Folk, punk, and country music may seem diametrically opposed to the casual listener, but the musical genres have a lot in common. “Three chords and the truth,” the King of Music Row, Harlan Howard once said describing how he wrote classics like “I Fall to Pieces” and “Busted.”

Violent Femmes, the trio whose self-titled debut album melded those seemingly disparate genres, helped launch an alternative rock movement back in the early 1980’s. Songs like “Blister in the Sun,” “Add It Up,” and “Gone Daddy Gone” used the acoustic medium to create bouncing, punky tunes that found a crawl space in your brain. These songs have an energy that breaks free of any preconceived idea of what an acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, and largely a solo snare drum would sound like together. And Gordon Gano’s unassumingly straightforward vocals make the album all the more relatable.

Over the past several years Violent Femmes have expanded to a quartet with original members Gano and bassist/vocalist Brian Ritchie being joined by John Sparrow on drums/percussion and Blaise Garza on various saxophones. With the announcement of their new tour, Violent Femmes rolled into Baltimore’s Lyric on Sunday to a packed house.

Having just celebrated the 40th anniversary of their self-titled debut LP, Violent Femmes, the band has been traveling the globe. With no opening acts, the band showcased their decades-long career.

But that’s not to say things weren’t without their surprises as the first thing right out of the gate was a procession led by Ritchie through the crowded theater, winding up onto the stage where Gordon Gano joined them as they played “Prove My Love” and “Promise” from Violent Femmes. As this was all happening everyone in the theater stood up and remained standing for the whole show.

There are shows when you lose track of time and just get caught up in the moment, and Sunday night at The Lyric was definitely one of those. As the band moved through the set list the excitement seemed to grow as Violent Femmes performed two of their biggest hits from Violent Femmes, “Blister in the Sun” and “Kiss Off” to riotous applause.

There were a couple of songs like “Rejoice and Be Happy” from the largely unreleased album Freak Magnet (there was a live album back in the early 2000’s that pulled from the record) and “Good Feeling” that were slower in tempo, but that all changed with Brian Ritchie’s announcement of “Dance Motherfucker Dance,” a song by fellow Wisconsinites Voot Warnings. As Ritchie shouted into the mic, wielding his massive bass guitar he had everyone up and moving.

Check out the official video for “American Music” by Violent Femmes:

I have seen Violent Femmes perform before, but this may have been my favorite performance as I looked around the venue and saw everyone engaged and dancing along, especially toward the end with fan favorites “Gone Daddy Gone” and “Add It Up.”

The Femmes ended with an encore of “American Music” that I heard reverberate on the lips of so many long after the song ended and we were leaving the theater.

Violent Femmes continue their tour through the US ending in their home State of Wisconsin.

The setlist included:

Prove My Love
Promise
Memory
Country Death Song
Waiting for the Bus
Blister in the Sun
Kiss Off
Please Do Not Go
Rejoice and Be Happy
Jesus Walking on the Water
Good Feeling
Dance Motherfucker Dance (Voot Warnings cover)
I Held Her in My Arms
Betrayal
Color Me Once
I’m Nothing
Black Girls
Gone Daddy Gone
Add It Up

Encore:
Gimme the Car
American Music

Check out more photos of Violent Femmes at The Lyric on October 5, 2025. All photos are copyright David LaMason:

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