Orange County melodic hardcore five-piece IGNITE will team up with the Boston-based hardcore punk band SLAPSHOT for an East Coast tour this fall. Additional support on the trek will come from DEATH BY STEREO and SCHOOL DRUGS.
IGNITE said: “We are all very excited to announce these East Coast dates with SLAPSHOT, DEATH BY STEREO and SCHOOL DRUGS! This is going to be epic!”
Tickets go on sale on Friday, May 24 at 10 a.m. EST at ignitebandofficial.com.
Tour dates:
Sep. 24 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
Sep. 25 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom
Sep. 26 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
Sep. 27 – Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel
Sep. 28 – Lake Como, NJ @ Salty’s Beach Bar
Sep. 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
Sep. 30 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Bunker Brew Pub
Oct. 01 – Harrisburg, PA @ Harrisburg Midtown
This past January, IGNITE released a new single called “Done Digging The Grave”, featuring guest vocals from Andrew Neufeld (COMEBACK KID, SIGHTS AND SOUNDS).
IGNITE guitarist Nik Hill, who wrote the song’s lyrics, said: “‘Done Digging The Grave’ was written about the difficulty to find optimism in a world where the hardest working do not receive the rewards they deserve and where kindness is only celebrated when it benefits us monetarily. Being hopeless together is the best medicine for a world set on keeping us apart. This song’s negative energy burns clean and leaves nothing but positivity in its wake.”
IGNITE bassist Brett Rasmussen commented on working with Neufeld: “This song was specifically written with having a guest vocalist in mind. When we heard the vocal tracks that Andrew added to the music, we were completely blown away and in love with how the intensity of his screaming fit perfectly into the track next to Eli‘s [Santana, IGNITE singer] voice. This is the first time IGNITE has ever had a guest vocalist on any song.”
Santana joined IGNITE as the replacement for longtime vocalist Zoltán “Zoli” Téglás, who exited the group in 2020.
Rasmussen previously stated about Santana‘s addition to IGNITE: “The energy and positivity that Eli brought to the recording studio was contagious! It was an absolute breath of fresh air for all of us and reminded me of the early days of IGNITE.”
Regarding how fans have reacted to IGNITE‘s latest material, IGNITE told New Zealand’s Under The Radar: “You never really know how the fans are going to react to your newest songs. When we were finished with the recording of the [2022 self-titled] album, we were very happy and proud of what we had created, but the true test is the fans reaction and response to your music. We have been blown away by the response. It has been so cool to see how open-minded people are regarding Eli singing for IGNITE. I was hoping that the response would be good but it has definitely surpassed all of our expectations.”
On the topic of IGNITE‘s longevity, the band said: “IGNITE started in 1993 as just a fun way for a few guys to get together and write and play music that they liked. There were no expectations of having success or putting out an album or even touring at that point. We just had the mentality that if you work hard, opportunities will come from that hard work. We were lucky enough to have the chance to go to Europe in 1994 with the band SLAPSHOT and that really opened doors for us, and opened our eyes to what the possibilities were with IGNITE. We also always have believed that the songs you write will create what the legacy of the band is. Luckily, we still having fun doing what we all love and as long as that joy is still there we will continue to create new music and tour.”
IGNITE 2024 is:
Brett Rasmussen – bass
Kevin Kilkenny – guitar
Eli Santana – vocals
Nik Hill – guitar
Craig Anderson – drums