Come relive your angst emo years with Mayday Parade on Tuesday, October 30th at First Avenue. Since forming in 2005, Mayday Parade have amassed one of the most loyal, rabid fan bases around thanks to energizing concerts and four studio albums full of heart-on-sleeve lyrics. With the release of their arresting fifth record, the Mike Sapone-produced Black Lines, the members of the Florida pop-rock quintet — vocalist Derek Sanders, guitarists Brooks Betts and Alex Garcia, bassist Jeremy Lenzo and drummer Jake Bundrick — are taking a giant leap forward as musicians and songwriters. “It’s time to switch things up a little bit,” Sanders says.
Long-time fans shouldn’t worry, however: Mayday Parade’s core creative process, which is steeped in collaboration and democratic decision-making, remains firmly intact. “We all bring in ideas, and they could change drastically once everybody puts in their input,” Sanders says. “It wouldn’t be a Mayday Parade record if we didn’t all five work on the songs together like that.” In fact, Black Lines was even more of a group effort — which is not only a representation of how each band member has improved musically, but also an indication of their innate, ever-evolving chemistry. Ten years into their career, the members of Mayday Parade are more creatively charged than ever.
This Wild Life will be joining Mayday Parade. This Wild Life have only been around since 2010 but they’ve already had multiple lives. The duo of Kevin Jordan and Anthony Del Grosso met as outcast drummers in their hometown of Long Beach, California, and eventually formed a well-received punk act. However, they eventually started to notice that their fans seemed to gravitate toward the duo’s acoustic material, which inspired them to form This Wild Life six years ago.
Also opening will be the one and only William Ryan Key (formerly of Yellowcard). Sometimes a step sideways is the best progression forward. After the breakup of Yellowcard in Spring 2017, vocalist/guitarist William Ryan Key did just that with his solo debut EP, THIRTEEN, which was released on May 25, 2018 via The Lone Tree Recordings. Both a sonic redirection and a rediscovering of his muse, THIRTEEN finds Ryan in a brand new headspace with a sound that moves away from the pop punk genre that Yellowcard helped create and into new uncharted territory that’s equally introspective but not as anchored in convention. “It took a long time to find my own focus and direction after 17 years in a band,” Ryan explains. “However, once I found it, the music felt like coming home. There was new freedom and creativity that I channeled into each of the songs.”
As if the line-up wasn’t already enough to convince you to spend your Tuesday at First Avenue, Oh, Weatherly will be kicking the show off.
Tickets are still available here.
Remaining Tour Dates:
10/18 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
10/20 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
10/21 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
10/23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
10/24 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
10/26 – Chicago, IL @ HOB
10/27 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
10/28 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
10/30 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
11/01 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
11/02 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
11/03 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
11/04 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
11/06 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
11/07- Toronto, ON @ Rebel
11/08 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
11/09 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
11/10 – Boston, MA @ HOB
11/13 – New York, NY @ PlayStation Theater
11/14 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
11/15 – Silver Spring, MD @ Fillmore Silver Spring
11/16 – Charlotte, NC@ The Fillmore
11/17 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
11/18 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
11/20 – Jacksonville, FL @ Maverick’s
11/21 – Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor
11/23 – Lake Buena Vista, FL @ HOB
11/24 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution Live
