With new album, alt rock trio Highly Suspect hits Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on Nov. 12

From a press release:
Following the announcement of their third studio album and the release of two new singles, it was revealed today that alternative rock band Highly Suspect will perform at the Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m.
Tickets, which are $27.50 in advance or $30 the day of the show, go on sale next Friday, Aug. 23 at 10 a.m. and will be available at the Sherman Theater box office (524 Main St., Stroudsburg), shermantheater.com, and Ticketfly.
To access tickets before they go on sale to the public, visit shop.highlysuspect.net and purchase a digital copy of Highly Suspect’s upcoming album, “MCID,” to receive a unique pre-sale code.
Due out Nov. 1, “MCID” features the singles, “16” and “Upper Drugs,” both released yesterday as part of an adventurous new chapter for Highly Suspect that spans across rock, hip-hop, and pop.
With features from Young Thug, Tee Grizzley, Gojira, and Nothing But Thieves, “MCID” is based on inconceivable true-life experiences (and perceptions) narrated by frontman Johnny Stevens. In his own words, “The themes include self-loathing, substance abuse, image issues, addressing my past, and changing my future, with a sprinkle of anti-Trump, false social media worship, heartbreak, hope, depression, and suicide. There are also a few references to the pressures of fame and how I won’t play into it.”
The lead single, “16,” is about a first love and a moment of instant heartbreak. The lyrics describe the true story of Stevens falling in love at 16 years old, fostering a relationship for seven years, and feeling elated when she told him she was pregnant with their baby. The song describes his instant devastation the moment of the birth when he found out that the baby wasn’t his; the baby was a different race. Though a wild story, the lyrics capture the gut-wrenching feeling of first love lost, betrayal, and regret.
“MCID” is the slogan tattooed on bodies across the world, four letters that hold so much meaning, a mystery to anyone who is not in the know. Stevens and twins Rich and Ryan Meyer had not only been playing music for eight years before topping radio charts, garnering Grammy Award nominations, and selling out tours, but they also had been gradually accruing a cast of comrades that orbited their star, friends and chosen family that would travel the world with them, move cross-country with them, and become pet parents with them. The growing community of companions have a name, and it is MCID.
Originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the three band members played covers in dive bars and moved to a studio apartment in Brooklyn, New York together. In 2015, they gained national recognition after the release of their debut album, “Mister Asylum,” on 300 Entertainment and their singles “Lydia” and “Bloodfeather” topped the rock radio charts. The next year, they performed at the Grammy ceremony, receiving two nominations for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Song. In 2017, the band traveled to Bogota, Colombia to record their second album, “The Boy Who Died Wolf.” It was released in November of 2016, and the success of hits “Little One” and “My Name Is Human” earned the band a third Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song.
And now the band is ready to release album three, a manifesto full of Stevens’ private confessions. It’s not surprising that his most vulnerable collection of songs is addressed directly to his chosen family, his followers, and his comrades – the title stands for “My Crew Is Dope.”
“MCID” is packed with surprise major hip-hop features, a collaboration with the metal band Gojira, some Swahili verses, and a lead single that is completely guitar free. Other standout songs are his collaboration with Young Thug on “Tokyo Ghoul” and “Canals,” which captures his frustration with the Donald Trump presidency, saying that his rage feels like “someone took a crack pipe, lit it with a torch light, and threw it on a gas line – there is fire everywhere.”
“MCID” is not just the third full-length project from three guys who approach the rock genre with a hip-hop ethos, but it’s a family meeting and an apology from Stevens whose lyrics demand accountability from himself, urging him to be more honest and to conquer the demons that made him who he is.