Gin Blossoms & Toad the Wet Sprocket with special guest Vertical Horizon

Gin Blossoms:

Gin Blossoms, an American alterna1ve rock band formed in 1987 in Tempe, Arizona. The band rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label debut album, New Miserable Experience, and the first single released from that album, “Hey Jealousy” became a Top 25 hit and went gold. New Miserable Experience eventually went quadruple pla1num and three other char1ng singles were released from the album including “Allison Road” and “Un1l I Fall Away”. The band’s follow-up album, Congratula1ons I’m Sorry (1996), went pla1num including the Grammy nominated “As Long as It Ma]ers” and the top 10 single “Follow You Down”. Gin Blossoms con1nue to tour every year and in recent years have shared the stage with Collec1ve Soul, Barenaked Ladies and Hoo1e & The Blowfish.

Toad The Wet Sprocket:

Toad The Wet Sprocket – the trio of founding members Glen Phillips, Todd Nichols, and Dean Dinning – are still making new music and touring with the same spirit and independence that started it all, over three decades ago. This year marks a new milestone in their journey with the 30th anniversary of the 1994 platinum selling album Dulcinea.

After the success of Fear (1991) the band re-teamed with producer Gavin MacKillop, to create a new body of work that would become their album Dulcinea, and sequestered themselves in a residential studio in Marin County, CA. Inspired by the sound that they had developed from their recent touring, the band tracked the record mostly live in a huge room lit by hundreds of candles. With minimal overdubs, the album comes across as an honest document of a stunning batch of songs, some of which had the benefit of having been already played in on the road.

It was also during these sessions that the band recorded its unique cover of “Rock and Roll All Night” for the Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved (1994) at the request of Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, who loved it and said “it reminded him of Jackson Browne”.

Dulcinea arrived in 1994 and was certified platinum, followed by a tour in which the band played over 80 headlining shows, with openers as diverse as Milla Jovovich and Hootie & the Blowfish in their first national tours. The first single “Fall Down” (with a video directed by Samuel Bayer of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” fame) spent 6 weeks at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. “Something’s Always Wrong” was featured in the movie “Fear”, and had a groundbreaking music video that put the band on the Home Shopping Network selling themselves to the lowest bidder. A highlight of the Dulcinea era was playing the NOW rally in Washington, DC in April of 1995, a performance that put the band in front of a million people and was nationally broadcast.

Crediting their success to the unwavering support of their fans, Toad the Wet Sprocket are celebrating Dulcinea throughout the year on tour – including a co-headline summer tour with the Gin Blossoms, a fall tour with Barenaked Ladies and throughout the year additional headline dates in select markets. Limited edition commemorative Dulcinea merchandise will be available at the band’s online store and on all tour dates, as well as a limited quantity of Dulcinea on vinyl that will be a repressing of the original.

Dulcinea went on to sell over a million copies and was certified by the RIAA, giving the band its second platinum album in a row. Many songs from “Dulcinea” are played in the band’s live set every night on tour, and in 2023, “Fall Down” was featured on the Showtime series “Billions”, with the song showing up on the Shazam charts the following week.

Throughout their career, Toad the Wet Sprocket has remained committed to creating music that is both meaningful and accessible. Their songs are filled with introspective lyrics, melodic guitars and signature vocal harmonies that have resonated for fans for decades.

Toad the Wet Sprocket first gained attention in the late 1980s with their debut album, Bread & Circus, originally self-released on cassette in 1988. Their sophomore release, Pale, was recorded independently in 1989. Both records were released by Columbia Records, in 1989 and 1990 respectively.

Toad’s third studio album, Fear, followed in 1991 and included their multi-format iconic hit singles “All I Want” and “Walk on the Ocean”, was certified RIAA Platinum and further solidified the band’s popularity and mainstream success. In 1994, Dulcinea followed.

In 1995 Toad released In Light Syrup, a collection of rarities that included the hit “Good Intentions”, which was featured on the Platinum-selling Friends soundtrack.

The band took a break in the late 1990s, with the members pursuing solo projects. However, they reunited in 2006 and have continued to perform together ever since. In 2013, they released their first album in 16 years, New Constellation. The album includes fan-favorite tracks “The Moment”, “California Wasted” and “Enough” that showcase the bands growth and versatility.

Starting Now (2021) marked a return to form for the band, which was recorded during the pandemic, and showcased the band’s signature sound while also exploring new sonic territories. Songs like “Transient Whales”, “Starting Now” and “Hold On” serve as core performance tracks at live shows and as fan favorites.

Toad’s most recent album, All You Want, is a remastered greatest hits album and features the most recent single “Best of Me (2023)”, an alternative version to the album release cut of the track that also featured Michael McDonald.

Throughout their career, Toad the Wet Sprocket has remained humble and grateful for the loyal support of their incredible fans. This is the fuel that inspires the band to continue creating music and performing live to this day.

More information, email list signups and updates may be found at www.ToadTheWetSprocket.com or on socials @ToadTheWetSprocket.

Vertical Horizon:

Vertical Horizon stands for a commitment to superior music. It’s a concept that has always meant a steadfast striving for the artistically-creative high road. Consistently at the wheel, founder, writer, lead singer and guitarist, Matt Scannell drives and unites the group, always exploring new territories of inspiration. Perhaps the most significant key to Vertical Horizon’s success today is the freedom they have from the constraints of a major recording label. Scannell says, “Our music is coming from the purest place – there are no other considerations beyond ‘Do we like this? Does it mean something us?'” Vertical Horizon works at a tempo that fuels the creative process. It’s no wonder why so many performers cite them as influences.

Founded in the early 1990s as a duo, Vertical Horizon released three albums independently (There and Back Again, Running on Ice, and Live Stages) and toured extensively. In 1999, Vertical Horizon signed with RCA and experienced meteoric success with Everything You Want, selling over two million copies. The title song captured the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Adult Top 40 charts, and went on to become the most played single of 2000. Having carved out a page in the annals of music history, the band also garnered further radio attention with “You’re a God” (#4 on Billboard’s Adult Chart) and “Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning),” which became a 2005 top 20 country hit for country star, Gary Allan.

As a follow-up, in 2003, the band released Go. Tracks such as “Inside” (a frequent concert opener), “I’m Still Here,” and “Forever” provided true commercial appeal, whereas the deeper tracks, like “When You Cry,” “Sunshine,” and “Echo” kept the band established as a formidable, no-nonsense rock entity. Unfortunately, music-industry mismanagement drove the band to seek a hiatus from “the business,” and they took time to reevaluate the creative process and distribution model. After some time away, Vertical Horizon emerged with the same conclusion their fans had: you can’t keep a good band down.

Today’s Vertical Horizon shares the practices of most long-enduring acts: different creative personnel have entered and exited, adding to the ever-expanding sonic tapestry. Experienced bands also run the gamut where it comes to variety, and Vertical Horizon is no exception here. Genres, styles, sounds are the band’s “tools of the trade,” but they’re used with such variety—such intricacy—that it’s a challenge to “classify” the band’s sound. Sure it’s rock, but nuances mean so much.

“As someone who battles a ‘glass is half empty’ outlook at times, I actually find myself in a very positive place right now,” says Scannell, and well he should be. Vertical Horizon is currently touring in support of The Lost Mile. The high energy shows are filled with an assortment of their well-known and latest hits. The band plays off each other with an almost feverish dynamic energy, drawing the fans into a riveting musical experience at every show.

Vertical Horizon is what it always has been: a vibrant, growing musical entity. It’s not a reissue: it’s bigger, better, and reloaded. The band’s “wheel of change” continues to turn. Hold on to the wheel, and you’ll be dragged. Instead, let it roll—and enjoy the ride.

www.verticalhorizon.com