Return to Dust Plays in San Diego For the First Time

Heather Vandemark
2 days ago
3 min read

Return to Dust played San Diego for the first time on April 18th with support from Identity Crisis and Druidess. Unfortunately I just missed Identity Crisis, having hit some unexpected Saturday night traffic on the way to SOMA. In chatting with fans during Druidess setup, they said they were awesome and I definitely missed out. Identity Crisis is a grunge rock band from Texas and they just released their first single “Starve” on March 13. I may have stalked them on Instagram and Spotify, definitely gave them a follow, love their music and vibe!

Druidess is a grunge/metal band from Montreal, Canada. This is my first time seeing them and I loved their vibe and energy. I looked them up on Spotify to see how they described themselves, I just can’t put this into my own words, so here you go, “A lucid vision of our own design, raw and ethereal soundscapes meant to encapsulate the full spectrum of human consciousness and emotion.” Lead vocalist, Beiss, is mesmerizing with his high energy body twisting, hair flipping moves, I kind of felt like I was in a Pink Floyd video from the 80’s. In my search there is another band with the same name, so make sure you have the right one! They were a fun live band!

I’ve been so excited to see Return to Dust headline! We’ve been following Return to Dust since we were invited to check out the band back in August of 2023 for the first time at The Viper Room. Truth be told, when we get invited to see bands, we go for fun, see friends, meet new people, and just hope the band is cool. Then there’s those times where the band starts playing, the chatter stops, heads turn and everyone moves closer to the stage. Return to Dust is one of those bands.

Return to Dust is a Los Angeles based alternative/grunge rock quartet that includes Matthew “Matty” Bielawski (rhythm guitar and co-lead vocals), Graham Stanush (bass guitar and co-lead vocals), Sebastian “Seb” Gonzalez (lead guitar), and London Hudson (drums). During the pandemic of 2020, the band took the opportunity to put their creative energy together and come up with this amazing EP that takes you on a journey to Alice in Chains and Led Zeppelin days.

On stage they have a rock, metal, grunge feel with a look that reminds me of Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant. Watching them on this journey the last couple of years from The Viper Room, The Locker Room (at Garden Amp), Aftershock, Welcome to Rockville, The Roxy, and then to going on tour supporting bands like Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, and this summer opening for Yungblud is so amazing. Every performance we’ve seen has been amazing, where you can feel their passion, dedication, sweat and tears in every beat. This night at SOMA is the longest set I’ve heard. I think they played 14 songs including “Belly up”, Cellophane”, “Bored”, “Black Road” and a couple of acoustic songs and their new release, the Outkast cover “Hey Ya”.

We preach all the time about going to see the local bands at smaller venues. Return To Dust is that band that you will say, I saw them at SOMA in 2026, right before they went on tour Yungblud! This tour just started so grab your tickets and make sure to catch them at the merch after the show. We’ve met them a few times and are always so gracious, humble, and cool guys!

Remaining tour dates: