One of the more popular Reno indie-rock bands, Charity Kiss, is about to start the cycle for its latest album—Away From the Dust, which is now available on streaming—including a tour to support it and a big show in Midtown.
Away is the second full-length studio album from the group, after last year’s Slackademic. Charity Kiss recorded both albums at Earthtone Studios with Pat Hills in Sacramento. Drummer Nate Drum said that Away stands out from the band’s previous releases due to the work of guitarist and backing vocalist Jacob Darby, who joined the band in April 2025.
“This time, it’s just a different brain involved in the process, so it’s naturally going to change a couple of things,” Drum said. “I think the sound changed a bit on some of the songs.”
The music is “overall a little more joyful compared to the last album,” added Darby, and “more diverse and a little more elevated,” said bassist and backing vocalist Cooper Conway.
For Charity Kiss’ lead vocalist and guitarist, Patrick Hansen, it’s also different because the band took more time to record Away—two weekends instead of three days—and he believes that made for a better result.
“For Away From the Dust, we put no time constraints on it necessarily,” Hansen said. “I think that allowed us to really sit and talk and think and ponder things, and to go back and redo some songs.”
The band members agree that “Headache,” “Hold Me” and the title track are the album’s standouts.
Several rounds of long-weekend tours for Away begin with an outdoor show on Friday, Oct. 30, at Midnight Coffee Roasting. That show is in the venue’s parking lot so that Charity Kiss can try for a bigger turnout than Midnight’s interior can hold. Shows at which the band has headlined at Cypress and the Holland Project have sold out.
“I want people to see that (the music scene) is still hot here, that rock music is so badass and the party’s here,” Hansen said.
In November, the band is slated to play all over California, including stops in Chico, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo—plus Oregon towns Corvallis, Eugene and Portland. By now, the band members are touring veterans, and this type of travel schedule is typical for them.
“Our early days really informed the band ethos for sure,” Hansen said of the group’s first tours in 2021. “I think we took a lot of inspiration from the road, and you meet characters who are shouldering a scene or shouldering a certain corner of the world, so you have a different respect for this kind of thing.”
Hansen said the tour will end with a show at Black Rabbit Mead on Friday, Dec. 4. After that, Charity Kiss intends to keep playing out of town in the new year, as well as set up what Hansen calls “more thought-out, curated shows in 2027” in Reno.
You can track the band’s progress on its Instagram page @charitykiss775.
A productive (and spooky) tour for Donkey Jaw
Donkey Jaw is another band ending a busy 2026. The band released its latest EP, No Vacancy, in March, and recently returned from touring, which the band has done at least once a year since the COVID-19 shutdowns subsided.
The punk band played in Quincy, Calif., on Oct. 15; Portland, Ore., on Oct. 16; and Seattle on Oct. 17. The Seattle show was particularly memorable for its location, Orient Express Restaurant and Lounge.
“It was a Chinese-food restaurant/karaoke bar, all in old train cars,” said drummer Kodeus McKinley.
Added bassist Jared Obregon: “They were welded together, and they aren’t perfectly gridded, so it’s like a maze. They’re all offset and weird.”
There were more uncanny vibes at the farm in between Portland and Seattle where Donkey Jaw stayed between shows, found by McKinley through a vacation-rental website.
“When we initially showed up, it was 3:30 in the morning, and it was, like, hella dark, and the house was just sitting in a field,” McKinley said.
Added guitarist/singer Sean Brenker: “It looked like it was 100 years old.”
Said singer/guitarist Zack Ryan: “Yeah, it was like Texas Chainsaw Massacre in terms of an isolated house.”
The band members found Portland was a great place to make connections with other bands despite a small audience. In Seattle, McKinley said, “all the local bands we played with were hella good, and they brought their friends.” They also were impressed by the turnout in Quincy.
“I didn’t know how Quincy was going to go, but there were a lot of punk people there,” Ryan said.
Added Brenker: “They have a really cool music community.”
Donkey Jaw will cap off the year playing the Reno Punk Rock Flea Market on Sunday, Nov. 15. at El Sol. The plan for 2027 is to tour Southern California and Las Vegas, and to release more new music—possibly even on vinyl, said Ryan.
Get more details on Donkey Jaw’s Instagram page @donkeyjaw775.
An anything-goes radio show in Carson City features Northern Nevada musicians
Earlier this year, local musicians gained another outlet for getting their music on the airwaves, this time in Carson City.
High Desert Music is broadcast at 8:30 p.m., Tuesdays, with a replay at 2 p.m. Thursdays, on KNVC-FM, 95.1 in the capital city. It’s also simulcast on KNVC.org, with shows archived within two weeks after they hit the airwaves.
The 30-minute show started in February and is hosted by Molly Moser, a blues-rock singer/songwriter from Carson City. She and Mike Rottmann, the show’s engineer and editor, said all genres are welcome on the show, including artists’ home and studio recordings, as well as interviews with musicians and producers.
“We’re totally genre-neutral,” Rottman said. “If it’s local, original, a good recording and doesn’t violate FCC rules, we play it. One of the things I really like is that you never know what you’re going to hear each week. We’ve played folk, rock, rap, classical, country and lots of stuff in between and beyond.
“It’s even better when that music is local, because if you hear something you like, there’s a chance you can catch that artist performing down the street.”
Among the artists featured on High Desert Music are Kat Heart, Ziggy’s Groove, Wabuska Yachting Club, The Zines, and Anabelle and the Desert Scrubs. Performers include the duo Dale Poune and Douglas Sandall, Brother Dan Palmer, Liam Kyle Cahill, and Canyon White (who has her own show on KNVC called The Canyon Club).
Alese Linder of the Reno Musicians Collective also hosts a segment on upcoming live shows and open mics throughout Northern Nevada.
Moser said she loves the idea of featuring music that people haven’t heard before as part of the show.
“You can listen to the same familiar songs on streaming services anytime,” she said. “I think there’s something more exciting about discovering an artist you didn’t even know existed, especially when they’re from your own community.”
Moser and Rottmann said future editions of the show will feature music from Ridge Dawson, Doug Robertson, Breck Lee Durham, Silverwing and The Fever Fuses, among many others. Rottmann is pleased with the diversity and talent the team is able to showcase.
“Each week, when I put the shows together, I sometimes get giggly when I hear how good it is,” Rottmann said.
To be part of High Desert Music, write Moser or Rottmann at listenlocal.knvc@gmail.com or visit the High Desert Music page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/highdesertmusicnv.
We want to know more about the scene
If you have some music news to share, send it to markearnestwriter@gmail.com. I can also keep tabs on you if you follow me on Instagram @markearnestofreno.