On Saturday night, hundreds of fans filled The National in Richmond and rampaged in mosh pits to the high intensity songs of Boston Manor, Knocked Loose, and A Day To Remember. A part of the month long North American “Raisin Hell in the Heartland” Tour, the immense energy levels from the evenings performance left audience members feeling nothing short of wiped out.  

Starting off the evening was Comprised of vocalist Henry Cox, guitarists Mike Cunniff and Ash Wilson, bassist Dan Cunniff, and drummer Jordan Pugh, Boston Manor began in 2013 with the release of their first EP titled Here/Now. Two additional EP's later, Boston Manor signed with Pure Noise Records which led to their first studio album Be Nothing in 2016. After the release of their second studio album Welcome to the Neighbourhood in September 2018, Boston Manor spent most of fall on the road headlining their UK tour and supporting fellow pop-punkers Real Friends across the US. Charting at number 80 on the official UK albums chart, Welcome to the Neighbourhood included singles such as “Halo” and “Bad Machine”.

Boston Manor performed many songs off Welcome to the Neighbourhood, including “Flowers in your Dustbin”, “England’s Dreaming”, and “Funeral Party”. Towards the end of their energetic performance, Boston Manor played their latest single “Liquid” and ended their set with their top hit “Halo”. They will be heading to the UK next month to perform at Reading Festival before embarking on their two-month long UK and European headlining tour.

The next performance of the evening was that of Kentucky based hardcore band Knocked Loose. Vocalist Bryan Garris, guitarists Isaac Hale and Cole Crutchfield, bassist Kevin Otten, and drummer Kevin Kaine recently announced their second studio album, A Different Shade of Blue, which will be released late August. Signed to Pure Noise Records, Knocked Loose released their first studio album Laugh Tracks back in 2016 and the EP “Mistakes Like Fractures” in April 2019. Knocked Loose played songs off Laugh Tracks including “Oblivion’s Peak”, “No Thanks”, and “Billy No Mates”. They ended their set with “Counting Worms”, which currently has over 4.5 million plays on Spotify. Knocked Loose will be heading back on the road this fall for their US Headlining tour in support of A Different Shade of Blue. Fans can get tickets to their Richmond date on October 27^th at Canal Club or the Washington DC date on October 29^th at Rock & Roll Hotel.

Headlining the evening’s performance was Florida’s A Day To Remember, who were recently featured on the Marshmello song “Rescue Me”. Vocalist Jeremy McKinnon, guitarists Neil Westfall and Kevin Skaff, bassist Joshua Woodard, and drummer Alex Shelnutt have been rocking out since 2003 and have over the years created a musical style that blends hardcore with pop punk. They currently have six studio albums, with the most recent release Bad Vibrations, back in September 2016. Many songs off Bad Vibrations reached the top 20 US Rock charts including “Paranoia”, “Bullfight”, “Naivety”, and “Same About You”. A Day To Remember performed a variety of hit songs off their various albums, pleasing fans with some of the most nostalgic hit.  They started off their set with “2^nd Sucks” off What Separates Me From You, which describes their experiences with other bands focusing more on competing to be “the best” of their kind rather than the music itself and the fans.

Throughout the night they played newer songs such as “Bullfight” and “Paranoia” off Bad Vibrations and “Right Back at It Again” and “Sometimes You’re the Hammer Sometimes You’re The Nail” off their 2013 album Common Courtesy. Older hits were played including “Sticks & Bricks”, “All I Want”, and “Better Off This Way” off What Separates Me From You and “I’m Made Of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?” “Have Faith in Me” off Homesick. For their encore performance, A Day To Remember brought out acoustic guitars for their slower hit “If It Means a Lot to You” before ending the evening with confetti cannons and the more upbeat “The Downfall of Us All”. While A Day To Remember has not announced any plans for new music, they will be traveling across the globe later this year to perform at festivals including Reading Festival, Self Help Fest, and Aftershock.