Big Ass Truck I.E. hauls a five-band hardcore bill into The Canal Club

The Inland Empire heavyweights make their first Richmond stop in our records on Friday, Nov 13, with Restrictor Plate, Surfaced, Chamber and Mugshot.

Five bands, one early start and a room in Shockoe Bottom that knows what a pit looks like. Next Friday is a hardcore night with no filler on the bill.

Big Ass Truck I.E. headlines The Canal Club on Friday, Nov 13, 2026, with Restrictor Plate, Surfaced, Chamber and Mugshot. Music starts at 6:30pm — early, because five sets take time — so plan to get there for the openers rather than strolling in at ten. The room holds 720. Tickets are through Tixr via the link on our show page. It is also the first Richmond show for the band in our records.

First, a point of order: this is not the Memphis band with a similar name. Big Ass Truck I.E. is a heavy hardcore band from San Bernardino, California, and the "I.E." honors their Inland Empire roots, as their label Nuclear Blast puts it in announcing their signing. The jump to a label of that size tells you where they stand in the scene right now.

The music backs it up. Nuclear Blast and Metal Injection have both run the band's recent singles, including "Pushed Beyond the Brink" and a track Metal Injection described as the band "dragging meat" — which, if you have heard them, is about right. This is slow, ugly, chest-caving hardcore made for people who like their breakdowns to arrive with weight behind them.

This date is part of a long fall North American run that Knotfest reported, with Chamber, Mugshot, Surfaced and Restrictor Plate among the acts riding along on different legs. Richmond gets a big chunk of that caravan on one night. Chamber in particular is a worthy reason to show up early on its own, and stacking them under the headliner makes this one of the stronger heavy bills to pass through town this month.

The band has been on the road for weeks already. Before Richmond the tour hits Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Hartford, Baltimore and Worcester, so by the time they reach Cary Street the set will be tight and the van will smell like it.

Slow, ugly, chest-caving hardcore made for people who like their breakdowns to arrive with weight behind them.

The Canal Club is a fitting room for it. Ticket guides describe the venue at 1545 E. Cary St. as a two-level warehouse space, and its calendar has leaned heavy all year, with hardcore bills like Heavy//hitter, Chain Gang and Torn Open on the books this summer. It is the kind of place where the crowd does half the work.

What to know before going: doors and set order are worth checking on the Tixr page before you head out, since a 6:30pm start on a five-band bill fills the evening fast. Parking in Shockoe Bottom is mostly street and paid lots, so give yourself a few extra minutes on a Friday.

Richmond has always shown up for hardcore, and a bill this deep is the kind of night that reminds you why. Bring earplugs, stretch first and get there for the first band.

Sources: Big Ass Truck I.E. at The Canal Club — JamBase (jambase.com); Big Ass Truck I.E. hitches their hardcore rig to Nuclear Blast Records (nuclearblast.com); Big Ass Truck I.E. release new single "Pushed Beyond the Brink" — Nuclear Blast (nuclearblast.com); Listen: Big Ass Truck I.E. is dragging meat on new song — Metal Injection (metalinjection.net); Big Ass Truck I.E. announce fall North American tour — Knotfest (knotfest.com); Canal Club — Vivid Seats venue page (vividseats.com); Tickets — Tixr (tixr.com)