Rise of the Roach Tour Invades Omaha!

Story and photos by Spencer Fleming

Thursday night (4.10.25) The CHI Health Center in Omaha was rocking to the sounds of Papa Roach, Rise Against, and Underoath. Dubbed the "Rise of the Roach" tour, this was one of the biggest hard-rock shows to hit the metro so far this year. Papa Roach did a lot of promoting ahead of this show, even making a special trip to the Omaha radio station 89.7 The River's studios to take over the airwaves and introduce some new music. I think the promoting helped as there were quite a few people on the floor and most of the lower bowl was filled. Trying to compete in a sea of pop bands and being in a smaller market like Omaha the turnout was a pretty great success. It helps that Papa Roach has cemented themselves as one of the hard-rock scenes longest running bands. On this particular evening the band made a special note on songs from their album Infest, which turns 25 this year! One of the things that sets Papa Roach apart from the pack is their dedication to touring and their passion for creating new music. I feel like there has been a new Papa Roach album every two years since the band's inception. Their latest release Ego Trip has spawned six singles and has sold over 180,000 units! In today's world where streaming makes up 84% of all music consumption that's a huge feat.

Papa Roach gave the Omaha crowd a hit-filled setlist spanning their whole discography. Kicking off the night with their latest single "Even If It Kills Me" the band hit the stage with force as their giant roach banner fell revealing a wall of screens and a platform for the drummer and keyboard player. The Omaha crowd cheered with excitement as Jacoby and the boys began to shred. You would think the band would have slowed down some now that they're approaching 30 years but Jacoby ran around on stage like a madman! He even jumped down to sing to the lucky fans who were able to secure a spot on the barricade. From there he ran through the crowd on the floor and up into the stands, all to make it back to the stage without skipping a beat. The security team had to run to keep up with him!

I can't say that I've followed every record that Papa Roach has released but I definitely remember having a copy of Infest when it first came out and being one of the first people in my school to know about them. I wasn't an elite hipster with privileged knowledge or anything, I just remember hearing "Blood Brothers" on the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 soundtrack. It was so cool getting to hear "Blood Brothers" live along with "Dead Cell", "Broken Home", "Between Angels and Insects", "Infest" and of course "Last Resort".

Jacoby has been quoted saying that they chose the name Papa Roach because nothing can kill a roach, and like the roach they'll be around forever. I have no reason to doubt this. In between bands the house speakers mentioned a promotion where a fan could win a "Golden Roach" ticket that would give a lucky fan VIP tickets to any Papa Roach show for the next two years. So there you go, they already have plans to tour for another two years and probably further beyond. As long as Papa Roach is on the road I know they'll have a warm welcome when they visit Omaha. I hope to catch them again soon, maybe I'll even get to photograph them up close with pro gear next time!

Shout out to CHI Health Center and Papa Roach management for the ticket access. Thanks for reading and we'll see you at the next one!