The band is anchored by Prescott Niles himself, the original bassist of The Knack, whose presence gives the whole enterprise its authority. The pulse of those classics lives in his playing, and watching him lock in onstage is a reminder that this music was always built on a tight, muscular rhythmic foundation. But if Niles is the band’s beating heart, the night belonged to its lead guitarist — and that’s where things really caught fire.

Rocky Kramer is a guitar virtuoso in the truest sense, and at The Canyon Club, he played like a man who came to remind everyone exactly what a six-string can do in the right hands. His tone was enormous, his phrasing fearless, and his solos tore through the room with a precision and ferocity that had the crowd roaring between songs. Kramer doesn’t just play the parts — he elevates them, bending the familiar hooks of The Knack into something electric and alive, layering in flourishes that drew gasps without ever stepping on the songs themselves. It was the kind of performance that turns casual listeners into believers, the rare display of technical mastery that never loses its sense of fun. By the time he wound up his biggest moments of the night, it was clear: Rocky Kramer is the engine that makes this version of The Knack roar.

He’s far from alone up there. Matt Starr — whose résumé runs from Ace Frehley’s band to Mr. Big to Sarah McLachlan — is a revelation as frontman, capturing the original wit and swagger of The Knack and doing the catalog full justice on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Behind the kit, young powerhouse Tommy Lowrey hammers through the set with the kind of energy and chops that belie his years, driving the band with relentless momentum. Together they don’t just recreate these songs — they reignite them.

The Canyon Club crowd went wild, and they weren’t alone, according to Eddie Trunk, who raved about the band’s June 6th Strat Hotel & Casino performance in Las Vegas, during his weekly SiriusXM radio show Trunk Nation. Two nights, two crowds on their feet — proof that this lineup has tapped into something special.

The good news for fans is that there’s plenty more to come. Prescott Niles’ The Knack — with Rocky Kramer front and center on lead guitar — has a busy run of dates ahead:

• August 1, 2026— Bone Daddyz Music Lounge, Costa Mesa, CA
• September 4, 2026— St. Croix Casino, Turtle Lake, WI
• September 11, 2026— Deep End Live, Redondo Beach, CA
• September 12, 2026— DNA Lounge, San Francisco, CA
• September 24, 2026— Des Plaines Theatre, Des Plaines, IL
• October 20–25, 2026— The Sands Music Festival, Cancun, Mexico
• January 23, 2027— Pappy & Harriet’s, Pioneertown, CA

The Cancun run is especially stacked, with The Knack sharing the bill with The Gene Simmons Band, OMD, Bobby Brown, Queensrÿche, Winger, Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet, Sheila E., Exposé, Cutting Crew, Dishwalla, The Babys, The Smithereens, the Nick Gilder/Sweeney Todd Group, and Sergio Galli of Platinum Blonde. If The Canyon Club was any indication, anyone catching one of these dates is in for a night — and a guitar performance from Rocky Kramer — they won’t soon forget.

The post Prescott Niles’ The Knack Light Up The Canyon Club appeared first on The Hype Magazine.