By Loren Murphy
On Thursday, Oct. 9, Dexter and The Moonrocks made a pit stop in the beloved city of Knoxville to give the people a true show. Many people including myself who were new to the band were wondering who and where Dexter is.
Waiting after the opener had just performed, everyone was eager to meet Dexter and his bandmates. Although Dexter is an awesome name and works perfectly with the band name as a whole, it’s none of the band members’ names. Even though it’s just a stage name, these boys don’t need it as they know exactly how to put on a spectacular show.
From passing out Cheeze-Itz into the crowd for everyone to eat, to making sure everyone was safe in the moshpit, these guys are not rookies to the touring world.
Lead singer James Tuffs is able to pull in the audience with every single song and thing he does on stage. Although he comes off as tough an hardcore, you can see his kindness and politeness shine through as he made sure to say thank you after every song and even made sure to make the only little girl at the show’s night special.
They characterize their own music as southern alternative rock, grunge, and some red-dirt country while also coming up with or using nicknames such as ‘western space grunge’ or ‘yallternative’. Their Texas roots really shine through while trying to make music which you can hear in their songs and see on stage when they perform.
Their lead guitarist Ryan Anderson was right with Tuffs in everything he did, making sure the show was as entertaining as it could be. Even their drummer, Fox participated and shotgunned a beer on stage only hyping up the audience even more.
It’s very understandable as to why people love this band and want to see them live. One group of superfans was pointed out by Tuffs as he acknowledged that their Knoxville show was their sixth show they’ve been to, traveling all across the country to see their favorite band.
As a first timer at their show and a new listener, if they were in a nearby city it would be worth the trip to go and see them. Supporting smaller musicians and bands is also very important as that’s how they get their name out there. The vibe at a smaller concert in a local venue is more intimate and special, feeling like you get to have a somewhat special moment with the artist you’re there to see.
Most concerts have an opener who is ‘lesser known’ than the main performer, but you can’t talk about the show without mentioning the openers performance as well. Kody West was the opener for the Moonrocks and although many people didn’t know him or his songs he put on a great show. It’s easy to get intimidated and nervous when performing in front of people who don’t know you or your songs, but he did a great job staying confident and making the audience feel included with his songs.
The Moonrocks have been touring for almost two months now, and will continue to be on tour until the end of December. If they’re in a city near you, make the trip to see one of their shows. It’s a great performance to watch and you’ll have an amazing time listening to good music with the people you love.