Sammy Boller released his latest EP, \u201cMidnight Garden,\u201d back on Nov. 7. But some of his other musical endeavors \u2014 including the reunion of his band Citizen Zero and being part of Goo Goo Dolls since last summer \u2014 have kept him from playing the material on stage.<\/p>\n
So the Ferndale-based guitarist is understandably \u201cvery excited\u201d about finally being able to celebrate the release with a show this weekend at the Loving Touch in Ferndale.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be really fun,\u201d Boller, 33, says. \u201cThis is definitely some of the most technically challenging stuff I\u2019ve worked on, and I\u2019ve been tailoring it to the live setting, which is changing the way I hear some of the melodies and the production elements.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say it\u2019s definitely a little more aggressive than the album, even.\u201d<\/p>\n
The show will, in fact, be the launch for a particularly busy year ahead for Boller.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll be in Los Angeles this month to work on his next solo recording, while Citizen Zero is planning to do more recording during the spring for a hoped-for album later this year. Boller also has recorded with a new instrumental trio called Evomoon, while Goo Goo Dolls have a Las Vegas residency and a summer tour planned in addition to other dates throughout 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been incredible,\u201d Boller, who\u2019s also worked in Creed frontman Scott Stapp\u2019s solo band, says of the latter gig, which he took as a fill-in before being added to the lineup full-time. \u201cIt came out of the blue, and it took a little bit of time to get used to it. It\u2019s something I never imagined being able to do, but it\u2019s just been beyond my wildest dreams.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been together so long and had an amazing career. It\u2019s been the most incredible blessing in my life to get to play with them.\u201d<\/p>\n Boller will also be previewing some of his new material at the upcoming National Association of Music Merchants trade show in Anaheim, giving him another platform for his burgeoning career.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely different than what you imagine when you\u2019re growing up and learning how to play,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s a quote \u2014 \u2018reality is always better than you could have imagined\u2019 and that\u2019s definitely true. I feel like the luckiest guitar player, especially after the stuff that\u2019s happened to me this past year.\u201d<\/p>\n Sammy Boller performs Saturday, Jan. 3 at the Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. Jackamo and the Mike Leslie Band also play. 248-820-5596 or\u00a0thelovingtouchferndale.com.<\/p>\n Other music events of note this weekend (all subject to change) include \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 They\u2019ll be jive talkin\u2019 at Stayin\u2019 Alive: One Night of the Bee Gees at the Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St. Doors at 6:30 p.m. 248-399-2980 or royaloakmusictheatre.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 Bob Seger\u2019s Silver Bullet Band alumnus Laura Creamer and Michael King join the Kris Kurzawa Band to play the music of Steely Dan at 8:30 p.m. at the Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 Five bands \u2014 the Antics, Shade Zero, the Custodians, Dead Buds and Mind Riot \u2014 team up to Rock in the New Year at the Diesel Concert Lounge, 33151 23 Mile Road, Chesterfield Township. Doors at 6 p.m. 586-933-3503 or dieselconcerts.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 Local rockers Absentees, Troy Toma and Unmarked Grave team up at 8 p.m. at the Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 The all-female Lez Zeppelin tribute act plays \u201cThe Song Remains the Same\u201d soundtrack in its entirety at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. 248-544-1991 or themagicbag.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 Hindsight pays tribute to Pretenders at 8 p.m. at The Roxy, 401 Walnut Blvd., Rochester. 248-453-5285 or theroxyrochester.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 Bound By Vendetta tops a five-band bill at 6 p.m. at the Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff, Hamtramck. 313-462-4117 or sanctuarydetroit.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 Virtual: Umphrey\u2019s McGee plays in Chicago at 8:30 p.m. and again on Saturday, Jan. 3, streaming via nugs.net.<\/p>\n \u2022 Virtual: Dark Star Orchestra turns on the lights at 9 p.m. in Port Chester, New York, and again on Saturday, Jan. 3, streaming via nugs.net.<\/p>\n \u2022 Detroit favorite Thornetta Davis sings the blues, and more, at 8 p.m. at The Roxy, 401 Walnut Blvd., Rochester. 248-453-5285 or theroxyrochester.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 The Michigan Hardcore 10 will rattle the walls at 5 p.m. at the Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff, Hamtramck. 313-462-4117 or sanctuarydetroit.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 Michigan metal bands Splinters, Squish, Let It Rot and Forge the Sun pile on at 8 p.m. at the Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 Superdot, the Loyal and Dads on Couches triple-bill at 8 p.m. at Small\u2019s, 10339 Conant, Hamtramck. Doors at 6 p.m. 313-873-1117 or smallsbardetroit.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 Perpetual favorite the Muggs rocks at 8:30 p.m. at the Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. Catfish Mafia opens. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 The Yellow Room Gang \u2014 including veteran singer-songwriters Annie Capps, Jan Krist, Jim Bizer, Matt Watroba and more \u2014 populates the Ark for a 3 p.m. matinee. 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.<\/p>\n \u2022 Virtual: AJR streams the Hollywood Bowl stop of its Somewhere in the Sky Tour at 7 p.m., via veeps.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 Dan Cafferty and Bobby Pennock host an Empty Chair Night featuring audience members at 7 p.m. at the Trinity House Theatre, 38840 W. Six Mile Road, Livonia. 734-436-6302 or trinityhousetheatre.org.<\/p>\n \u2022 The Matt Stahl Band plays a free show at 7 p.m. at the Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.<\/p>\n \u2022 Boogie woogie piano specialist Mark \u201cMr. B\u201d Braun is home for a 7:30 p.m. performance at The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.thenewsherald.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sammy Boller released his latest EP, \u201cMidnight Garden,\u201d back on Nov. 7. But some of his other musical endeavors \u2014 including the reunion of his band Citizen Zero and being part of Goo Goo Dolls since last summer \u2014 have kept him from playing the material on stage. So the Ferndale-based guitarist is understandably \u201cvery […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2217649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[21741,22482],"class_list":["post-2217648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-things-to-do"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Sammy-Bollers-guitar-heroics-lead-the-new-years-first-metro.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2217648"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2217650,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217648\/revisions\/2217650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2217649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2217648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2217648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2217648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}FRIDAY, JAN. 2<\/h4>\n
SATURDAY, JAN. 3<\/h4>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TOP-L-GoDo-Boller0102-02_85ff23.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1\")
SUNDAY, JAN. 4<\/h4>\n