REVIEW BY DAVID TAYLOR & PHOTOS BY ROBERT A CHADWICK | Go Venue Magazine
On Sunday, August 9, 2026, people packed The Astro, in La Vista, Nebraska, to see Theory of a Deadman and Sevendust, in a co-headline bill, melting their faces with their own brand of rock n roll. It was a memorable night for live music.
Return to Dust opened the concert. If you follow my writing, you may have noticed that I covered these guys not even a week after at Stir Cove. But I was happy to learn they were still able to play this gig regardless of proximity because they are so great live. They give me hope for the future of rock n roll. Also, I never seen a group of enthusiastic twenty something’s go so hard for the opening act before. It gave me a lot of hope for the future.
Sevendust was the first of the co-headline. This was my fourth time seeing these guys and they always bring it live. This was my favorite time seeing them live because the pit had these youthful twenty-something year olds that breathed new life into the band that I’d had never seen before in a band like Sevendust. It was quite electric. The whole band was on fire. They had this video board behind them showing these unique visuals. Lead singer Lajon Witherspoon brought out his oldest daughter who’s about to start her first year of college to shout her out. It was such a sweet moment for this dad who got so emotional for his little girl. I saw the kids of the band jamming out to the side, which was pretty cool. It goes to show that this band, through thick and thin, are brothers in arms, that they really enjoy playing with each other since the mid-90s. They have lived so much life, but once they’re playing on stage, it has to feel like being young again. They are what I would call a miracle band that are still doing it. Go check out their latest album, One.
Theory of a Deadman closed the night out. They played “Sweet Caroline” before they went on to get the crowd going. They are looped in with those Canadian modern rock bands of the 2000s with Nickelback and Three Days Grace. Tyler Connolly is a showman, with his slick black pompadour and his soothing voice. At one point during their set, he was messing with a Polaroid camera, which was interesting. They were all excellent musicians on stage, and the crowd knew pretty much every song. They did a cover of Alice In Chains’s “Nutshell” and Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”, both quite good. I thought it was a solid set from them. I did not feel like a Sunday night in the best way.
Theory of a Deadman
Sevendust
Return to Dust
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