Hard rock group, Santa Cruz, knows how to make an entrance. At the group's first performance in over a year - which also marked their live debut with new members Pav Cruz (lead guitar), Toxy Cruz (drums) and Ero Cruz (bass) - the band played to a massive crowd of 50,000 fans at a memorable June 2 concert in Tallinn, Estonia. The picturesque city sits directly across the Baltic Sea from the band's native Finland, where the group subsequently made a triumphant return on June 7 with a powerful performance at the country's largest annual rock/metal festival, Rockfest.

The two shows marked the first live airings of “Changing Of Seasons” and “Tell Me Why,” two recently-released songs that will appear on Santa Cruz's forthcoming album, Katharsis. Due this fall, the album - recorded at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producer Kane Churko (Ozzy Osbourne, Papa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch) - sees front man Archie Cruz reflecting on a whirlwind 2018 that saw the group's previous lineup splinter in the midst of a US tour with Fozzy.

“The whole year was very spiritual for me,” Archie told KaaosTV backstage at Rockfest. “I had to reevaluate myself, my goals, what I wanted to do. To be honest, this was something I wanted to do for quite a long time, but it was hard with the old members because everybody wanted to say something about everything, and the creativity wasn't really flourishing at the time. When the whole fallout happened, I saw this as a great opportunity for me to finally put myself out there creatively, the way I wanted to do it for the longest time. It was a blessing in disguise, really.”

With the first two shows featuring the group's new lineup under their studded belts, Santa Cruz will now turn their focus to their impressive slate of upcoming concerts, which include German dates alongside Whitesnake and Steel Panther, two more festival appearances in Finland and two major fests in the United States. In addition, the band will make their live debut in Mexico on August 3, when they will perform at Bajo Circuito in Mexico City.

Katharsis marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the story of Santa Cruz, who made impressive waves on both sides of the Atlantic in the five-year period following the release of their acclaimed 2013 debut. In Europe, the group scored two Top 5 albums in their home country, supported the likes of AC/DC and delivered memorable performances at major events such as the UK's Download Festival. In America, meanwhile, the band appeared on the AXS TV program Breaking Band, played notable gigs such as Rock On The Range and the inaugural Motörboat cruise and toured alongside I Prevail, Through Fire, Fozzy, Amaranthe and Sebastian Bach.

Tour dates:

June
27-29 - Seinäjoki, Finland - Provinssirock

July
7 - Köln, Germany - Palladium (w/ Whitesnake)
9 - Hamburg, Germany - Nochtwache
11 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Vorplatz der Congresshalle (w/ Steel Panther, Alestorm)
12-13 - Tampere, Finland - Sauna Open Air Festival

August
3 - Mexico City, MX - Baja Circuito
27 - Hollywood, CA - Viper Room

September
27-29 - Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life Festival

October
11-13 - Sacramento, CA - Aftershock 2019

(Photo- Ville Juurikkala)