STATEN ISLAND, NY — The Slackers have sold out their December 18 Staten Island stop on the band’s Home for the Holidays 5 Boro NYC Tour 2025, with tickets vanishing days before the secret show despite limited advance promotion.
The event, which features local Ska/grunge “skrunge” group Not From Concentrate, sold out quickly after tickets became available through the band’s website. This rapid sell-out points to growing interest in ska and ska-adjacent music on Staten Island.
Ska is a genre of music that originated in Jamaica and offers a combination of Jamaican folk music, R&B and blues. It became well known in certain subcultures in Great Britain and the U.S., especially after its fusions with punk rock music.
While the “forgotten borough” has maintained a small, dedicated pocket of fans, Manhattan and Brooklyn venues have historically dominated New York City’s scene.
In 2022, James Aurelia, a member of Not From Concentrate, started ‘Staten Ska,’ a series that features bi-annual shows at Mother Pug’s Saloon. These events have showcased local, regional and touring ska bands, and brought more fans to the genre.