The Criticals Return Home to Nashville

The Criticals just finished a tour, dropped a new record and rocked Exit/In with VEAUX

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The Criticals returned to their hometown on November 20^th, 2025, to cap off a nearly 8-week and 4,000-mile tour of North America.  They would end this leg of their journey at the Exit/In with guest opener VEAUX.  They traveled in support of their, self-titled, first full-length LP which dropped in September.  Since the release of their record, Christian, Cole, Augustus, Parker, Henry and Michael have been on an amazing journey tackling cities like Los Angeles, Toronto, New York, Boston, Kansas City and more.  They have been honing their chops as a rock and roll band, and it shows through, night after night, with their on-stage performances.   

Their album, The Criticals, is a culmination of all the efforts that they have made thus far.  Until now, their releases were EP’s and singles that were powerful and charismatic, but they were standalone tracks that certainly worked that way. The current record has a unique vibrancy and a multitude of wonderfully individualized pieces that also blend well together and tell a story of who this band has become and alludes to what they will soon evolve into.  

Middle Tennessee is an illustrious melting pot of the musically gifted. How does one stand out? To crack that code is the question on the minds of many talented artists, and The Criticals have started to place the pieces of the puzzle in the correct places.  It starts with the border, of course.  One must have a framework to lay out a plan for the next actions.  The new record seems to be that framework. The band has a hipness that transcends into their work, and it is very genuine.  They have obviously done their homework and pulled from a multitude of sources in order to create their own sound.  You can hear the influences of The Strokes, The Killers, The Black Keys and any other hard-working DIY start up garage band you want to try to equate these blue-collar mates with. 

That’s what truly shines, their dedication to the craft, and their unrelentless effort to not become something that isn’t truthful.  Their debut album is a testament to that motive.  Their personalities ring out in this 13-track collection of tunes.  At times, they are energetic and in moments they are pulled inward and more reflective.  No matter what the tonality is of the melody, the light is in the works entirety.  They play so well together, and the production of this creation holds sonic revelations in a place that is completely understandable to the listeners.  It may not be your story, but you are empathetic to the place where this clay was harvested and molded from.  The show at the iconic Exit/In captured the essence of their two-month quest and brought us a glazed and painted piece of art. 

VEAUX opened the night with a gorgeous set and brought authenticity to the filled house. The three-piece embodied a soulfulness that is blended with rock and roll and at times has an R&B infusion. The trio is often described as an indie alt-pop band but that doesn’t nearly describe their depth and diversity.  They hail from Nashville, Tennessee, and consist of the brothers Aaron and Dominick Wagner and are joined by Andrew Black. I love to be blown away by I band that I didn’t expect to see.  Often, I’ll think to myself, “I’ll skip the supporting act and just show up for the headliner”.  That’s generally a bonehead move, and I implore you to see as much underground music as you can because they are usually grinding it out in a way that shows in their craft.  Supporting live music, musicians, and these venues is so very important to the future of the industry.  

I was enthralled to stumble upon the works of VEAUX.  Since forming in 2016, VEAUX has built a reputation as one of Nashville’s most exciting independent acts. They’vetoured nationwide, and they have shared stages with artists like Wet Leg (a personal fave), Charlotte Sands, Twen, and Mae.  The group has also racked up millions of streams along the way. It starts with the vocals of the frontman Aaron, but it does not dip off from there, rather his inflections are amplified by the accompaniment of his players. This band makes you really feel something, and that feeling is a good vibe. 

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. 

They ripped into ‘Good Lookin’ to open the set, which punches into a fuzzy guitar riff that paces quickly with a thumping hook from the bass and drums.  The Criticals have erupted into that energetic briskness that we all were hoping for.  The band gathers around the gorgeous tonality of Parker’s voice, and the audience is sent into a necessary frenzy with the words roaring out: “The music’s louder/ Spotlights rotating/ The kids are smoking marijuana/ She’s masturbating/ I can’t believe we left so quickly/ So impolitely/ A portrait of the Mona Lisa lacing up her Nike’s”.  I’m snapping as many pics as I can from the photography pit, up against the barricade, up against the other photogs, but bathing in the sustenance that the band is feeding me. 

The next is ‘Here Comes My Doll’ which could easily be an anthem to something larger than the sum of its parts.  It’s a quick hitting song that lasts 2:24 but can play in your head for a lifetime without remorse.  The group is together and tight and play with an exceptionality that is unscathed by any negative surroundings that might otherwise drag them down.  Their music preaches a good time, inclusiveness and a boycott of anyone who tries to bring anything else to the table that they have graciously set for us to sit at and break bread.   

It feels like we are in the backyard of a house party and that we’ve known each other for years. The crowd springs their heads back and forth to the catchy hooks, indulging riffs and grandiose stature of the groups stage presence.  The Criticals are everything that you love about raw rock and roll.  They are drenched in enough soul to drown you, and gritty tunes are stitched into the fabric of their existence.   

Before getting back into their own grooves, the band just crushes a cover of ‘Closer’ by Nine Inch Nails.  It’s a testament to their ability to wrap their own style around such a raw banger.  The evening continues like this as they display an array of versatility and playability.  It all culminates to their would be closer (if there wasn’t a two song encore) ‘Reba’ which has some really fun lyrics that tell the tale of someone who might party a little too hard.  We’ve all be there, right? 

“He likes to crash at Andy’s parties/ Until he sobers up/ I’m only there every once in a while to keep his sober-living-habits up/ He claims his face goes numb when he approaches the microphone/ You can tell by the way he’s talking he’s spent too much time alone/ Have you seen him with his clothes off?/ He gets like this when Reba comes on” 

The instrumentals of these lads combined with the soothing veracity of Parker’s sound are evidence that these guys hit differently.  Now signed with Fantasy Records, the sky is the limit for this incredible combination of musicians.  They have defined themselves as a band to be on the lookout for, and if they weren’t on your radar before, I hope that they will be going forward.  I have no issues waxing poetic about how good they are.  Do them and yourself a favor by getting the record, going and seeing them live and buying that merch.  We are all on this planet together.  Let’s keep it beautiful and positive by supporting humankind, rather than tearing each other apart. 

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