Acclaimed rock band Queens of the Stone Age will play their largest local concert to date when they headline St. Paul’s Grand Casino Arena on May 14.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Oct. 29 via grandcasinoarena.com. Fans who register at qotsa.com by Oct. 25 have access to a presale on Oct. 28.
Alt-rock legends the Pixies open alongside Wheelchair Sports Camp.
Vocalist/guitarist Josh Homme formed the group 30 years ago after the dissolution of his previous band Kyuss. He recorded everything on QOTSA’s self-titled 1998 debut himself, save for the drums.
By the time of the group’s sophomore effort “Rated R,” Homme had recruited a loose and ever-changing group of musicians to back him, including former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan. The album’s lead single “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” earned QOTSA plenty of attention due in part to its lyrics, which consisted almost entirely of the names of various illicit substances, including ecstasy, Vicodin and cocaine. That led to opening slots for the Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters and Hole.
Nirvana/Foo Fighters star Dave Grohl joined the band for 2003’s “Songs for the Deaf,” which spawned the radio hits “No One Knows” and “Go with the Flow.” That same year, QOTSA opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers at the venue formerly known as Xcel Energy Center and returned to the arena two years later on a bill with Nine Inch Nails.
By 2013, Homme had built a permanent band lineup that remains the same to this day. They played Roy Wilkins Auditorium in 2014 and 2017, the Palace Theatre in 2017 and the Armory in 2023.
Queens of the Stone Age will issue their ninth album “Perfecth” on Oct. 30. The following day, the band will celebrate the release with special events in record stores around the world, including the Electric Fetus in Minneapolis and Down in the Valley in Golden Valley.