End-of-Term Rock Show: King Tuff with Immune Friction
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Doors open 6:00 pm; show begins at 6:30 pm.
Adopting the moniker in his teens as a play on his initials and the name King Tut, Thomas made his recording debut as Tuff in 2006, when he self-released an album via CD-R between playing with freaky folk revivalists Feathers and J Mascis' stoner metal band Witch. Sub Pop released 2012's King Tuff, which found Thomas expanding his musical palette to show his fondness for retro-pop '50s rock & roll, '60s pop, and '70s glam. He returned in 2014 with third album Black Moon Spell, a fuzzy eruption of glam rock and funky garage pop produced by the Go's Bobby Harlow. The Other saw release in 2018. It featured a cast of supporting characters that included Ty Segall on drums and Mikal Cronin on saxes, as well as background vocalists Kevin Morby and Jenny Lewis. For the 2023 King Tuff record Smalltown Stardust, Thomas and Ashworth (who played on and co-wrote most of the songs) created a tapestry of cellos, violins, keys, and vocal harmonies that surrounded the nostalgic, comforting lyrics with a warm glow of sound. He is currently touring for his 2026 album Moo. The record recaptures the frantic energy of his early work, while still showing some of the emotional depth and skillful songcrafting of 2020s efforts.
Immune Friction is ruminative art punk from Southern Vermont. The band recently released a 5 song EP called Night Eternal recorded by Don Fury, and they'll be joined by their live bassist Shane Bruno.