August 2025
The evening felt splendid at the Grand Sierra Resort as alt rock band 311 brought their “Unity Tour” through Reno, and the feeling in the room is that the fans were ready for it. The band had recently celebrated turning 35 years old, how amazing is that?!!
The crowd went wild when 311 took the stage. The Omaha, Nebraska band ran through their more than three decade span of hits both new and old. Lead singer Nick Hexum shared with the crowd this tour was to celebrate 35 years as a band. The band, at its core, is for positivity. They emphasized crowd inclusion be speaking to the crowd between songs and of course encouraging fans to sing back with them. The group kept the show flowing with their positive and amazing musicianship, led by lead guitarist Tim Mahoney who puts on a visual performance while playing. Mahoney knows where to be heavy and when to be melodic. The band’s DJ, Doug “SA” Martinez acts as the second vocalist but is quite impressive on stage and had attendees singing back his lyrics. Bassist Aaron “P-Nut” Wills had a fantastic solo moment while the band took a brief break and left the stage. Later the band’s drummer Chad Sexton gave a skillful lengthy drum solo during which the techs drug out more drums and the entire band joined and played drum solos in unison. The band even tossed their sticks in air and another one catches it, super awesome to see in person…