The Summer Set started off the evening by hitting their latest record Meet Me at the Record Store for four songs. Ripping into “I Don’t Want to Party” and “Flowers“, the Arizona natives kept the energy high throughout their time on stage. They made a quick return since their performance at the House of Blues in March to a warm welcome of the Chicago crowd. Sneaking in a cover of “Mamma Mia” by ABBA, the dancing didn’t stop with the closing duo of “Chelsea” and “Lightning in a Bottle“. The Summer Set will take some time off after a huge tour and will be playing Vans Warped Tour Orlando in the fall.

Coming off an incredibly busy 2025, Mayday Parade are continued hitting the ground running in 2026 joining All Time Low across the pond in Europe and the UK. Their month has been filled with festival slots at Welcome to Rockville on May 7th and Sonic Temple the night before they made their way to Chicago. The quick drive was well worth it as the eager crowd filled up the venue early. Mayday Parade made their way on stage 7:40, breaking into their latest single “Blame It on the Youth“, released in April. It was followed up with a classic from their debut “Jersey” as 4 of the 13 tracks played were from A Lesson in Romantics. The 19 year old record has earned a certified gold status as it has sold over 200,000 copies.

Their setlist hit heavy on the classics, punching through “Kids in Love” and “Anywhere but Here” from their sophomore record sharing the same name. This was followed by two tracks off their self titled record and “Piece of Your Heart” from 2018’s Sunnyland. This set hit all the marks fans new and old could want with the heart of the old and a touch of their latest like the lead single from 2025’s record Sad, “Under My Sweater“. Lead singer Derek Sanders knew how to end a show with a bang, hitting “Black Cat” and the certified platinum single “Jamie All Over” as the closer. The crowd drowned out any passing cars by throughout the set with a booming yell of the final chorus.

Derek Sanders said it himself, “what a special place to be playing”. Wrigley Field has hosted some of the biggest names in music throughout it’s 112 year lifespan, so seeing some great artists in a more intimate setting at the historic site is an incredible experience. The architecture and feeling of the Gallagher Way leads to engaging atmosphere for all fans. Mayday Parade has a handful of dates in 2026 including stops at Vans Warped Tour Long Beach, Montreal, and Mexico City. You can listen to my interview with Derek Sanders here.

Gallagher Way will be hosting two more cocnerts this summer, OK GO with The Stone Foxes on June 13th and Guster with Eggy on June 26th. You can find tickets here.

The post Mayday Parade and The Summer Set at Gallagher Way appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Logan Melia: Derek, how are we doing? 

Derek Sanders: Oh, doing very well. We’re halfway through this tour and having a pretty good time. 

Logan: That’s awesome. Now you’re on the road with All Time Low, The Cab, and The Paradox, a phenomenal combination. You’re kind of one of the pillars of the scene, bringing The Paradox along, getting The Cab back together. How is this combination of new and familiar faces? 

Derek: It’s been so cool. I mean we go way back with All Time Low. The first time we toured with them was in 2007 and we’ve toured with them many, many times in between. We love those guys to death and always appreciate them bringing us out on the road. The Cab, it’s been so sick to see them come back. We’ve also known those guys going back a pretty long ways. They actually just dropped off the tour and Four Year Strong hopped on. Their first show was in Toronto 2 days ago. And same, yeah, Four Year Strong. toured with those guys back in 2007 for the first time and just loved them to death. And we all are huge fans of their band. And I mean, The Paradox has been so cool because we had kind of seen and heard the buzz about them. They work with the same producers, Kenneth Mount and Zach Odom, that we work with. So, we’ve heard a lot about them from those guys and it’s been great to get to know them. And they’re just such a fun band. They have so much energy and it’s always refreshing to have younger guys. They’ve been a band for just a little over a year so everything was super new and exciting and it’s just it’s refreshing to see and it’s been really great. 

Logan: You have brought so many cool bands on tour with you. Earlier this year, you brought out such phenomenal opening acts for yourself. Grayscale, Like Roses, Microwave is an insane live act to see. How do you come across these bands that you choose to bring along on your tours? 

Derek: It’s a whole process between our team of booking agents and management. There’s a lot of that is brought to us from these are the bands that have submitted, and then we kind of throw out our thoughts as well. Microwave is an example of a band that We toured with a couple of years ago and we are just big fans of. So whenever we were trying to put together that tour, we kind of reached out and said, hey, we’d love to see if Microwave wants to do the tour. And with Grayscale and Like Roses, they had submitted as potential opening acts and it’s kind of tough. It’s always difficult because you’ll get a lot of bands that submit and you’re trying to kind of curate the best experience possible. That one I think worked out really well. It feels like that was a really, really strong tour. 

Logan: The tour was a celebration of 20 years of the band. You guys have come a long way. I saw you guys, you played a sold out when we were a young crowd a few weeks ago and you started out in basements. Do you still get a little jittery at all? 

Derek: You know, I’ll tell you, if it’s like the first show that we’ve done in a while, like usually the first show of a tour, I’ll be a little nervous, but most of it’s kind of, for example, right now we’re on this tour. We do the same set every night. Once you kind of fall into the rhythm of it and the pocket of it, then it’s just like, I can do it without even thinking about it. But whenever it’s that first show or the first show in a while, it feels like I’m kind of in my head a little bit about making sure I don’t miss anything or forget any lyrics or cue points or whatever. So if it’s the first show in a bit, maybe I’ll have some nerves. But once you kind of get that one out, it’s like, okay, we got it. 

Logan: Yeah, you’re at home on stage. 

Derek: Yeah, honestly. Yeah and it doesn’t really matter whether it’s for, you know, 300 people or 50,000 people. It’s just kind of the sort of the same just getting up there and doing it, you know? 

Logan: Yeah, 100%. You’re home on stage and home in the studio recently. You’re releasing 3 albums this year. You released “Sweet” in April, “Sad” just last month. You’ve got so many songs, are these songs that just fall out of the sky for you? Or are you toiling over them for a while? Is it a laborious process for you? 

Derek: Yeah we’ve been between, I guess, basically since things kind of opened back up with touring and everything after COVID. We’ve been just kind of staying real busy and, it feels like there’s, kind of a moment happening right now with emo music or really just sort of, I don’t know, like sort of a resurgence of the nostalgia of the early to mid, late 2000s and everything that was going on then. And so I don’t know, it just kind of feels like it’s there. We always kind of joke about the fact that we don’t ever say no to anything and so the more these offers come in to do festivals and tours and just stay active and busy, it’s like, well, you know, it’s we’re we may as well do it while we can. And so, yeah, as far as the music that just kind of came together, the plan originally was to go record our eighth full length album. But we kind of realized as we were getting started with that process that this was last year, that the music we were recording was going to be coming out in 2025, which is our 20 year anniversary as a band. And we just kind of started thinking, what can we do to celebrate that? And after some brainstorming, figured a sort of a three-part release. It’s a hefty amount of music to put out over a longer period of time and just felt like a way to kind of keep the whole year impactful. And so yeah, it’s been it’s been really neat so far. I’ve really enjoyed the process. 

Logan: Yeah, you mentioned saying yes to pretty much, has that gotten you into playing any gigs in some weird places? Any out of the ordinary slots? 

Derek: For sure. I mean, not so much these days but early on, I feel like all the time. It was kind of a weird thing in the mid to, 2005, 2006, I feel like, where there were really heavy  fucking bands and then there were like emo bands. And a lot of times those shows would get lumped together. We did a short tour, a short run of shows with Maylene and The Sons of Disaster. And they’re sick, they’re amazing, but their fans, I don’t know how much patience or tolerance they had for our, whiny emo stuff. But so, I feel like that used to happen sometimes back early on, but not so much these days, I suppose. 

Logan: Now I did some digging through some set lists of some of your older gigs and I’ve seen “Fat Lip” and “Cute Without the E” and even “Don’t Look Back In Anger” by Oasis. Do you have any recollection of playing these and do you have any songs that you would want to cover? Any songs you want to bring into your setlist? 

Derek: Oh, for sure yeah. We’ve definitely done a handful of the covers throughout the years. And what’s interesting is that there was a moment for me where that all changed because before that, I had always felt like playing coverss in the set was just not something I was very interested in doing and just wasn’t excited about the idea. And then I forget what year this was. This is going back probably at least 10 years ago, maybe further. We did A Day To Remember’s festival that they used to put, I think it’s Self-Help Festival. I think this was in the LA area. And Papa Roach played before Day to Remember. I remember watching them and they were so good. And then at one point they played Song 2 by Blur, the “woo-hoo”. And the crowd just goes bonkers, like everybody just loving it, jumping, having a great time. And I feel like that was like, I had kind of a shift in my viewpoint where I was like, if they can play this and everyone here just loses their minds having a great time, that’s beautiful. That’s amazing, you know? So I feel like since then, I was more sort of open-minded to it. But yeah, I love throwing in the covers every now and then. There’s, man, there’s a bunch that I’d love to, it’s kind of hard to, Think of like, you know, the one on the spot. I mean, I’m a huge, you know, for a lot of us, we grew up, you know, I was I was born in 1986. I grew up in the nineties and I loved, you know, all of the alternative rock stuff, all of Nirvana and Bush and Oasis and Red Hot Chili Peppers and, you know, Stone Temple Pilots, all that. So that’s the kind of stuff that like I think would be a lot of fun to play. for our sake. I don’t know that the audience would love it as much, but yeah. 

Logan: Creating like your set list and stuff like that. You throw in some great songs. I think not everyone would expect a kids in love peace of your heart. How do you kind of decide on more of these deep cut songs and which ones you want to bring live to the stage? 

Derek: Yeah, it’s tough. It’s a difficult process and it gets harder every year as we put out more new music. But at the same time, you know, we’ve done it long enough that we, have a pretty good understanding of, which songs are going to be the crowd favorites and which ones kind of work well live, which ones don’t work as well. So you kind of just take all that knowledge and just do your best to curate a set list. And it kind of, I feel like it’s a balance. it’s a balance between you’ve got the obvious sort of banger songs that you’re always going to play, Jamie Allover, Jersey, probably, oh well, oh well, you know. And then you kind of You want to round it out a little. You want to have a little bit of something, you know, deep cut in there or something that rotates where you’re not just doing the same set every tour and, you know, maybe a balance of a little bit of new and some old and in between. And you just kind of have to do your best to put it together. And I think we’ve come to a pretty good spot with it. 

Logan: Yeah, and you yourself, you’ve put out some music under your own name, some solo stuff. “The Heavy Box” in 2023, which I was a huge, huge fan of. How do you kind of decipher what songs maybe lean more towards yourself and your own sound versus the Mayday Parade sound? 

Derek: Yeah, that can be tricky. But basically, it’s mostly been songs that I had brought in, whenever we get together in the studio. We’ll all bring in a lot of songs and there’s a lot of songs that don’t get picked and don’t get recorded. So, for the most part, I think all the songs on that EP were songs that we just didn’t track with Mayday Parade. Obviously, it’s more acoustic based, not as full band so kind of the songs that lend themselves to that. And then just songs that I like that we never did anything with. 

Logan: When you’re writing songs, do you write on acoustic off the bat? 

Derek: It depends. I do a lot of writing on acoustic, but not always. Especially the further developed we all kind of have some level of home recording studio situation. And the more advanced that gets, I’m able to do more. But I guess going back before that, before I had really as many capabilities there, most of it was on acoustic. A lot of it’s on piano as well. That’s kind of the fun of that creative process is I might grab the acoustic and mess around for a little bit. If it doesn’t take me anywhere, I can sit at the piano a little bit. If that doesn’t take me anywhere, I can grab a bass and start messing around or grab an electric guitar or whatever and just kind of keep going until I find something that takes me somewhere. 

Logan: Yeah. Do you remember the first guitar you got? 

Derek: Yeah, I don’t know specific. I know it was a Samick acoustic guitar. I don’t know the model or anything. It was probably a pretty cheap acoustic guitar, but I mean, yeah, as a ten year old, I loved it. 

Logan: That’s the coolest thing in the world is getting a guitar. Was this always kind of the plan for you when you first got that guitar where you were like, okay, this is it? 

Derek: I mean, honestly, it really was. Ever since I was 10, it was all I really wanted to do. And, I feel like I put so much time and effort into it, even as a 10 year old, far more than school or anything. I used to play guitar with my brother and one of my cousins. And we would have family get togethers where we’d set up on my grandparents pool table and perform songs, cover songs, and some originals for our family members. And then when I met Brooks once I got into middle school and I was desperately looking for friends that played music as well and wanted to start a real band. I met Brooks when I was 12 and I don’t think I would be here today if I hadn’t met him. He really is a really talented dude. I feel like he has a drive where, even as 12 year olds, it was like, okay, well, let’s be proactive, let’s call around different venues and see if we can get added to shows. Let’s try to raise some money, let’s get paid to play birthday parties and raise some money to buy some recording equipment and let’s get some merch press and all this stuff that I just think I never would have been able to figure out. But once I met Brooks, we kind of clicked on all that. And then all through middle school and high school, the focus was on the bands that we were in and music we were making. And we started touring immediately after we graduated high school and eventually found our way into this band. 

Logan: Do you remember like the first paid gig that you had? 

Derek: Not 100%, but I could tell you in 7th grade, there were a couple that we did. There was a school event that was like a, like an ice cream social, like an honor roll, after school event thing that we got paid to do. I probably got paid 100 bucks to play. And then there were a handful of our friends’ birthday parties where their parents would pay us 100 bucks to play. So, I forget which of those kind of came in there first, but there would have been in 7th grade the first time any of that happened. 

Logan: That’s a nice way to start right there. A good, you’re building the community fan base. 

Derek: Absolutely. Yes. You got to do it. 

Logan: Going to my friends different basements and backyards to see their shows. I saw a Halloween cover set where a band was entirely Mayday Parade. Do you feel the impact you’ve had on the kids coming up here? Are people knocking on your door, thanking you for what you’ve done for the scene? 

Derek: Obviously when we’re out on the road, we meet a lot of people and see a lot of fans. And it’s, I mean, it’s like the coolest thing. Especially since we’ve been doing this for 20 years, there’s a lot of people that have been with us for a real long time and now either have kids of their own that they bring to shows or whatever. It’s just, it’s incredibly humbling to meet people and hear stories of how we’ve been able to help them or affect them or whatever. I mean, it’s one of the greatest parts of doing this. 

Logan: Do you remember the first time you signed an autograph for someone? 

Derek: I do remember the first time I signed an autograph for someone; I was in high school. I would have been probably about 15 years old and had just started a new band with some friends that we started honestly, almost as a joke. There was a high school battle of the bands and a buddy of mine was like, let’s start a band just to play the battle of the bands. And then, because we were in other serious bands at the time, and I was like, yeah whatever. And this was right when I was kind of first getting into emo music so it was kind of the first, like, let’s do like an emo band. I think we wrote one song and then we were at this party and two of my friends were there that were in the band. We were like, let’s play this song we wrote for everybody, and so we played. I sat at the piano and played piano and they had the acoustic guitar, played the song. The people there like loved it and were asking for autographs. I remember I couldn’t wait till the next day to see Brooks, because Brooks wasn’t in this, every other band I’d been in, Brooks had been in. And I was like, dude we got to get you in this band. Like we played last night and people were asking for autographs. Like this could be like a real thing, you know. So we made-up a position. Brooks didn’t even play piano or keyboard at all, but we added him to the band as the keyboardist just because it was like, if this is going to be a real thing, Brooks has to be a part of it. 

Logan: Do you remember what the song was? 

Derek: I do. It was a song called “Voice in the Darkness”. It was an old the band Defining Moment. It was one of the bands that split to form Mayday Parade. That was the very beginning of that band, Defining Moment. 

Logan: That’s so, cool. I want to thank you so much for sitting down and taking the time to talk with me. I really appreciate it. 

Derek: Yeah, of course. Thanks for having me. 

Mayday Parade is currently on the road with the “Everyone’s Talking” tour supporting All Time Low. Sporting color coordinated outfits under the glow of stage lights that have been home for almost two decades, All Time Low played selections from their brand new album “Everyone’s Talking” that cracked the Billboard Top 200 and hit 28 on Billboards Top Independent Albums. Split in to two acts, with an encore as a cherry on top, ATL gave us 6 tracks off their latest album and tracks touching 7 other albums in their discography. Mayday Parade played new tracks off of “Sad“, “Sweet“, and hit the fans with 4 tunes from their debut LP “A Lesson in Romantics“. An unstoppable night from the scenes pillars at Vibrant Music Hall, you can find tickets for the rest of the “Everyone’s Talking Tour” here.

The post KRUI Interview: Derek Sanders of Mayday Parade appeared first on KRUI Radio.

All Time Low

These Warped-Tour era icons have been releasing albums consistently since 2006, their newest project “Everyone’s Talking,” released just a couple weeks ago on Oct. 17, diving straight into an immediate tour for the band starting out with When We Were Young Festival. I recently learned their name derives from the song Head On Collision by New Found Glory, so I have a new found trust in their dedication to the craft. Throughout the decades, fans have been loyal to this Baltimore pop-punk boyband for a reason, they’ve been putting out consistently exciting music backed up by their playful humor and personalities, they’ve maintained their popularity and have stood out in the genre for decades. All Time Low has collaborated with artists like Demi Lovato, Blackbear, and Vic Fuentes, while this new album features JoJo and Ruston Kelly. They maintain their hold on the pop-punk scene, and are sure to put on a great show in Waukee. They’ll likely play a good chunk of their newest album this time, with a few select tracks featuring from across their greatest hits.

Mayday Parade

Another pop punk legendary act, Mayday Parade returns with their album Sad in 2025, following a seven year break since their last album. The band formed in Tallahassee in 2005, and celebrates their 20 year anniversary as a band this year with Sad, amazingly with nearly all of their founding members still together. They have upcoming plans to release 2 more parts of the Sad album in the upcoming months, much to look forward to from them. I’m anticipating a pretty even mix of their classic hits and tracks off their newly released album tomorrow evening, drawing into a classic pop punk experience.

The Cab

Best known to me for having a song in Rockband 2, this Las Vegas-based band returned in 2025 with a reuniting following a decade long hiatus. This year, they released their long-awaited EP, Road to Reign: A Prelude. It’s a catchy pop EP, supported by a bit of their grittier punk background seeping through into something that could’ve been featured in a early 2000s romcom movie. It’s a strong, and characteristic follow up after 11 years of a break, they’ve managed to come back still sounding like The Cab that we remember. Expect to relive their biggest hit tracks at the show, with a new song or two in between.

The Paradox

This up-and-coming pop punk band out of Atlanta might be young, but are putting out music that sounds like a skatepark in 2005. Their recent and rapid rise to popularity has them opening for icons like Green Day and Jack White, and recently also performed at When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas. They’ll play at this show with high energy, and bring fun to pop punk at Vibrant Music Hall tomorrow. They have multiple singles out now, and are currently in the works getting together their first EP released.

Tickets for the event are for sale from First Fleet Concerts here.

The post Concert Preview: All Time Low, Mayday Parade, The Cab, & The Paradox at Vibrant Music Hall on Oct. 29 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

1.) Piece Of Your Heart

“Piece Of Your Heart” is the first single that MP dropped in anticipation for this album, and I gotta say that I love it. As I mentioned before, I wasn’t the hugest fan of their last two albums, but this song actually has me looking forward to their new album. It feels reminiscent of early Mayday, which as you’ll be able to tell soon, is my favorite era of MP (thus far). The lyricism is similar to their “A Lesson in Romantics” days, something I didn’t know I wanted to hear again. The instrumentation has been cleaned up since their last album (which IMO was a failed attempt at trying to “get back to the roots” of pop punk) and from what I’ve heard of the new album, it sounds like it will flow smoothly.

2.) I Swear This Time I Mean It

If there’s one thing that MP is really good at, it’s sappy ballads. This song, from their sophomore album “Anywhere But Here,” features an acoustic guitar paired with soft vocals from lead singer Derek Sanders. The tempo is pretty slow, almost as if Sanders is singing a lullaby. The song slowly builds, the music crescendoing from the slow tempo to fit smoothly with his gentle voice. Tbh, I could totally listen to this on repeat until I fall asleep. His voice is so soothing.

3.) Kids In Love

“Kids In Love” is another track from their sophomore album, and it’s also the first song I ever heard by the band; I was in 7th grade and thought that I was so in love with the guy I dated that year *cringe*. For as cringey as that is, it felt so applicable at the time – “We were just kids in love / the summer was full of mistakes we wouldn’t learn from.” Despite the memories of my first puppy love, this song feels timeless to me. The instrumentation stays interesting during the entirety of the song, and the lyricism doesn’t feel like it was directed at 13 year olds.

4.) When I Get Home You’re So Dead

This song hails off of their first and most celebrated album, “A Lesson In Romantics.” At the time, Derek Sanders was a co-vocalist with Jason Lancaster, who ended up leaving the band and joining Go Radio (before they broke up and he went solo). This break up song is so 2007 – not sappy and sad, but savage AF. The lyrics basically allude to the fact that the girl is a cheating whore and she won’t ever change. One thing I love about the lyrics is that it doesn’t sound cheesy AF, like some songs I’ve heard calling out ex-girlfriends for being whores. Instrumentally, the guitars sound angry, which helps the direction of this song channel the angsty side of pop punk.

5.) Three Cheers for Five Years

Eeeeeek, this song is so sad. This song was written by drummer Jake Bundrick, who found out that his girlfriend of five years cheated on him (and she told him on their anniversary, nonetheless). This piano ballad features a back-and-forth vocal trade off between Sanders and Lancaster, with vocals sometimes overlapping each other, but in my opinion showcasing the conflicting thoughts of a break up and how to deal with the news of your S/O cheating on you. I love that MP are able to tell stories of break ups in completely polar-opposite ways (see choice 4). The twinkling piano, the switching vocals, the overlapping of thoughts – they all culminate into a song that brings out emotion I didn’t even know I had.

6.) Still Breathing

“Still Breathing” starts off with a somber-sounding guitar, the chord blending seamlessly with Sanders’ vocals. Drums subtly come in throughout the verse and eventually build up into the chorus, which isn’t anything mind-blowing, but isn’t overly simple and boring either. I don’t really know what draws me to this song, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

7.) Just Say You’re Not Into It

Let me tell ya, this EP was *~amazing~*. This song follows the hearts of a conflicted relationship, where the two are fighting, however they want to forget about it for the night and “bring their hearts back home.” I love the way the song starts off, with the lyrics “In a show of hands / who has ever said these words before? / And in a show of hearts on the floor / who has ever meant them more?” I thought that line was just cleverly crafted and didn’t even need to be explained for it to be understood. That right there my friends, is good lyricism.

8.) I’d Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About

Long live the days of long song titles – can we bring that back please? I heard some rumors that “Sunnyland” will have more long titles – yay! Anyway, back to this song. The main reason I love this song so much is because you can hear so much emotion in both of the vocalists voices, but especially Lancaster’s when he jumps into the chorus. I honestly don’t really know what this song is about, who it’s about, what’s going on, but it makes me feel. It’s the weirdest thing – but hey, that’s what music does to ya. Also, with the guitar solos and the way that the song builds, the song flows together so smoothly and makes me want to throw down.

9.) Terrible Things

Okay sorry, we’re going to get sad again. But this song is just. so. beautiful. The narrator, a father, is telling the story of the father and mother – when they first met, when he proposed, and when she told him she’s sick. I mean, shit. Paired with the somber piano, this song is so sad and evokes so many emotions. The father is telling the son “So don’t fall in love / there’s just too much to lose.” and “Now son / I’m only telling you this / because life can do terrible things.” This song is basically a Nicholas Sparks book summed up in four minutes.

10.) One Of Them Will Destroy The Other

This song is one of the songs I actually like from their 2015 album, “Black Lines.” I love how raw this song sounds, in terms of instrumentals and in vocals. Sanders experiments with some more screaming, a change that really shook up their discography since Lancaster left the band. Some fans were disappointed, citing that MP is a band they go to for more sappy, heartfelt songs, not heavier music. However, I thought this was one track that actually did a good job of capturing that raw, stripped down sound that they were looking to do for the album. I don’t think it completely worked out for them – I saw them live shortly after this album was released and they played 3 songs out of a 20 song show from this album. That being said, the songs they did play were the good ones, so I wasn’t too disappointed.

So there you have it! I’m really excited to hear what their album will sound like, and of course, I will see them live at Warped this summer.

Check out my blog where I write more music related content, and follow my music Twitter to hear constant updates on everything music related!

The post Jen’s Top Ten’s: My Favorite Mayday Parade Songs appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Fans have been speculating for months about who was going to play the last tour, with guesses ranging from plausible to never-gonna-happen (*cough cough* a My Chemical Romance reunion). Alas, the lineup has been revealed and the consensus is split: some are very ecstatic about the lineup, and some are incredibly disappointed. As for me? I’m definitely excited, but I can see where people were disappointed.

Before I jump into my top ten picks, I want to address the certain marketing tactic that they used to announce the bands. As always, they post a photo with all the bands written on it in alphabetical order, with asterisks by the bands that weren’t playing the whole tour. This year, instead of asterisks, they put those bands in a purple font as opposed to the black font. At first glance, you don’t realize that they aren’t playing the full tour until you see the fine print at the bottom.

A lot of fans were upset about this, mostly because some really big bands are playing, with a lot of them only playing select dates. This sucked, because there are a lot of big names, Warped-esque bands, such as All Time Low, Asking Alexandria, Bowling For Soup, Sum 41, and Taking Back Sunday, that are only playing one or two dates. While they do clarify that they aren’t playing the full tour, one can’t really tell at first glance, which makes the lineup a little bit more disappointing.

But enough of that. I’m still pretty pumped about the bands that are playing the full tour, which all ten of these are.

1.) Movements

I CAN’T CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT TO SEE THIS BAND LIVE AGAIN. I saw them at last years Warped Tour, when they were on a small stage with a small crowd, and this year they have been upgraded to the MAIN STAGE! These guys released a killer album last October, titled “Feel Something,” which skyrocketed their career (hence the spot on the main stage). If you’re into post-hardcore emo, then you definitely need to check out this band.

Favorite song: Vacant Home

2.) The Maine

The Maine also released an amazing album last year, “Lovely Little Lonely.” I’ve only seen them once before, but that was before LLL came out and before I was really that big of a fan. The Maine are a rock band from Arizona, and they’ve played Warped shows in the past. Now that I’m into their music some more, I’m really excited to see them this summer.

Favorite song: How Do You Feel?

3.) State Champs

Tbh, I’ve seen State Champs like 5 or 6 times already. What can I say? They’re one of my all-time favorite bands that also happens to be one of the biggest in the pop-punk scene today. When I first saw them at Warped Tour back in 2014, they were still relatively small. I’m excited to see them again this year, back on the main stage, performing my favorite songs. Talk about coming full circle, huh?

Favorite song: All or Nothing

4.) Knuckle Puck

Knuckle Puck are a band that I’ve fallen deeply in love with over the last few years. They just released their sophomore album, “Shapeshifter,” this past October. It took a little while to grow on me, but I absolutely love it now, so I’m definitely excited to see them play some of their new material live.

Favorite song: Want Me Around

5.) Real Friends

Whenever I think about Real Friends, I think about the first time I saw them at Warped Tour 2014. If you couldn’t tell already, that years Warped Tour was an amazing year that got me into a lot of my current favorite bands. Real Friends are a pop punk band from Chicago, and they always give fun performances no matter where they play, but there’s something a little bit more special about their Warped shows.

Favorite song: Summer

6.) Grayscale

At this time last year, I had no idea who Grayscale was. And now, I. love. them. I discovered them shortly after the release of their 2017 pop-punk album “Adornment,” and now I can’t get enough of them. They’re still relatively small(ish), and I think those are some of the most fun sets to see live at Warped. I haven’t had the chance to see them live yet, and I hear that they’re awesome, so I’m excited.

Favorite song: Beautiful Things

7.) Broadside

Broadside are a pop punk band that I tried to see at Warped 2016, but just barely missed. They also released an album last year, “Paradise.” I haven’t listened to it too much, but from what I’ve heard of it, it’s pretty good. I loved their album “Old Bones,” and their sound overall, so I hope that I get to see them this year.

Favorite Song: Coffee Talk

8.) Simple Plan

You might be thinking, “Simple Plan are still around?” and the answer is yes, yes they are. I actually got to see them live here in Iowa City a couple years ago for the University of Iowa Homecoming (review of that here). While that was a fun, outdoor night show, I want to see them during the Warped atmosphere. They’re definitely one of the more popular Warped Tour veterans, having played the festival 1999-2005, 2011, 2013, and 2015. I’m excited to hear their most popular tunes.

Favorite song: I’m Just A Kid

9.) With Confidence

After some drama went down with the band over the past year, they’ve been kind of silent. But now, they’re ready to play Warped this year, and I’m pretty excited. I saw them as an opening band once, but what I’m really looking forward to is seeing them at Warped.

Favorite song: Voldemort

10.) Mayday Parade

And last but not least, Mayday Parade. I’ve already seen them live a handful of times, two of those being at past Warped Tours, but nonetheless, I’m still excited to see them. Mayday Parade always puts on a great show with their outstanding stage presence. They’re always so excited to be playing live, making the Warped experience that much better.

Favorite song: Just Say You’re Not Into It

So there you have it! Make sure to stay tuned for my review of the festival this summer. In the meantime, check out my review of Warped Tour 2016 here, Warped Tour 2017 here, and also my thoughts on the end of Warped Tour here.

The post Jen’s Top Ten’s: Bands I want to see at Warped Tour 2018 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

It was announced this past week that Warped Tour will be making its last cross-country tour next summer. In 2019, there will be some sort of 25th anniversary thing, and after that, Warped Tour will be dead.

Vans Warped Tour is a summer-long festival that kicks off every year in June and runs through August. Warped Tour focuses on the rock scene and has been touring around the United States every year since 1995. Over one hundred bands hop on the tour each summer, varying from up and coming bands to the leaders of the punk rock scene. The most popular genres played at Warped are pop punk and metalcore, although there are many hardcore, street punk, and even hip hop acts that are thrown in.

Warped Tour was always so special to me because it was a festival like no other — Warped travels across the country, setting everything up and tearing it down every day in a new city. Every day is different: bands play at different times, some bands hop on the tour for a couple dates, etc. And not to mention, it was a rock/punk-rock/pop/metalcore/electronic/hip hop tour. The lineup was always diverse, the general admission tickets were no more than $60, and there was pretty much a guarantee that the tour would travel somewhere near you.

I started going to Warped Tour in 2014, but I remember begging to go since 2012. I was a junior in high school, and my friend and I were finally old enough to go (according to our parents; Warped is an all ages event). I was super excited to see some of my favorite bands, like Mayday Parade, Echosmith, and We The Kings. That day I discovered so many of my favorite bands: State Champs, Real Friends, Neck Deep, The Story So Far, Beartooth.

I knew from that first time at Warped that I had to go back the next year.

My best friend, Ily, and I snagged our tickets early on for the Denver date again. We got to see a handful of great bands again, like Neck Deep, Our Last Night, PVRIS, Beartooth, and Man Overboard. We met one of our favorite band photographers, Adam Elmakias. It was a fun year, despite not knowing as many bands as I did the year before. I discovered so many new bands.

Ily and I went again in 2016, and I think that was probably one of the best days of my life — no joke. You can read my festival review of that here, but long story short I got to see literally all of my favorite bands and meet them as well. Pictured below is me with one of the bands, Real Friends. It was so fun to be able to see so many of my favorites in one day — something that would be impossible had it not been at Warped Tour.

And then of course, 2017. This year, I decided to go twice — once in Denver with Ily, and again in Minnesota with my friend Taylor. I thought for sure that since 2016 was so good that 2017 had a lot to live up to. You can read my entire festival review of 2017 here. Honestly, it didn’t even matter to me that there weren’t as many bands that I knew — I still had a fun time discovering new bands and jamming out to old ones.

I’m pretty bummed about Warped ending, to say the least. But I’m grateful that for the past 4 years, I’ve made some of the best memories of my life. I’ve discovered so many bands, been introduced to the alternative scene, met some of my favorite bands, and seen countless performances.

You can expect to find me at the last Vans Warped Tour next summer, and also expect some Top Ten’s lists about the final Warped.

RIP Warped Tour.

The post RIP Warped Tour: The End of an Era appeared first on KRUI Radio.

1.) Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy

If you keep up with my articles, then you know that Fall Out Boy are one of my favorite bands. One of their greatest strengths is lead singer Patrick Stump’s voice. Patrick has a wide vocal range, with some songs (such as “Headfirst Slide”) he features the lower side of his voice. Fall Out Boy’s two latest releases, Save Rock And Roll and American Beauty / American Psycho feature more of his higher vocal range (especially songs like “My Songs”).

You can definitely see the maturity in Patrick’s voice as you listen over each discography, with their earlier sound being more aggressive and Patrick’s words blending together. Not to mention, Patrick sounds phenomenal live.

Songs I recommend: Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet and My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark

2.) Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco

Brendon Urie, the last original member of Panic! At The Disco, is undeniably talented. His voice is very clean cut, which has been reflected throughout all of Panic!’s discography. Like Patrick Stump, Brendon has a wide vocal range. However, I would venture to say that his is even wider. I mean, just check out their cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen.

Since Brendon pretty much had free reign over the last record since he was the sole member, his work really shines through and I think that Death Of A Bachelor is one of his best records vocally.

Songs I recommend: Death of a Bachelor and This Is Gospel

3.) Trevor and Matt Wentworth of Our Last Night

Since they’re brothers and in the same band, I’m going to count them as one. In fact, I think that because they are brothers and have similar voices, they really complement each other in their work. Matt sings all of the clean vocals, while Trevor switches between clean and screaming. This works really well with their heavy post-hardcore sound. Trevor’s vocal range leans on the lower side while Matt’s is on the higher side, which really balances this band out to make for a pleasant listen.

Songs I recommend: Sunrise and White Tiger

4.) Parker Cannon of The Story So Far

Parker Cannon’s voice is the cherry on top of this band. Their aggressive sound features heavy guitar, banging drums, and none other than Parker’s yelling vocals. I would say that Parker’s voice sets them apart in the pop-punk scene since they lie more on the aggressive side of the pop-punk spectrum. Parker’s voice has the ability to make you feel angry and pumped up, even if you don’t directly relate to the lyrics.

His softer voice is showcased through songs on their short EP “Songs Of”, where there isn’t any yelling vocals present. It’s almost as if the soft Parker is a hidden gem in the world of pop-punk.

Songs I recommend: All Wrong and Clairvoyant

5.) Derek Discanio of State Champs

State Champs are arguably one of the best bands in the pop-punk scene today. What I love most about Discanio’s voice is that it’s soft enough, but it also has an edge to it. It’s clean cut with some raspy yelling thrown in there to give it some edge.

Songs I recommend: Secrets and Elevated

6.) Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots

Twenty One Pilots are a band that have blown up in the past couple of years, and rightfully so. Tyler shows off his talent by singing in many different genres, such as rap, hip-hop, indie pop, and rock while most musicians stay in their preferred lane. His voice is whiney, but not in a cringe-y way.

Songs I recommend: House of Gold and Doubt

7.) Lynn Gunn of PVRIS

Lynn Gunn (short for Lynndsay Gunnulfsen) is hands-down my favorite female vocalist that’s out there today. She’s able to hit some deep, forceful tones as well as keeping things soft and simple. I think she has a really powerful voice that is euphoric just to listen to, especially the “stripped” versions of their songs that feature just Lynn’s vocals.

Songs I recommend: You and I and Smoke

8.) Eddy Brewerton of Moose Blood

Eddy Brewerton’s voice is hard to describe, so I will try my best. It’s very unique, to say the least. There’s definitely a roughness to it that’s more present on their album I’ll Keep You In Mind, From Time To Time. Another thing I enjoy about Eddy’s voice is how uplifting it sounds. Maybe that’s just because it’s paired with the upbeat music, but when you really listen to the lyrics you can actually feel your heart being ripped out. This would definitely not be the case if there was a lead vocalist other than Eddy.

Songs I recommend: Pastel and Gum 

9.) Joe Taylor of Knuckle Puck

When talking about modern pop-punk bands, a lot of people talk about Knuckle Puck. What makes KP so great? Vocalist Joe Taylor is one of the many reasons. In their early stuff, his voice can be comparable to Parker Cannon-like yelling, with cleaner vocals coming on their first full length Copacetic.

Songs I recommend: No Good and Untitled

10.) Derek Sanders of Mayday Parade

First off, can I just say that Derek Sanders is one of the nicest guys ever? I had the pleasure of meeting him in 2014 and he was the sweetest. Likewise, his voice sounds sweet to the ears. It hovers on the lower end of his vocal range, which sounds good paired with their pop-punk style and also their slower songs. If you really want to dive deep into the feels, check out “Terrible Things”.

Songs I recommend: Kids In Love and You’re Dead Wrong

Check out my playlist featuring these vocalists below!

The post Jen’s Top Ten’s: My Favorite Vocalists of All Time appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Ahh, summertime. Nothing feels more like summer to me than an ice cold lemonade, humid nights, and of course, Vans Warped Tour.

Vans Warped Tour is a summer-long festival that kicks off every year in June and runs through August. Warped Tour focuses on the rock scene and has been touring around the United States every year since 1995. Over one hundred bands hop on the tour each summer, varying from up and coming bands to the leaders of the punk rock scene. The most popular genres played at Warped are pop punk and metalcore, although there are many hardcore, street punk, and even hip hop acts that are thrown in.

July 31st, 2016 marks my third time attending the Vans Warped Tour in Denver, Colorado. If you’ve never been to Warped Tour before, let me give you the low down. The tour arrives at your city the morning of and sets up stages, tents, porta-potties, etc. The line-up is different every day; bands normally don’t have a set time that they play every day. The schedule is not set in stone until the morning of. If you’re like me and you love to have things planned out, then Warped is going to stress you out. In previous years, I’ve missed seeing some bands live because there was another band playing at the same time. It’s always a shame, but it happens.

My best friend Ily and I arrived at the venue around 9 am (TIP: it’s always best to get there a couple hours early so you can get in line and just in case your favorite band is first to play). If you bring in three non-perishable food cans, then you get to skip the line and enter the venue before the normal general admission line (do this. Trust me. Just do it.) We finally got into the venue around 10:45, where we rushed over to the Full Sail tent to grab some wristbands to get into a meet and greet with one of our favorite bands, Real Friends. After finding the big inflatable schedule, we bought a $2 flyer with all of the set times on them (TIP: buy the flyer. It’s a lot easier than taking a crappy picture and not being able to see the set times).

Luckily, none of our bands overlapped, much to our liking considering the line-up this year was stacked with my favorite bands. The day for us started at 12:20 where we got to see State Champs at the main stage. I reviewed a State Champs concert before which you can read about here, and this time had the same vibes. This was my fourth time seeing State Champs live, and each time they just get better and better. Fans went crazy for this popular band, with many surfing through the crowd just to get close to the quintet. Starting with the song “Shape Up“, they powered through their set list, finishing up with their first single “Secrets” from their latest album Around The World And Back.

After State Champs performed, I was already exhausted from feebly lifting fans off of me and sending them forward. Ily and I sat on a grassy patch that sat near the Full Sail stage, where we got to hear Broadside, an up-and-coming pop punk band from Richmond, Virginia.

Around 1:15, we headed over to the Full Sail tent to wait in line for our Real Friends meet and greet. While waiting in line, we got to hear one of my favorite bands from middle school, 3OH!3. The duo, originating in Boulder, Colorado, played many iconic songs from their debut album Want and their most recent album Night Sports. Even though I haven’t listened to Want since middle school, I still knew all the words to the classics “Starstrukk“, “Don’t Trust Me“, “Chokechain“, and “Punkbitch.” It was a blast to listen to and middle school Jen was pretty thrilled.

We also got to briefly hear part of We The Kings’ set before heading off to meet Real Friends. Meeting Real Friends was one of the highlights of my day, considering they quickly became one of my favorite bands after seeing them at Warped Tour in 2014. The guys were all so nice, even though we briefly chatted. Earlier in the day, we got to talk to bassist Kyle Fasel at their merch tent more in depth. Check out my review of their last album here.

Ily and I rushed to the main stage to catch another one of our favorite pop punk bands, The Story So Far. The Story So Far leans more on the harder and angsty side of pop punk, making their sound unique and relatable. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as we jumped and yelled the lyrics back at the band. Their set list included “All Wrong“, “The Glass“, “Nerve“, “Quicksand“, “Empty Space“, “Heavy Gloom“, “Things I Can’t Change“, and “Roam.”

It was around 3:00 pm when Ily and I sat down to eat again. After munching on light snacks (TIP: bring a lot of snacks because the food at Warped is expensive and the lines are long) we headed back to the main stage to catch Issues, a metalcore band from Atlanta, power through their set with hardcore energy that pumped fans up. They played a couple songs off their latest release Headspace, as well as some older fan favorites such as “Mad At Myself”.

Once Issues wrapped up, we headed towards Knuckle Puck’s tent to meet the band. Each member was so friendly, shaking my hand and introducing themselves. I briefly mentioned seeing them in Iowa City last October, which one replied saying that Gabe’s was one of their favorite venues. After taking a quick selfie, we headed over to sit under a tent. On our way there, we spotted lead singer Derek DisCanio of State Champs at their tent, so we popped over to get our t-shirts signed. This was my third time meeting Derek and he was just as humble as he was the first time we met at Warped Tour 2014.

Ily and I filled up our water bottles and munched on some goldfish before we jumped in the crowd to jam out to the latter half of Sleeping With Siren’s set. The crowd was packed as fans watched from all across the parking lot. The girly screams of the crowd reflected Kellin Quinn’s uniquely high pitched voice perfectly as they belted all of the lyrics back. Their set was a nice mash-up of old and new songs, which was pleasing to fans no matter what Sleeping With Sirens era they liked most.

After Sleeping With Sirens, we pushed our way to the front of the crowd so that we could be close for when Real Friends played. One stage over, we were able to hear Sum 41, an iconic 2000’s pop punk band. Towards the end of their set, they played their cult classics “In Too Deep”, “Still Waiting”, and “Fat Lip” which got almost the entire arena parking lot to chime in.

Real Friends took the stage, opening up with the fan-favorite “Late Nights in My Car” which got the crowd energized right off the bat. Old songs faded into new songs, highlighting the slight change in style but still reminiscent of their previous EP’s. Bassist Kyle Fasel occasionally jumped on the riser, shouting lyrics and waving his hands up and down, getting the crowd to jump along with him. Real Friends finished up with “Loose Ends”, a single from their first full-length album Maybe This Place is the Same, and We’re Just Changing.

Ily and I then pushed our way out of the crowd to run to the other side of the venue to catch Knuckle Puck at the Poseidon stage. We got there right in time as they were opening with “Disdain” off of their latest record Copacetic. I was surprised at how much smaller the crowd felt, considering they’re a huge up-and-coming band that’s gained a lot of popularity since they were on last years’ Warped Tour. Lead singer Joe Taylor jumped around the stage passionately, occasionally screaming lyrics and holding the microphone out to the crowd. They played some of my favorite songs, such as “Untitled“, “No Good“, and “Pretense“. There was not a still person in the crowd during their set, making it one of my favorites of the day.

As Knuckle Puck packed their stuff up, a band called Waterparks opened up their set at the Cyclops stage, where a small group of fans gathered around to jam out. Ily and I were able to sit comfortably a little ways back and watch the band. They made for an enjoyable listen while we passed time. Once they wrapped up, we turned our heads back to the Poseidon stage where Roam, a British pop punk band, played catchy songs to a slightly larger audience.

Ily and I then headed back over towards the main stages and sat again, this time listening to Arizona locals The Summer Set. They played a few songs I knew, my favorites being “Boomerang” and “Lightning in a Bottle”.

We decided to go stand in the crowd for the long wait to see Mayday Parade. Four Year Strong was playing, a band described as pop punk/melodic hardcore. Fans formed what is called a “wall of death”, or extreme moshing. While we were safe on the side, it was fun to watch fans get passionate about the music and run about the pit.

While waiting in the crowd for Mayday, one stage over New Found Glory, formed in 1997, made for an enjoyable listen. They ended with their classic “My Friends Over You”, which got everybody in the parking lot to hum and sing along.

Finally, the moment we were all waiting for. Mayday Parade closed out Warped Tour by opening with fan-favorite “Jersey”.

The crowd went crazy for the band with nobody being able to push their way to the front. That left them with one option: crowd surfing. While I’m all for crowd surfing, it gets tiring after a while. Fans began surfing from three different spots in the back, all leading to the center of the stage with 4 or 5 people surfing at a time, all snapchatting their adventure. It got to be overwhelming, and we found ourselves looking back in fear that our necks were going to be snapped rather than looking forward and enjoying the band that we had waited all day to see. At the end of the day though, we weren’t gonna let a few crowd surfers ruin our day.

While many of us have been at the venue going on 11 hours, the energy was just as copious as it was when the day started. Fans jammed out to crowd-favorite songs, making it an enjoyable listen for any casual Mayday fan. Mayday ended with another fan favorite “Jamie All Over”. Once the guitars faded out, the crowd chanted for an encore. Ily and I decided we were pooped and that the only thing we wanted was a hot shower and our beds.

To say the least, Warped Tour 2016 was by far the best Warped experience I’ve had thus far. I highly recommend making the drive out of Iowa to experience Warped, as this is a day that I surely will never forget!

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