Upcoming Releases

After five years without new music, ska-punk legends BIG D AND THE KIDS TABLE return louder, freer, and more energized than ever with their 12th full-length album, The Good Ole American Saturday Night, due out June 12 via SideOneDummy Records. One of the most enduring and beloved bands in the genre, the Boston institution reunites with ska royalty Joe Gittleman (The Mighty Mighty Bosstones) and Matt Appleton (Reel Big Fish) — who produced the album — for a record that pushes forward while doubling down on everything that has defined their sound for more than three decades.

The first taste of the album arrives today with the new single “Whiplash,” accompanied by an official music video. True to BIG D form, the track turns a moment of total chaos into a high-energy, sing-along catharsis.

“What would you do if you walked into a room and saw your roommate in bed with your girlfriend?” says vocalist David McWane. “Well, if you want to know the rest of the story, cue up Whiplash!”

For a band now entering its fourth decade, The Good Ole American Saturday Night is less a victory lap than a mission statement. Reuniting with Gittleman — who previously produced the fan-favorite Strictly Rude — and Appleton, who also engineered the new record and helmed 2021’s Do Your Art, BIG D AND THE KIDS TABLE have crafted an album that expands their sound while preserving their unmistakable identity: explosive rhythms, razor-tight horn lines, huge hooks, and McWane’s infectious, working-class optimism.

That optimism is the heart of the record. At a time when much of the musical landscape leans toward cynicism, The Good Ole American Saturday Night is driven by a simple but radical message: love more. The album still carries the band’s long-standing punk ethos, but this time it’s delivered as an invitation — to find joy, to build community, and to lose yourself in the chaos of a live show.

“As a lyricist, I cannot take serious songs seriously,” McWane says. “I like music to take me to a fun place, like the Beastie Boys. I’m a hardcore kid and a Little Richard fan, so I just want to bring the party and wake everybody up.”

Since forming at Berklee College of Music in 1995, BIG D AND THE KIDS TABLE have remained steadfast torchbearers for ska through every shift in underground culture — carrying the horn section into punk, emo, post-hardcore, and beyond, while touring relentlessly across the globe, from massive festival stages to self-booked runs throughout Asia. Their longevity has never been about trends; it’s about freedom. Never beholden to industry expectations, the band has built a career on doing things their way — writing for themselves, for their audience, and for the explosive live shows that have become their calling card.

“One thing that’s really great about BIG D AND THE KIDS TABLE is that we never made it too big, so we have a freedom that many bands don’t,” McWane explains. “We love and are addicted to music. We write songs to make each other musically satisfied. We also like to write music that we know will make our shows and future tours a proper live music riot — get in, jump off the stage and have fun! We like being the incorrigible, rabid Anthrax of the ska scene. We don’t want to be Metallica.”

More than 30 years in, that philosophy still fuels them — and The Good Ole American Saturday Night is the sound of a band that hasn’t lost a step. It’s vibrant, defiant, celebratory, and built to detonate in packed rooms around the world.

And with “Whiplash” leading the charge, BIG D AND THE KIDS TABLE are ready to start the next chapter the only way they know how: by bringing the noise.