Show Review – The Shot Boys of Summer Tour

Rocketown
Nashville, TN
Thursday July 30, 2015

The Shot Boys of Summer Tour had a Nashville date this past Thursday, July 30^th. The previous shows that I’d been to at Rocketown have always been enjoyable and there are a few different buildings for bands to play in depending on the size of the crowd. With a strong lineup and dedicated fans showing up to watch the opening bands, the tour package proved to be a strong lineup. Read on to hear all about and check out some pictures after the jump.

Text by Kayla Lee
Photos by Nick Zimmer

I was unable to make it in time for Northbound, but you can listen to their music right here.

Let It Happen, a Cincinati, OH based band, played an energetic and passionate set. Their vocalist, Drew, talked to the audience in between songs and when he asked if anyone had heard them before, the response from the crowd was exceptionally strong. Playing “Burst and Bloom” from their newest album, Cause and Effect, I thoroughly enjoyed watching them play even though I didn’t know any of their music. I was impressed with the vocal range of Drew—it’s one of the things that’ll draw me back to their music.

Tiny Moving Parts are a band that I’ve wanted to see live ever since I began listening to them. Opening with “Always Focused”, they dove into a great set that included “Skinny Veins”, “Vacation Bible School”, and “Sundresses”. Tiny Moving Parts definitely deserved more of a reaction from the crowd than they received– I wish that more people were getting into the music and moving around while they were playing. The intense vocals mixed with a laidback vibe made me wish that they had played for a longer amount of time. They were a fun band to watch and I definitely want to see them again in the future.

Hit The Lights are a band that I never got into. Although I’m not too familiar with their material, I have seen them live performing both acoustic and full band sets. Both times that I’ve previously seen Hit The Lights, they had a strong stage presence and dedicated fans in the front row. Their vocalist, Nick Thompson, had a good command of the crowd—he had them singing along throughout the entire set. Playing material from Summer Bones, their new album that was released in March of this year, their energetic set included “Fucked Up Kids”, a song that was a bit funny for them to announce seeing as you’re not allowed to curse in the venue. You’re also not allowed to crowd surf, but that didn’t stop people when State Champs took the stage.

Opening with “Simple Existence”, State Champs played a solid set full of sing a longs and mic grabs. Joking with the audience between songs, there wasn’t a dull moment at all– It was amazing how many people knew the words to their song “Secrets” since it was just released last month. The entire band has a fun and energetic stage presence which was passed on to the crowd. People were dancing and crowd surfing entire time. The band took a brief moment off stage, only to come back and perform “If I’m Lucky” and closed their set with “Elevated” which was the song that I was looking forward to hearing the most. The band stuck around to meet and talk to fans after the show. If this show was any indication as to how the tour has gone, The Shot Boys of Summer tour has definitely been a success!