Everclear reaches a new generation of fans 

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The resurgence of ’90s rock bands on the concert tour circuit is undeniable — something to which Rochester-area music fans can attest. The Wallflowers, Guster and Toad the Wet Sprocket all hit the Lincoln Hill Farms stage last summer. The Jesus and Mary Chain and Barenaked Ladies have shows lined up at Kodak Center this fall.

But the most impending of these nostalgic shows takes place on Aug. 15 as part of the Party in the Park series, when alt-rock outfit Everclear plays along with New Orleans trumpeter Shamarr Allen at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

But while many of Everclear’s audience members are undoubtedly long-time devotees of the band, its frontman — and primary songwriter for its 30-plus year career — Art Alexakis said its current fan base skews somewhat younger.

“I'd say 20% of the kids coming to see us are exactly that,” he said. “Dude, they’re kids, like late teens, early to mid-20s. They weren't even born when these songs came out — and it’s still viable to them.”

Theo Cateforis, associate professor of music history and cultures at Syracuse University, said bands like Everclear are filling in the gap in mainstream culture, where rock music used to have popularity, as in the ’90s.

“Some of these new audiences, their parents were listening to groups, like Everclear,” he said. “This is a middle-age band, this is a Gen X band and their kids are in their teens and 20s. So they've been exposed to this stuff through their parents.”

Everclear first coalesced as a band in 1992 in Portland, Oregon, before finding sustained mainstream success with three consecutive platinum-selling albums, including the 1997 double platinum “So Much for the Afterglow” with the hit singles “Everything to Everyone,” “Father of Mine” and “I Will Buy You a New Life.” And while Everclear’s hard rock and punk core have always been apparent in the music, Alexakis’s penchant for catchy, even poppy melodies has also been ever-present.

“It was honest to who we were, who I am as a writer and musician, that's why there's still that consistency,” Alexakis said. “I go out and play those songs and sing those songs — and they're still believable, because it's still me.”


While the band hasn’t released a new collection of original material since 2015's “Black Is the New Black,” Alexakis hasn’t stopped writing songs. Last year’s “Live at the Whisky A Go Go” included the singles “Year of the Tiger” and “Sing Away,” with the latter addressing the topic of suicide in an effort to help people in crisis.

“I really feel like my legacy, what I feel we’ve done, is pretty much complete,” Alexakis said. “There are still songs to be written that can make an impact — if not in the business sense — something that touches people, which is cool.”

If Everclear is any indication of the intent of the other nostalgic rock acts from the ’90s making the rounds, playing music from the past isn’t a mere throwback, but instead a full-circle moment — an opportunity to reach new listeners.

Everclear and Shamarr Allen play Party in the Park on Thursday, Aug. 15 Gates open at 5:30 p.m., music starts at 7 p.m. General admission tickets are $10.95, VIP tickets are $39.95. More information here.

Daniel J. Kushner is an arts writer at CITY. He can be reached at [email protected].