SNOT occupies a singular, complicated place in nu-metal history. The Santa Barbara band built a ferocious live reputation throughout the 1990s, driven by frontman Lynn Strait’s unhinged stage energy and a sound that fused hardcore aggression with metal texture and hip-hop cadence. When Strait died in a car accident in December 1998, the band dissolved — and took with them a legacy that felt genuinely unfinished. Now, more than two decades later, SNOT is back on the road with new vocalist Andy Knapp and new music in the works, and Rochester gets them at Montage Music Hall in May.
The reunion has been met with real enthusiasm from the heavy music community, not least because the band didn’t rush it. Knapp made his live debut with SNOT in early 2025, and the band spent time road-testing the material before committing to a larger touring cycle. The chemistry, by most accounts, has earned it — Knapp brings his own energy rather than attempting a Strait impersonation, which is the right call. These songs exist on their own terms now, twenty-five years after they were written.
SNOT’s catalog holds up fiercely. Tracks like “Starlit,” “Snot,” and “Deadfall” from the 1997 debut Get Some remain genuinely powerful — songs with groove, menace, and an intelligence that separated the band from their contemporaries. The news that the band has completed five new songs and is moving toward an album makes the 2026 tour feel like more than nostalgia.
Montage Music Hall is the right room for this kind of show — small enough to feel dangerous, with sound that suits heavy music well. Tickets are available through Etix.