LIVE: TOADIES – Nashville, TN, USA – May 8, 2026

Venue: Eastside Bowl

City: Nashville, TN

Date: May 8, 2026

Review and Photographs by: Jacob Smith (https://www.jhs-photo.com)

Getting onto stage to a max capacity sold-out crowd, the Toadies put forth one of the best live performances I have ever seen. Being a fan of theirs since the early 90’s, I had never been fortunate to see them perform live until this evening. I was simply floored by the sound and energy delivered from that stage. Even after all of these years, they were sonically perfect. They sounded exactly how they did when their first album ‘Rubberneck’ came out in 1994. Playing a mix of old classics plus selections from their brand new album, the timing and pace of the evening was nothing less than brilliant. They started the evening off with “Ash’s Song” and rolled directly into one of my all-time favorite songs, “I Come From The Water” to start the evening off at a max level of enthusiasm. By the time they got to their hit “Possum Kingdom” the entire crowd was ready to help. Near the end of the evening, they had the lead singer from the opening band, Vandoliers, come out to help perform a song, “Normal” which is about struggles with mental health, acceptance, and love. That message was extra meaningful to me, having to deal with several issues over the years from experiences during my time in the Army and tours to Iraq. So listening to the lead singer, Vaden Todd Lewis, talk about having serious episodes of thoughts of suicide and depression, but was able to turn it around and deliver a solid positive message of love and acceptance, was inspirational.

The crowd was completely in tune with what was going on stage and singing back loudly, even crowd surfing throughout the course of the show. They had a great 19-song main set and ended with a massive performance of their song “Tyler”  before leaving the stage for a short while and then coming back for a 4-song encore. First song during the encore was an insanely amazing cover of  Screaming Jay Hawkins’ classic “I Put A Spell On You”. One thing I have always known but was happy to see was how genuinely nice everyone was in the room. Toadies fans are those few you will always find who have a passion for the band and each other. I highly recommend anyone who enjoys live music to catch this band. I can’t believe I have been a fan since 1994 and never caught them perform until now. I will, from here on out, definitely make sure to never miss another performance.

Setlist: Ash’s Theme – I Come From The Water – No Deliverance – Away – Gasoline Jane – Little Sin – Long Time – Song I Hate – Happy Face – Jigsaw Girl – The Charmer – Mexican Hairless – Backslider – Closer To You – I Call Your Name – Possum Kingdom – Damage – Normal – Tyler – I Put A Spell On You – I Wanted to be Everywhere – Get Out of Your Head – I Burn

TOADIES LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

X

INSTAGRAM

TOUR DATES

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries