It was all smiles through the sweat and waiting yesterday at the first ever Sad Summer Festival Massachusetts stop.
Held in the otherwise empty parking lot behind the Palladium Night Club, the Sad Summer Worcester date marked the eighth stop of the tour- having previously made stops in Atlanta, Houston, and Philly.
And it was a scorcher.
But even as the sun rose above the lot, reaching a high of 85 degrees, fans in their all black band merch and skinny jeans didn’t seem any less than excited.
With a killer lineup including emo favorites The Maine, Mayday Parade, and State Champs, Sad Summer promised everything that Warped Tour 2019 never became.
At 12pm the doors opened and thousands flocked towards the seven band tents and the exclusive Sad Summer merch booth to try to score a meet and greet with their favorites.
Then, just before 1:30, the gate’s to the stage opened up and the first band of the day, Just Friends took the stage.
Made up of seven members- the largest of the tour- Just Friends featured a full array of instruments, from percussion to brass, and two vocalists. And they were just as full of talent as they were deep in numbers.
Though much of the crowd was visibly new to the band’s music, that didn’t stop anyone from participating in the fun. Dancing, jumping, and even sitting down during their performance of “I Wanna Love You” per request of vocalist Brianda.
After about a half hour set, which also consisted of songs “Supersonic,” “Flex,” and a new track titled “Stupid,” Just Friends took their final bows and made way for the second band of the day, Stand Atlantic.
Coming all the way from Sydney, Australia, Stand Atlantic is a four piece pop-punk band with a rapidly growing fan base.
After releasing their debut album “Skinny Dipping” just last October, Stand Atlantic signed to Hopeless Records and began touring the US in support of their album- just three months before being booked to play the entirety of Sad Summer.
And while like Just Friends, they were relatively new to many fans at the festival, that did not stop anyone from having fun throughout their set.
Opening on their song “Bullfrog,” Stand Atlantic came out with full energy and kept it that way throughout their entire set- despite a few technical difficulties and some hectic wind knocking their banners over along the way.
Before ending on fan favorites “Coffee at Midnight” and “Lavender Bones,” Stand Atlantic took a moment to thank fans for coming out early to catch their set, and also asked them to complete one simple task.
“Wait. I’ve always wanted to see this, but nobody does it any more. Do you guys know what a Mexican wave is?” Frontwoman Bonnie Fraser asked the crowd. “Can we do one of those?”
The crowd then participated in a thousand person wave, resulting in endless smiles and laughter from the band.
“That’s enough. I’m done,” Fraser joked. “I can leave happy now.”
After Stand Atlantic, fans were treated to house music as they waited for the following act, Mom Jeans, to take the stage. With songs from emo favorites My Chemical Romance, Panic! At The Disco, and Fall Out Boy playing over the speakers, fans were kept dancing even when no live music was being played- keeping the feeling happy and light despite the burning sun and long lines for refreshments.
Then, around 3:30 Mom Jeans took the stage and was met with a wave of applause.
Consisting of frontman Eric Butler, drummer Austin Carango, guitarist Bart Thompson, and bassist Sam Kless, Mom Jeans is a California based band who made strides in the pop-punk scene after signing to Massachusetts based label Counter Intuitive Records in 2016.
Opening their set with tracks “Shred Cruz,” and “sponsor me tape,” Mom Jeans quickly got the crowd swaying and those who knew the words singing along.
But in addition to their music, the band kept reminding fans and the crew how important they were to the band’s success.
“We’re so humbled and grateful to be here,” frontman Butler told the crowd. “We are a very DIY band and we pride ourselves on that a lot.”
“It’s so cool to be a part of something like this. Shout out to Sad Summer and all the crew for making this happen.”
Other tracks included “You Can’t Eat Cats, Kevin,” and a new song titled “I Just Wanna be Next to You.”
Before finishing their half hour set, Butler also made a point to encourage any audience members who may want to enter the music business to do so.
“Also I just want to say if you are out there and want to start a band or do merch or be a tour manager- there’s nothing stopping you. We have no idea what we’re doing up here, and there’s no reason we’re more special- or anyone who plays here tonight- is more special than you. Especially if you are a woman or a person of color, or trans, we need to hear your stories. We want to. I want to. Share them with us.”
As the day turned into night, the heat started to lessen and the crowd grew as it got closer to time for the “bigger name” bands to take the stage- the first of which was The Wonder Years.
One of the heaviest of the day, The Wonder Years kicked off their set strong with a hyped up performance of “Came Out Swinging” as the crowd formed an immediate circle pit.
Made up of frontman Dan Campbell, guitarists Matt Brasch and Casey Cavaliere, drummer Mike Kennedy, bassist Josh Martin, and multiinstrumentalist Nick Steinbor, The Wonder Years first hit the pop-punk scene in 2007 after releasing their debut album “Get Stoked on It!”
Since then, the band has become synonymous with the punk scene, and are often considered to be one of the most classic “emo bands”- something they even joked about on stage.
“We thought maybe a summer festival wasn’t the best place to play sad songs,” Campbell quipped. “But then we remembered. We’re The Wonder Years. This one’s called Pyramids”
Shortly after The Wonder Years, fellow punk band Four Year Strong took the stage and all hell broke loose as the pit opened up and fans began moshing their hearts out.
Taking a short break from their stint on Rockstar Energy Disrupt Festival, Four Year Strong secured their spot as the special guests for yesterday’s Sad Summer date.
Hailing from Worcester itself, Four Year Strong’s Alan Day, Dan O’Connor, Jake Massucco, and Joe Weiss were treated as heroes as they made their way onto the stage.
Opening their set with “Maniac,” and continuing on with “Go Down In History,” the crowd fought through the humidity by screaming their hearts out.
And though some fans steered clear of the growing pit, everyone in the venue had their eyes glued to the stage as the Mass natives made their home state proud.
But not before long their reign came to an end as the stage once more cleared off before being transformed into a “millennial pink” dream- meaning only one thing: it was time for The Maine.
The brainchildren behind the Sad Summer Festival, The Maine made their way onto the stage around 6:30pm and were met with the largest applause of the day.
The five piece band, including singer John O’Callaghan, drummer Pat Kirch, guitarists Jared Monaco and Kennedy Brock, and bassist Garrett Nickelsen, created Sad Summer this year after the cancellation of Vans Warped Tour.
In an interview with DO617, Kirch stated that the festival was to help fans get to experience as much music as possible- without having to spend a ton of money on various shows.
“We could each go on and do our different summer tours- OR we could all join up and then fans only have to buy one ticket, and have an awesome time.”
With the entire band wearing all white outfits, save for O’Callaghan’s pastel pink pants and suspenders, the band’s uniform provided for the perfect summer vibe and fit in perfectly with the festival’s pink and white theme.
The first of the three headliners to play, The Maine kicked off their forty five minute set with fan favorite “Black Butterflies and Deja Vu,” before launching into tracks from their new album, including “Heaven We’re Already Here,” “Numb Without You,” and “My Best Habit.”
In addition to matching outfits and killer musicianship, The Maine’s set featured messages of positivity.
Referencing their new album “You Are OK,” Kirch’s drum set read “If You Aren’t Now You Will Be Soon” and just below the drumming platform had a massive pink banner that read “YOU ARE OK” in black lettering.
“This is officially the biggest show of Sad Summer. Thanks for turning up!” O’Callaghan told the audience before joking about the humidity.
“We are a band called The Maine from Phoenix, Arizona. We have a dry heat there. None of this cup of water in your pants shit,” he laughed.
In addition to some “You Are OK” tracks, the band also played throwback track “Another Night on Mars,” as O’Callaghan joined the audience for a bit.
And after that, the band brought up superfan Tom to join them in a performance of “Girls Do What They Want,” before finishing out their set and making way for Mayday Parade with a performance of “Bad Behavior.”
Following a brief intermission as the set began to change over from “You Are Okay” to “Sunnyland,” the parking lot began to dim as the sun started to set and Florida natives Mayday Parade hit the stage.
Opening with their 2012 banger of a track “Oh Well, Oh Well,” Mayday Parade made it clear that Mayday Parade IS an emotion, just like their giant banner stated.
As the second headliner of the festival, Mayday’s members Derek Sanders, Brooks Betts, Jake Bundrick, Jeremey Lenzo, and Alex Garcia made sure that all fans were having fun- despite the length of the day.
Playing all of their best hits, including newer hits “Piece of Your Heart” and “One Of Them Will Destroy The Other” along with older songs “Three Cheers for Five Years” and “Jamie All Over,” Mayday made sure fans of all generations were able to sing and dance along- all while trying not to cry tears of joy.
And though their set came to a close far too soon- before ending on their classic track “Jersey,” the band took a moment to pay tribute to one of their favorite bands.
“The next track we are going to pay is by one of my favorite bands,” Sanders announced before the band began to play the infamous song “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers.
Though the day was long, the sun was hot, and the water supply was running low- at 9pm the Palladium parking lot was as packed as ever for festival closers State Champs.
Billed as one of The Maine’s top choices to join them on Sad Summer, State Champs’ fan base proved that the emo fest made a great choice by adding them to the lineup.
Though the near thirty minute intermission between Mayday and Champs seemed to dull the audience’s excitement as heat exhaustion caught up, the second the five piece pop punk band took the stage fans began to burst into action. Crowdsurfers jumped towards the stage and a circle pit formed as soon as the chorus to the band’s opening track “Criminal” hit the speakers.
Made up of singer Derek DiScanio, guitarists Tyler Szalkowski and Tony Diaz, drummer Evan Ambrosio, and bassist Ryan Scott Graham, State Champs have been rising to prominence in the Pop Punk scene over the past few years.
After releasing their latest album “Living Proof” in 2018, the band went on to play Warped Tour, complete a US headlining tour, and help sell out many dates of Sad Summer.
And it was clear that they were a huge draw for yesterday’s date as well.
Throughout tracks like “Remedy,” “Secrets,” and “Mine is Gold,” the crowd stayed hyped and crowd surfers stayed ready to soar.
Some fans even brought along black and gold balloons to toss around during the line “your heart is black and mine is gold.”
The band did take a quick break to slow things down a little and play their b-side track “Slow Burn,” which got the crowd dancing and singing along instead of moshing and surfing.
But things quickly picked back up for their final tracks “All You Are Is History” and “Dead and Gone.”
And before we all knew it- the night came to a close and Champs thanked the audience for sticking with them before leaving the stage and prepping for the night’s after-hours “Emo Nite.”
A long hot day- but full of good music, good food, and over all- totally worth it.
Are you attending a Sad Summer date? Let us know what you’re most looking forward to in the comments below!
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