To many, an ideal concert should leave you with ringing eardrums, sticky skin, light bruising and a lingering surge of adrenaline. And whether you’re drawn to the raw energy of mosh pits or the thrashing beats from underground genres, Blackpath Booking has spent the last six years curating gigs that cater to the fans who seek this intense musical high.
Since we last checked in with this music collective four years ago, Blackpath has evolved into a 20-person powerhouse, orchestrating hundreds of all-ages gigs with many sold-out hits under its belt. It also solidified its reputation as one of the city’s premier hardcore music bookers, known for its reliability, expertise and community-building efforts.
“I sometimes joke about it, but this is the best era I’ve ever seen,” says co-founder Dustin Shaw. “Not even in just hardcore, but underground music in general—there’s all these shows happening and they’re selling out. It just blows my mind.”
In 2023, the group worked tirelessly to bring heavy hitting underground acts to town including San Jose’s parody-born hardcore band Sunami, Boston’s genre-bending jammers Fiddlehead, Texas metalcore project Judiciary, and New York City punk trio Show Me The Body.
To Shaw, there are a couple of events that stood out. Tickets for the October performance by pop-punk band No Pressure sold out in a mere three hours, and Xibalba, a bilingual death metal group, headlined a show at American Legion Post 8 following a decade-long absence from Las Vegas.
While Blackpath has showcased out-of-state acts, there’s no shortage of opportunities for local bands to share the stage. Shaw notes contributions from his personal favorite homegrown acts Khasm, Roman Candle, Sea of Sorrow, Spiritworld and Species.
“I’m going to forget somebody and I want to apologize publicly,” says Shaw. “But there’s a lot of bands that picked up on the culture we laid down. They all do their own thing too. Everyone’s carrying the weight and that’s great.”
Las Vegas isn’t an all-ages kind of town and historically the music scene has struggled with providing suitable venues, but Blackpath is bridging that gap and making underground genres more accessible. The results include a new generation of kids embracing hardcore while Blackpath steps up to the unique challenges associated with all-ages shows. “I just hope they don’t take it for granted,” Shaw says. “This is not guaranteed.”
Blackpath is celebrating its sixth anniversary with a massive show featuring nearly a dozen bands at American Legion 8 on February 24, a sweaty extravaganza that should offer a glimpse of what’s in store for 2024.
“We’re just going to keep doing our thing, just gotta keep moving the needle,” Shaw says.
6 YEARS OF BLACKPATH With Outta Pocket, Big Boy, Death Before Dishonor, Section H8 & more. February 24, 3 p.m., $30. American Legion Post 8, seetickets.us.
