The Smithereens

The Smithereens play The 04 Center on Friday, October 30, 2026. It's a single-bill night with the band as the only act on the program.

If you're not familiar with them, they're a New Jersey rock band that formed in Carteret back in 1980. For years, they were built around founding members Pat DiNizio on vocals and guitar, Jim Babjak, Mike Mesaros, and Dennis Diken. They broke through with their 1986 album Especially for You, which gave them the modern rock classics "Blood and Roses" and "Behind the Wall of Sleep." The hits kept coming on Green Thoughts (1988) and 11 (1989), with songs like "Only a Memory," "A Girl Like You," and "Too Much Passion" making them MTV fixtures. Along the way, they toured with Tom Petty, Lou Reed, and The Pretenders, and recorded full-length homages to The Beatles and The Who.

That original lineup changed in 2017 when frontman Pat DiNizio died. Babjak, Mesaros, and Diken decided to keep going, performing and recording with guest vocalists like Robin Wilson, John Cowsill, and Marshall Crenshaw. Their latest album, THE LOST ALBUM, gathers previously unreleased sessions with DiNizio, so there's still some of his voice in the mix. This Austin date is presented by The 04 Center and In-House Presents, and it's open to all ages.

Doors open at 7 PM and the show starts at 8 PM. The venue is The 04 Center, 2701 South Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704.