The Retrograde Tour + Crown The Empire, BlessTheFall, New Years Day, Too Close To Touch and Light Up The Sky

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My boys in BlessTheFall recently wrapped up The Retrograde Tour with Crown The Empire, New Year’s Day, Light Up The Sky, and Too Close To Touch. I had the pleasure of attending their NC show, making this the second time that I’ve seen them live. As for the others, I had not had the chance to see them live prior to my show but holy shit, will I be attending more shows in the future – absolutely.

Light Up The Sky and Too Close To Touch kicked things off right, completely setting the entire tone of the show. Out of all of the acts, these were the two I knew the least about which made their sets even more intriguing. Live shows are a great way to discover new music and this was no exception. Washington natives, Light Up The Sky are a hidden gem and put on a hell of a show. If you’re a fan of bands like My Enemies and I, you’ll love them. They did a few songs from their debut album Nightlife, released under Rise Records. My favorite track so far is “Bring It On”, definitely give it a listen. Too Close To Touch are another severely underrated band. During their set they got really personal, discussing their own personal experiences and really connecting with the crowd. Vocalist, Keaton Pierce has some serious chops, which came in handy when he joined New Year’s Day on stage for “Angel Eyes” later in the show. Their newest album Haven't Been Myself is available now!

Speaking of New Year’s Day, my soul damn near left my body as they took the stage. While this was my first time seeing them live, I’ve been a fan for a while. Their presence on stage was electric, front-woman Ash Costello is an actual angel. Her vocals are even more insane in person and she’s just an all-around badass. The place went crazy as they tore through fan favorites like “Kill or Be Killed”, Malevolence and more. The band also announced that they would be back in NC in March, which you’ll definitely find me at the show, first in line. The highlight was actually getting to meet the band at their merch table after their set. If you ever get the chance to meet them, please do. They’re incredibly kind and genuine, just thinking about it brings a smile to my face.


My boys were up next, kicking things off with my favorite track “You Wear a Crown But You’re No King”. So, as you can imagine I looked a little something like this in the crowd.
BTF always delivers a hell of a performance. They command the stage and they have the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands the minute they step in front of you. Beau Bokan’s energy is infectious as he bounces across the stage, climbing into the crowd (and onto sound equipment), so you can’t help but to feed off of it. I got to hold hands with Beau during their set, he’s also a huge fan of spirit fingers. During “Oathbreaker” they had the entire place moving as a massive number of crowd surfers moved through to stage dive. I’ve never seen so many stage divers in my life, shit was crazy. I was also incredibly pleased at “Dead Air” made it on the set list because it’s one of my favorites from To Those Left Behind.

Crown The Empire closed the show as they played through songs from the album that inspired this entire tour. I just recently got into Crown The Empire so I was stoked to see what they had in store for us. It was spectacular – everything from the lights, the production, and the way they controlled the crowd was amazing. Since it was a sold out show, as tradition they had someone crowd surf from the bar to the stage to bring vocalist, Andy Velasquez a drink. A tradition I can get behind. It was truly an unforgettable performance. I met Andy after the show, it was well worth standing in the cold.
Even though The Retrograde Tour has ended you can still grab a copy of the album in stores and online now! The track "Are You Coming With Me" is a BOP.



Here’s a few pictures from the show. 
















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