Babes Against The Machine, billed as the world’s only all-female tribute to Rage Against the Machine, co-headlines with Issues (a Korn tribute) at Middle Ages Beer Hall in Syracuse at the end of April. This is a double bill that promises intensity, volume, and a fascinating recontextualization of two of the heaviest bands of the 1990s.
About the Artists
Babes Against The Machine takes the politically charged, sonically devastating music of Rage Against the Machine and delivers it through an all-female ensemble — a concept that adds a compelling layer of meaning to music already loaded with commentary on power structures and systemic inequality. Rage Against the Machine’s fusion of hip-hop, metal, and punk remains some of the most viscerally powerful music ever recorded, and performing it requires both technical skill and ideological conviction. Issues, meanwhile, pays tribute to Korn, the band that defined the nu-metal movement of the late 1990s with their heavy, downtuned, emotionally raw approach to rock music. Together, these two acts represent the full spectrum of late-nineties heavy alternative music, from the political to the personal.
The Venue
Middle Ages Beer Hall in Syracuse has proven itself versatile enough to host everything from folk acts to heavy tribute shows. For music this loud and aggressive, the Beer Hall’s intimate dimensions concentrate the energy into a physical force — exactly how Rage Against the Machine and Korn were meant to be experienced. The craft beer setting adds an element of civilized enjoyment to an evening that will otherwise be anything but restrained.
Tickets & Details
Babes Against The Machine with Issues (Korn Tribute) performs at Middle Ages Beer Hall on April 30, 2026 at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $19. Get tickets.
The concept of an all-female Rage Against the Machine tribute is interesting from a cultural studies perspective. Rage’s music was always about challenging entrenched power dynamics, and reinterpreting that material through female performers adds a dimension that the original band, for all their revolutionary intent, could not access themselves. Meanwhile, Korn’s emotional rawness and sonic weight represent a different kind of cultural document — the sound of generational anxiety channeled through crushing guitars. At nineteen dollars, this double bill offers a potent evening of heavy music and cultural commentary that scholars of nineties rock will appreciate as much as fans who simply want to feel the floor shake.