The Forecast, Strike Anywhere return to Billings
Two bands are returning to Billings in the coming week: Peoria, Illinois’s The Forecast and Strike Anywhere, of Richmond, Virginia.
In a third appearance in Billings since 2007, The Forecast takes the stage Saturday, May 29, and Strike Anywhere performs an all ages show Tuesday, June 1, both at the Railyard.
Forecast lead singer and bassist Shannon Burns is the band’s centerpiece, a dynamic woman that attracts attention and admiration for her belting voice and musical prowess. Burns fills any venue in which she takes the stage with her lofty, powerful soprano.
Burns co-fronts the band with guitarist Dustin Addis; together the two produce a distinctive amalgam of energetic rock melodies and layered vocal harmonies. They bring a feverish energy to their set that leaves the viewer with a tingling (which could be a bit of ringing ears from Burn’s yowl or from a bit of electrostatic energy gleamed from the exuberant tunes).
Strike Anywhere last appeared in Billings at the Yellowstone Perk in 2007, their bold, furious set delivering the political passion for which the punk band is known.
Lead singer Thomas Barnett seems to have an intimate relationship with his fans, and in their last appearance in Billings the crowd enveloped Barnett as their own, gathering around the mic to sing along, forming circle pits as large as the room on command.
Strike Anywhere formed in 1999 with a blend of late 1970s punk rock and modern melodic hardcore. Members released their latest album, “Iron Front,” on Bridge Nine Records in 2009.
Strike Anywhere performs an all ages show Tuesday, June 1 with New York post-hardcore band Lowtalker and local punk bands I’ve Had Better and Out the Lights at 7 p.m. The Forecast show is 18+ and begins at 9 p.m.
