Melvins are widely considered key influences on both sludge-metal and grunge. Credit: Facebook, Melvins
Melvins, one of the most influential bands in heavy rock, are returning to San Antonio for a Friday, Oct. 17, show at Paper Tiger.

The venue shared an Instagram post Tuesday morning announcing the show as a stop on Melvins’ Stop Your Whining Tour. The band will be supported by veterans punk-meets-power-pop act Redd Kross, with whom they share a bass player, Steven Shane McDonald. The bassist — who’s also a founding member of Off! — has handled the Melvins’ low end since 2015.

Though prices aren’t yet available, tickets go on sale this Friday and will be available through the Paper Tiger website.

Considered one of the most influential bands in metal, punk and grunge, Melvins has pushed sonic boundaries since vocalist-guitarist Buzz “King Buzzo” Osborne and drummer Dale Crover formed the outfit in 1983. The group has released more than 30 albums throughout its career, including 2024’s Tarantula Heart.

As chronicled in the 2016 documentary The Colossus of Destiny, Melvins is one of the largest bands to retain a staunch DIY ethos as the music industry continues to shift in ways that deprioritize artists. The group’s DIY business practices even extend to Osborne screen-printing its T-shirts himself by hand.

The forefathers of sludge have also gone through numerous lineup changes, which have included collaborations with Kurt Cobain, Jello Biafra, Butthole Surfers bassist Jeff Pinkus, Big Business drummer Coady Willis and more.

Cobain was tapped to produce one of Melvins’ most beloved albums, 1993’s Houdini. However, Osborne stated in a recent interview with Revolver that the band fired the Nirvana frontman due to drug problems, which made him “too screwed up to finish the album.”

The Melvins’ Paper Tiger show will take place the night before long-running LA punk act Circle Jerks plays the venue with The Adolescents and Negative Approach, making for a double-whammy weekend of aggressive music legends.

Ticket prices unavailable, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com.


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This article appears in Apr 30 – May 13, 2025.

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.