the criticals Archives

Monday evening was elevated to a whole new level thanks to RockNite.Nash and Skinny Dennis in Nashville. Along with curator, and guitar Goddess, Grace Bowers, they put on a banger of a FREE show, and it was exactly what we needed on a school night. Three stupefying bands raged the stage with a bewildering showcase that had the crowd moving in both chaos and tandem. There was crowd surfing, moshing and a meshing of community that found the perfect home for folks to let off some steam. Thank you to everyone that made this show happen. What a joyous occasion. Thirsty Thursdays have their place. Taco Tuesday can be pretty great. However, Mosh Pit Monday was exactly what I needed before the work week officially got hectic. The Criticals,Lombardy Band and Bad Bad Luck put on a stupendous show at Skinny Dennis and I was right up front to soak it all in and I feel great for saying YES! to a weekday show.

November 22, 2025 Jason Shrum

The Criticals Return Home to Nashville

The Criticals at this show consisted of Christian Kaplan (drums), Cole Shugart (lead guitar), Augustus Carroll (rhythm guitar), Henry Henson (baritone guitar, keys), Michael Meadows (bass) and Parker Forbes (lead vocals). The band is listed as a duo of Forbes and Shugart but implements an array of these players that appear both on the album and on tour. The six-piece ensemble came out to face the overjoyed audience with gleaming smiles of their own. Happy to be home? Excited that the long tour was finally over? Feeling gratitude to be surrounded by not only their fans, but also their friends and family? It seems that all these things were in play and that they were more than ready to give a brilliant performance. Which they most certainly did.