I've a friend who lives in San Francisco who is in a moderately successful band. They recently concluded a tour through the midwest, where they played Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, and Chicago, among other cities. No STL dates at all.

Les Claypool's Frog Brigade is on tour as well, and skipped STL but did play in Peoria, Louisville, and KC this spring.

Last year, the closest Nightwish came was Chicago.

I get Songkick notifications for other bands -- mostly metal and eclectic -- and more often than not, they are playing everywhere but STL. After living for 20+ years in Seattle, I miss having bands come and play even the small clubs.

To avoid sounding petulant, there have been some tours I looked forward to that came to Pop's in Sauget, but I'm sure there are other bands people here like that have bypassed STL venues as well.

So: Anyone have any ideas why STL gets passed over in favor of Nashville and Louisville?