RENO, Nev. (June 13, 2023) – Dynamic British rock band The Cult is set to perform at Grand Sierra Resort and Casino (GSR) on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023 at 8 p.m.
Tickets for The Cult at GSR go on sale Friday, June 16 at 10 a.m. PT and start at $39.50, plus additional taxes and fees. Infinity Rewards members will have access to presale beginning Thursday, June 15 from 10 a.m. PT through 10 p.m. PT. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit grandsierraresort.com or call 1-800-648-3568.
The Cult’s origins trace back to 1981 in Bradford, Yorkshire, where lead vocalist and frontman Ian Astbury formed the gothic-rock outfit Southern Death Cult. Despite achieving critical acclaim from press and music fans alike, Astbury steered the band in a new direction, trimming the name to Death Cult and recruiting guitarist Billy Duffy. In addition to Astbury and Duffy – the band’s longest serving members and main songwriters – Death Cult also included Jamie Stewart (bass guitar) and Ray Mondo (drums), both from the London based post-punk band, Ritual. Their eponymous debut album was released in 1983, and shortly after, Mondo was replaced by Nigel Preston, formerly of Theatre of Hate.
In an attempt to distance themselves from the post-punk, gothic connotations that defined their beginnings, band members excised “Death” from the title in 1984 and leaned into a heavier rock sound with slight psychedelic flourishes reminiscent of Led Zeppelin. The Cult’s first album, “Dreamtime” released in the same year, accompanied by the single “Spiritwalker.” The album reached No. 21 on U.K. charts, but the success was quickly followed by another lineup change. Preston was replaced by Big Country’s drummer Mark Brzekicki for the smash summer single “She Sells Sanctuary,” which peaked at No. 15.
For their third album, The Cult shuffled their lineup again, moving Stewart to rhythm guitar and adding bassist Kid Chaos. The resulting album, “Electric,” cracked the U.S. Top 40 chart, earning them a devout following in America. Although The Cult continued to experience turbulent lineup changes, their next release, “Sonic Temple” (1989) catapulted into the U.S. Top 10 with the help of hit single “Fire Woman.” At this point, The Cult had solidified themselves as a pivotal metal revivalist group, supporting Metallica on the Damaged Justice Tour and cultivating their new image as a stadium-selling hard rock act with releases like “Ceremony” (1991) and “The Cult” (1994).
Following a reprieve, a new iteration of The Cult made their debut in June 1999 at the Tibetan Freedom Festival, releasing the album “Beyond Good and Evil” in 2001 before retiring again. From 2007 to 2016, The Cult dropped an additional three albums, leading to their latest release “Under the Midnight Sun” in 2022. The newest addition to their discography reiterates the band’s versatility and narrates their journey through goth rock, post-punk, hard rock, psych and glam metal with Astbury’s signature esoteric musings. Doors open at 7 p.m.
