After English rock band Bush released their debut album Sixteen Stone in the United States in November 1994, they instantly became a household name. Sixteen Stone would go on to sell over 6 million copies in the United States and went certified 6x Platinum. Despite hailing from the United Kingdom, the album was praised by contemporary American critics. The album had elements of the early-1990’s Seattle grunge movement and 1980’s English punk rock that blended with singer Gavin Rossdale’s raspy voice and melodic songwriting. In hindsight, it seems reasonable to consider Sixteen Stone as an underrated album when considering the number of hits that have stood the test of time. The band ultimately released five singles from Sixteen Stone, including: “Everything Zen”, “Comedown”, “Little Things”, “Glycerine”, and “Machinehead”, all songs that remain popular to this day. There are reasons that Sixteen Stone may have been underappreciated at the time. The Brit Pop movement was beginning to take off in the United Kingdom with the release of Oasis’ debut album Definitely Maybe, and while the “grunge” sound was still very popular in the United States, bands were transitioning into what would later become known as the “post-grunge” movement, featuring bands such as Days of the New, Collective Soul,Candlebox, and many more that came later.
Bush went on hiatus in 2002 until 2010 but has still released 10 studio albums. While these albums may not have eclipsed the popularity of their debut, they have spawned dozens of hit songs that still received major airplay including songs such as “Swallowed”, “ The Chemicals Between Us”, “The Sound of Winter”, and their most recent hit “The Land of Milk and Honey” off their 2025 album I Beat Loneliness.
Bush performed at Memorial Hall in Kansas City in 1995 on the heels of Sixteen Stone and then went 20 years without returning. Friday, May 8th at Azura Amphitheater will mark the fifth time the band has played in Kansas City since 2015, and whether you consider them to be grunge, post-grunge, or punk, there’s no denying that Bush is a band that has stood the test of time and were a huge part of the 1990’s rock music scene.