If you were alive and paying attention during the third wave of ska, Save Ferris was already in your rotation — and if the timeline missed you, the It Means Everything – 29 Year Anniversary Tour is your corrective. The Orange County ska-punk band plays the Showcase Lounge at Higher Ground in South Burlington, Vermont on Sunday, August 9. Doors open at 7:30 PM, show at 8:00 PM, all ages.
About Save Ferris
Save Ferris formed in 1995 in Orange County, California — the name is a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off reference, and it still lands. Fronted by Monique Powell, the band built their early following the hard way: selling nearly 20,000 copies of their self-released EP Introducing Save Ferris out of car trunks. That kind of grassroots hustle earned them a Grammy showcase award for best unsigned band in 1996 and a deal with Epic Records. Their debut full-length, It Means Everything, arrived in 1997 — including their cover of “Come On Eileen” — followed by Modified in 1999.
After the band went on hiatus in 2003, Powell brought Save Ferris back in 2015 following successful neck surgery — a comeback she had promised her father she would make happen if the surgery worked. The reunion has not coasted on nostalgia: they hit the Warped Tour main stage in 2017 and that same year released Checkered Past, an EP produced by John Avila of Oingo Boingo and featuring Neville Staple of The Specials. They are currently working on their first full-length album in nearly two decades. The anniversary billing is earned.
About Higher Ground
Higher Ground is a 750-capacity independent venue on Williston Road in South Burlington — one of Vermont’s go-to stops for touring acts that draw a crowd. This show is in the Showcase Lounge. South Burlington sits right outside Burlington proper, so if you’re driving up from anywhere south or west, build in time to grab dinner in Burlington before you make the crossover. The whole North Country region rewards that kind of day-trip thinking.
Tickets
This is an all-ages show. Grab tickets at the link below — a 29-year anniversary tour from one of third-wave ska’s most seminal and beloved bands does not sit on the calendar twice.