10,000 Maniacs

For more than four decades, 10,000 Maniacs has remained one of America’s most beloved independent bands. They will make a stop in Hoover Auditorium on their Revival Tour at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 13. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. and the queue line starts no earlier than 5:30 p.m. outside Hoover Auditorium.

The band still includes two-thirds of its original lineup. Bassist Steven Gustafson and keyboardist Dennis Drew co-founded 10,000 Maniacs in 1981, drummer Jerry Augustyniak came along shortly afterward, and founding guitarist/singer John Lombardo, who’d never completely left the picture, was welcomed back fulltime in 2015. All four have played a key role in the songwriting as well as the distinctive instrumental sound.

Mary Ramsey first stepped in as a singer toward the end of Natalie Merchant’s tenure and became the natural frontwoman afterward and recently rejoined the band.

Originally drawing from everything from African rhythms to bluegrass to English folk balladry, the group streamlined its sound in the 1980s with legendary producer Peter Asher, kicking off a string of beautifully crafted singles, including “Like the Weather,” “What’s the Matter Here?,” “Trouble Me,” “These Are Days” and “Candy Everybody Wants.”

The band has performed at President Bill Clinton’s inaugural ball in 1992 and, around that time, became one of the first bands to score a hit from MTV’s “Unplugged,” namely their version of the Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen classic “Because the Night.”

Through it all, the creative core of 10,000 Maniacs remains, along with its trademark eclectic music and poetic lyrics. Any song from their extensive catalogue – including hit singles, fan-favorite album tracks and the latest written songs – is likely to show up in their setlist.