Yet another Rumble is brewing in Cambridge this spring. After a successful shift back to Central Square in 2023, the Rock and Roll Rumble will return to the Middle East Upstairs and Sonia between Thursday, April 4 and Saturday, May 4. Details surrounding the annual “World Series of Boston rock” dropped this evening via Boston Emissions, where show (and Rumble) host Anngelle Wood revealed the acts comprising the Rumble’s “class of 2024.”
The artists who are scheduled to compete this year are — in alphabetical order — bikethrasher, CE Skidmore & The Damn Fine Band, Cold Expectations (pictured above), Condition Baker, Gut Health, JATK, Looking Glass War, Lovina Falls, Magic City, Mammothor, Never Gonna Make It, Other Brother Darryl, Robotic Hawks, RoseR, Ruby Grove, Shiverlane, Shotgun Waltz, Sunshine Riot, Trailer Swift, The Ghouls, The Roland High Life, Twig, Type 66, and Wire Lines.
This year’s logistics for the Rumble repeats 2023’s model by hosting six preliminary rounds at the Middle East Upstairs (April 4-6 and April 11-13), then moving next door to Sonia for the semifinals (April 19 and 20) and finals (May 4). The pattern signals the Rumble’s renewed roots in Cambridge; the competition previously took place at The Middle East Downstairs and TT the Bear’s for nearly two decades before relocating to ONCE Ballroom in 2016. However, the Somerville venue shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the event to relocate yet again for 2023.
Nightly lineups — aka information about who’s battling who — will arrive Monday (March 11), and single show tickets go on sale Thursday (March 14). “Full boat” passes that grant access to all nine rounds are available now for $104.