Official: The Republic Tigers booked to play Fern reunion show @ Randy Bacon

We were promised more developments regarding Fern‘s big reunion concert at Randy Bacon Photography Studio & Gallery, and now we have it. Fern, one of the Springfield Music Scene’s most promising bands in the middle and late ’90s, is paired with another band with similar promise, not to mention ties to Springfield: The Republic Tigers, who played South By Southwest this spring and who are made up partly of members of former local group The Golden Republic. (And who, in case you were wondering, are named after the Republic (MO) High School mascot.) The Republic Tigers now call Kansas City home, but the band apparently hasn’t forgotten its roots and will be back to share a homecoming with Fern July 25. Randy Bacon Gallery Sounds coordinator Justin Woods tells us to watch for tickets to go on sale in a couple of weeks. We’ll keep you posted.

Official: Fern reunites at Randy Bacon Gallery in July

The Way We Were: Fern playing The Attic (now The Outland Ballroom) in the mid-90s. Note the (we're guessing intentionally) misspelled wall mural.

We’re going back to the future for this announcement. There was a time–the late ’90s, to be exact–when Fern was The Springfield Band to Watch. Formed in 1995, the band was opening for hot up-and-comers such as The Goo Goo Dolls by 1999 and sharing festival stages with the likes of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Moby, Our Lady Peace and more by the following year. When drummer Jay Sandidge left in November 2002, the group laid low while trying to find a replacement. That was the last we heard until it reemerged as Rabbit Fighter a few years later, but before we could even get used to a new name it disappeared again. There was talk of re-forming the band a little more than a year ago, but nothing seemed to come to fruition until now. Word just came in from Randy Bacon Gallery Sounds coordinator Justin Woods that the group will play a reunion show at the gallery and photo studio July 25. Woods says he expects to have tickets on sale in early June. We hope to have more details for you in the near future.