In the thick of Washington D.C.'s sprawling and glistening Wharf, The Anthem stood shimmering, its windows reflecting the Potomac's darkened waters on September 16th.  KALEO, Iceland's volcanic heartbreaker, was ready to unleash a storm of their greatest hits and newest songs.  It was a night that vibrated with the kind of electric anticipation reserved for sultry crooning, distinctive falsettos, and rock and roll! As nightfall set along the Potomac, the cavernous venue was set to reverberate with the sounds of Austin-Texas-By-Way-Of-Iceland troubadours KALEO - and KALEO delivered just such a night of unforgettable sonic sounds.

Opening the evening's celebration of crooning was twenty-four-year-old Chance Peña. Despite his age, he might be one of the youngest music industry veterans to grace the stage – an old-soul folk singer and producer who's been gigging and writing songs for nearly a decade. In 2015, he emerged on the national stage with an appearance on The Voice.  When Pena performs, his fans of all ages come to see this up-and-coming star perform. When we first walked into The Anthem, a little girl stood at the coat check waiting to receive her "My First Concert" certificates. With his debut album, Ever-Shifting, Continual Blossoming, released only a few days before, he was eager to perform these songs with the Anthem crowd. Chance spent the duration of his performance connecting with the audience, being vulnerable, and sharing the many stories behind each song, and filled the venue with that beautiful, sultry, smooth, honey-dripped voice he is known for. Peña not only proved that despite his tender age, he could also fill a venue with fun, personable songs, his sultry voice that resonates in your soul, and some spitfire Texas Rockabilly thunderous rocker sounds. Be sure to listen to Peña's latest album and make sure to see him perform live when he comes to a venue near you.

The stage was set, and it was high noon at The Anthem.  JJ (Jökull Júlíusson), the band's enigmatic frontman, strode onto the stage at 9 PM with the bravado of a tracksuit-wearing Texas gunslinger stepping into the town square. Ever the gunslinger with animalistic charisma, piercing eyes, high cheekbones, and flowing locks, JJ and KALEO had a date with musical destiny at The Anthem. 

Their performance began with their latest single, "USA Today," as the Anthem's walls trembled and the first haunting chords slithered from his guitar, wrapping the crowd in a slow, cinematic tension - the kind of tension that gnaws at the gut before breaking wide open. The tension would continue to rise when The Anthem broke out into the opening chorus of "Break My Baby." With a combination of fuzzy, distorted guitars and JJ's signature blending of his deep,h raspy voice and falsetto climaxes, The Anthem burst at the seams with energy. JJ's voice tore through the space, jagged and bleeding as if confessing sins with every note.

The audience would be transported to a tumbleweed expanse of Texas when the stage erupted into the stomp-clap thunder of "Broken Bones." The audience rose to meet the song. The devil may not set us free, but KALEO certainly can!  Their performance made sure that any of the worries of the world ceased to exist.  The floorboards groan under the weight of that collective energy, a primal scream that reverberates back to Iceland's craggy shores.

KALEO then pulled back from the breaking our bones and knew how to delicately dance between volcanic energy and etherial grace. JJ's bourbon gravely voice pleaded with the audience as "I Can't Go On Without You" echoed. The pleads of "I can't go on, won't go on / Living on, without you" reached into every fan's soul.  JJ's voice, tender and ached then floated during "All The Pretty Girls."  The venue floated on a cloud of melancholic reverie with this lover's desperate plea sung into the abyss of The Anthem.  

"Lonely Cowboy," the second of three new songs, swaggered and sauntered into The Anthem. This track channeled the aching loneliness of the wide-open plains. The band's ability to fuse the old-world blues with their own Icelandic coolness reached its zenith. JJ asked the audience to join in with him, and they responded to the simple request with glee and fervor. Despite this new song bringing down the tempo of the performance, the passion and zeal inside The Anthem was ever present and unwavering.

Next, "Automobile" brought an upbeat jaunt across the sun-baked open plains of America before the show took a sharp turn with the defiant, riotous energy of "Hey Gringo." The transition felt like a shot of tequila at a crossroads cantina that only KALEO knew how to serve up. Then, like a snakebite, a gritty "Backdoor" took hold. Þorleifur Gaukur Davíðsson's harmonica and Davíð Antonsson's drum solos transported us to a bonfire jam set upon a Texas prairie on a stary night. The audience surrounded the ferocious jam as they danced around the light show bonfire.  

With lights swirling around the venue, KALEO pushed the performance to crescendo peaks as a full-throated rock and roll spectacular called "Hot Blood" rang out. Just like the volcano frequently erupting in the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland, the fissure cracked open once again, and the sheer might of the band burst into the open with the help of Rubin Pollock's signature Texas twang guitar sounds and the roaring of Davíð Antonsson's drum kit.

"Skinny," a simmering slow-burner crept across the venue like a river of hot moving lava.  The crowd, spellbound, moved in sync with every rise and fall until the band unleashed their anathematic hit — "Way Down We Go."  The entire room shook with the sheer force of its chorus, a tsunami of sound and emotion that crashed over the audience. The eruption continued with a Texas-sized rattlesnake bite, and "No Good" punctuated their performance. Guitars screamed, the drums thundered, and the crowd gave in fully into the madness.

But the night wasn't done - after a brief disappearance, the band returned for an encore that felt like an invitation to return to the fiery eruptions of the Icelandic peninsula. "Glass House" shimmered with its glassy, delicate layers, a moment of reflection before the inevitable explosive conclusion.  The third and final new song would leave no doubt that KALEO and their latest songs continue to register on the Richter scales worldwide.  "Rock 'n' Roller" would shake the Wharf as guitars roared, the rhythm section pounded, and JJ stood there, every inch the Icelandic warrior, delivering the final blow with a smirk that seemed to say, "This is what you came for."

With four new songs under their belt, we look forward to any forthcoming songs (or possibly a new album?) that the band may have in mind. Be sure to catch them on their world tour - this band will leave you shaking in your boots from their powerful performances.