Local pop-punks The New Rivals will be the opening act for old-school Irish punks Stiff Little Fingers for five U.S. dates, starting Nov. 11 at Highline Ballroom in Manhattan.
It's a perfect slot for Sayville's New Rivals, a quintet formerly known as If All Else Fails. Like many latter-day punk acts, the group owes a major debt to Stiff Little Fingers, whose gruff but tuneful songs ("Alternative Ulster," "Suspect Device") have become a blueprint for Green Day, Blink-128, Sum 41 and others.
Both bands are booked through The Agency Group, but the Fingers personally approved the Rivals after hearing some tracks, according to a rep for the younger band. "Essentially, Stiff Little Fingers felt as if they were a legitimate punk act as compared to a mall punk or emo band," the rep wrote in an email.
Listen to The New Rivals here.