“Who’s your favorite band?”
It’s the kind of question you get when people are getting to know each other—maybe at a bar, a party, or even just sitting around someone’s living room.
It’s an oddly personal yet time-honored question, one that always starts a conversation. As someone straddling the tail end of Gen X and the elder Millennial crowd, it reminds me of an episode of The Adventures of Pete and Pete, where younger Pete hears his favorite song for the first time.
My answer has changed many times over the years.
If you’d asked 7th-grade James, he would’ve said Weezer. I can still remember hearing The Blue Album for the first time in its entirety on a long bus ride. The feeling of it, the rush of hearing something so raw and real—it stuck with me.
If you asked high school James, it was the Misfits. Angry, shouted lyrics about horror, teenage angst, loss, and lament.
Then there was the first time I heard Hawthorne Heights—clicking on a link on LimeWire, praying it wouldn’t break my computer. I listened to The Silence in Black and White with my mouth slightly agape, completely blown away.
I hadn’t felt that way about music in a long time… until November 2021.
In the middle of a messy divorce, lonely and angry, I needed something to help me get through the nights. I downloaded TikTok.
After working until two or three in the morning, I’d lie in bed, endlessly scrolling, trying to quiet my racing thoughts. And then I saw it.
It was a clip of a mustachioed man, laying in a parking lot (or maybe a driveway), rain pouring down as a haunting melody played in the background. The song was “Couch,” by Dexter and The Moonrocks.
I immediately looked them up on Spotify and listened to the six songs they had posted, on repeat, for at least a month.
As I watched their social media grow, I was captivated with their drummer. His humor, his affinity for tattooed alternative women, and of course, the music, kept me hooked.
I shared their music with my friends, with my kids, with anyone who would listen.
In 2023, I took my daughter to see them at The Bluestone, one of my favorite venues in Columbus, Ohio.
I shared Cheez-Its with a couple hundred fans in one of the most intimate shows I’ve ever experienced. It’s a memory I’ll always cherish.
When they returned in 2024, I brought a friend who was in the same place I’d been when I first heard the band—going through a divorce, angry at the world.
By the end of the night, he was a fan too, buying their album and some merch. The crowd had doubled since the last time I saw them.
In June, they dropped a new single, and for seven weeks, it held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Alternative Chart. They describe their sound as “Western Space Grunge,” and I strongly encourage you to check them out.
Which brings us to now: March 30, 2025.
I love The Bluestone. Walking in, ready to hear some great music, there’s always a sense of wonder. The moonlight shining through the stained glass, the colored lights illuminating the former pulpit (now the stage), reminding you that this place is still a house of worship.
The opening band is called Cigarettes @ Sunset. I’ve never heard of them, but when a band member walks out with a fiddle and plugs it into an amplifier, my interest is piqued.
Their sound is unique, thanks to the lead vocalist, whose voice is a stark contrast to the rock they’re playing. The band is loud, energetic, and gets the crowd involved.
The energy is high, but the sound board could use some fine-tuning. They power through a punchy, raucous set. I enjoyed it enough to add their music to a playlist for another listen.
Next up is Red Leather—another band I haven’t heard of, but a quick Google search reveals they’re a rockabilly act, and I’m all in. I also hear they gained popularity on TikTok with their interesting covers.
The three-piece band takes the stage with a serious sense of showmanship.
The lead singer is dressed in a red western-style suit with a cowboy hat fringed enough to cover his face. The contrast with the drummer’s white sleeveless shirt and cap, along with the other guitarist’s jeans and Georgia Satellites’ shirt topped off with a bandana, makes for a striking visual.
The sound mix is better, and these guys don’t waste time getting the crowd’s attention. They kick off their set with solid instrumentals and a punkish energy that lasts throughout.
Red Leather talks openly about his struggles with drugs and alcohol and celebrates nearly 1,200 days of sobriety. He dedicates part of the show to encouraging the crowd to take care of themselves, which creates a nice vibe for the last few songs.
I’ve added him to my list of artists to check out more closely when I can focus on the lyrics and musicianship.
Finally, it’s time for the headliner: Dexter and The Moonrocks.
This is the third time I’ve seen them, and each time the crowd has nearly doubled in size, becoming more diverse with country fans, goths, emos, college kids, and a few middle-aged folks, all there to enjoy the music.
The band doesn’t hesitate, launching into their set with fiery enthusiasm.
They look like they belong in 1996—long hair, baggy clothes. Their sound is grungy rock with a hint of sad cowboy music, and it makes me crave a beer and a cigarette (and I don’t even drink or smoke).
They play 16 songs, including two encores. There are some newer tracks, including the just-released “Say I” and “Ritalin.”
The set also features some excellent covers: “Messed Up Kid” by Tyler Childers (which I believe was destined to be a grunge anthem), “Freaks” by Surf Curse, and probably their most popular cover, a rock version of “Kate McCannon” by Colter Wall, which gets a huge crowd reaction.
Of course, they also play crowd favorites like “Couch/Sectional,” which helped them blow up on TikTok, and “She Likes Girls.”
They take a short break, then come back to play what are probably their biggest hits: “Birds and the Bees” and the aforementioned number-one hit, “Sad in Carolina,” which closes the show.
The energy is great. The crowd is lively, with lots of crowd surfing and even a big circle pit.
What stood out to me, though, was the courtesy on the floor—people stopping to pick others up and looking out for one another.
Another incredible show by one of my favorite bands in my favorite venue. And I got to experience it with one of my favorite people.
Rock on!
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