Four Shows Worth a Listen
(Publication date: January 25, 2026)
The Greyboy Allstars
The Warehouse at Fairfield Theatre Company
70 Sanford Street, Fairfield, CT 06824
March 5, 2026
Acid jazz, soul-jazz, groove logic
The Greyboy Allstars will do what good groove bands do: make virtuosity feel like a side effect of good taste. The organ-and-guitar conversation won’t chase peaks so much as build a pocket deep enough to live in, then invite the room to move in too. This is music that respects dance as a form of listening. Grade: A–
The Hives
Toad’s Place
300 York St, New Haven, CT 06511
March 19, 2026
Garage rock as controlled combustion
The Hives will arrive like a dress-coded riot: tight suits, tighter riffs, and a frontman who treats the crowd like a co-conspirator. The joke has always been that they sound like a band sprinting in place—until it hits live and the sprint becomes a shove. In a room that rewards velocity, this should feel less like nostalgia and more like proof of concept. Grade: A–
Cass McCombs + Band
Space Ballroom
295 Treadwell St, Hamden, CT 06514
March 20, 2026
Indie songwriting with sand in the gears
Cass McCombs will bring songs that drift in sideways, sounding casual until they’ve quietly rearranged the furniture. The band setting should sharpen the edges—more bite, less haze—without sanding off the weird turns that make his best work linger. This is the kind of show that rewards attention, then makes attention feel like the obvious choice. Grade: B+
The Wombats
College Street Music Hall
238 College St, New Haven, CT 06510
February 9, 2026
Indie pop with a bite
The Wombats will show up with the kind of bright-wire choruses that used to be dismissed as “college rock” back when that phrase still meant something. The trick is how neatly they’ll lace jittery guitars to a vocalist who can sound both smug and sincerely cornered in the same line. Expect tunes that move fast, land clean, and leave just enough emotional grit to keep the confetti from looking staged. Grade: B+
Scene assessment:
Between February 9, 2026 and March 20, 2026, this corridor’s best rooms will prove the same point four different ways: hooks, grooves, velocity, and craft still matter—and the live setting still exposes who has them.If you can't make the show check them out on your streaming servivce.
