homecoming to Red Rocks for another sold out show at the venue. Chronicling the gig, 303 Magazine described the group as "a longtime pal that has defined Colorado's blues-rock scene for multiple decades." Their most recent appearance at the storied Red Rocks in June 2023 was a sold-out affair.

In 2019, the band instituted another fan-favorite tradition by launching Monsters Music Monthly. They revealed a monthly free song and video, including "Hoochie Coochie Man" [featuring Buddy Guy], "Rosalita" [feat. John Popper of Blues Traveler], "Remedy" [feat. Ronnie Baker Brooks], "Sunshine of Your Love" [feat. David Hidalgo], and more. Todd and Co. have notably collaborated or performed with a myriad of their heroes over the years, namely Neil Young, B.B. King, Allman Brothers, John Prine, Albert Collins, James Cotton, John Lee Hooker, Hubert Sumlin, and dozens more.

The bottom line, Big Head Todd and The Monsters love to make music and performing for their massive army of fans.

Jan 11 Omaha, NE Slowdown
Jan 12 Des Moines, IA Hoyt Sherman Place
Jan 13 St. Paul, MN Palace Theatre *
Jan 14 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
Jan 16 Davenport, IA The Capitol Theatre
Jan 18 Carmel, IN The Palladium at The Center for Performing Arts
Jan 19 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
Jan 20 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre **
Jan 21 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
Jan 23 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
Jan 25 Ithaca, NY State Theater
Jan 26 Wilkes-Barre, PA F.M. Kirby Center
Jan 27 New Haven, CT College Street Music Hall
Jan 28 Red Bank, NJ Count Basie Center for the Arts
Feb 7 East Greenwich, RI Greenwich Odeum
Feb 8 Portland, ME State Theatre
Feb 9 Beverly, MA Cabot Theatre
Feb 10 Tarrytown Music Hall Tarrytown, NY
Feb 12 Woodstock, NY Levon Helm Studios
Feb 13 Derry, NH Tupelo Music Hall
Feb 15 Ardmore, PA Ardmore Music Hall
Feb 16 Silver Spring, MD The Fillmore (Silver Spring)
Feb 17 Richmond, VA The National (Richmond)
Feb 18 Annapolis, MD Rams Head on Stage
Feb 20 Virginia Beach, VA Elevation 27
Feb 21 Rocky Mount, VA Harvester Performing Arts Center
Feb 23 Charlotte, NC Knight Theater
Feb 24 N. Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues
Feb 25 Charleston, SC Charleston Music Hall