Meet the bands playing Shakespeare's Pizza's 50th birthday bash

Shakespeare's Pizza is the very model of a classic college town pizza joint.

It's the sort of place that fuels degrees — and distractions; the sort of place that shows up on broadcast bumpers when the Missouri Tigers make a national sports telecast; and the sort of place that ships frozen pies to Columbia ex-pats looking for a fix.

So, on the occasion of its 50th birthday, Shakespeare's deserves a great soundtrack. On Sept. 23, Shakespeare's will hold a free anniversary concert outside its landmark Ninth and Elm location.

"We can't think of a better way to thank everyone who has made the last 50 years possible, than to throw one heck of a pizza party," the Facebook event page reads. "Enjoy your free slice, visit with and support our six local non-profit partners, grab a Stag and a pickle and stay for the music!"

The musical lineup rivals a single-day slate for just about any indie festival. Here's who will be singing for your supper.

STRFKR

The band whose name you have to say out loud to fully appreciate — then might immediately regret — has been dropping dance-worthy dimes for 15 years, or about a third of Shakespeare's life span. Led by Joshua Hodges, the Portland, Oregon band has kept bodies in motion, and brains engaged, with lushly-structured and immediately visceral pop albums like 2013's standout "Miracle Mile" and 2020's "Future Past Life." Few bands could better capture the smart party kid vibe of Shakespeare's better.

Liz Cooper

A veteran of the Treeline/Roots N Blues festival scene, the Nashville-based artist bridges whatever gaps still exist between pop and rock, with a sound that can burn slow and hot or rise to the level of a fervent, soulful cry. Cooper's textured vocals draw listeners in with a sort of acceptable hypnosis.

Bad Bad Hats

A truly underrated gem of the Midwest music scene, Minneapolis' Bad Bad Hats achieves the perfect union of irony and earnestness, playfully serpentine guitar lines and rich undercurrents. Kerry Alexander and Chris Hoge share an easy musical chemistry which transmits to listeners; when Alexander sings "I hope you play this on your Walkman, baby / Sun in your eyes and your hair long, baby" on the band's 2021 cut "Walkman," you want to give Bad Bad Hats what they want.

Tri-County Liquidators

These locals offer a fully-orbed rock sound that digs back through the MTV Buzz Bin and classic-rock crates to find a mix of heaviness and wanderlust that should appeal to the record-store geek in every listener.

Doors open for Shakespeare's birthday bash at 4 p.m. Sept. 23, with the music to follow at 5. Keep up with details via https://shakespeares.com/.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Shakespeare's Pizza is marking 50 years in business with a party