The Hard Quartet will be in Lisbon and Porto in June

The indie rock supergroup of Stephen Malkmus, Matt Sweeney, Emmett Kelly and Jim White, performs at Hard Club (Porto) and Capitólio (Lisboa) on June 2-3, 2025.

Tickets will be available on Friday, 6 December, from 09:00 on houseoffun.pt, ticketline.pt and usual places.

THE HARD QUARTET, the indie rock supergroup of STEPHEN MALKMUS, MATT SWEENEY, EMMETT KELLY and JIM WHITE, will perform in Portugal this June. The collective will perform live at HARD CLUB (Porto) on June 2 and at CAPITÓLIO (Lisbon) on June 3, 2025.

The Hard Quartet…

… is a band. But what is a band? A band, perhaps, can be thought of as a body, a corpus, in which physically discrete life forms compose a chimaera that cries out to one voice. In this particular band, which is one ofthe millions in the world today, four musicians merge altruistically, become musical and emit rock’n roll that is familiar but new, hot but cold, melodic but sphinx-like in its seductive and subtle enigmas… essentially, The Hard Quartet levelled, cultivated and created an exuberant and entirely new steppe in the farming ecosystem of guitar-bass-drums-voice.

But now we should introduce the men to The Hard Quartet because after that, and since everyone already realizes this m*rda, they will be saying something like: “Him? Him too? And, oh my God, him? Wait, not only them but him too?” and you expect, rightly, an album that musicians and laymen can catalogue/describe as being “historical“. So, look: we’ll do it alphabetically according to the surname, which is the most democratic method.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Hard Quartet is:

Emmett Kelly, a lyricist, guitarist and vocalist, is best known for his work with The Cairo Gang and The Double as well as accompanying artists like Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Ty Segall, Rob Mazurek, and many others.

Stephen Malkmus, a lyricist, guitarist and vocalist, is best known for his work with Pavement, the Jicks, Silver Jews, Straw Dogs, and in his own name.

Matt Sweeney, a lyricist, guitarist and vocalist, best known for his work with Chavez, Superwolf, and Superwolves, as well as accompanying a panoply of artists from Guided by Voices and Cat Power to Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond.

Jim White, a drummer and lyricist, best known for his work with Dirty Three, Xylouris White, in his name, and with resistance bands like Guy Picciotto, Cat Power, Bill Callahan and Venom P. Stinger.

See? Four Titans. And here they are, now, today, starting a band – a band that they named The Hard Quartet, for Christ’s sake – which is a bullet-proof and effortless amalgam of their completely distinct expressions and that broke the mould completely.

Perhaps, on the streets and message boards, you have heard rumours and murmurs about the death of rock. You may have read a critical essay on this in an academic journal. We beg you to reject this crazy theory propagated by unbelievers and philistines who have never heard it a single time in their life Danny & the Juniors. The Hard Quartet, through its very existence and dedication to songs, hymns, chants and “rave-ups” electrified is the mathematical and empirical proof that human beings who beat on ropes and skins and open their mouths to chant melodious and mythical messages have come to stay. That will never disappear, we’ll enjoy it to the end.

The following is a selection of meditations, aphorisms and slogans of the band members. Perhaps it is better to fold all this and keep it in the pocket for easy consultation in times of disorientation. Think of it as a kind of meditation for future believers, a “gift” for the audiophile, a peek through the stubborn mind to the pink sounds and beats of the pulsating “brain” shared by Emmett, Stephen, Matt and Jim – also known, from today and forever, as The Hard Quartet.

Always confirm with the concert hall or promoter the conditions of access, confirmation of the date or time, ticket place of sale, price, and availability.

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