Words and photos: Abigail McNatt
Following the release of their debut album, Nothing Happens in 2019, Wallows hit the road to celebrate their album’s success. On February 26th, the tour came to Mr. Smalls Theatre, just on the outskirts of Pittsburgh. As an opener, they brought along Penelope Isles from the UK.
Penelope Isles could be described as Indie pop, but with a more mellow and chill vibe thrown in. For an opener, I noticed a lot of people in the audience singing along to every word. That’s not something you see too often with opening bands. The audience was singing along as well as jamming as Penelope Isles incorporated their jam sequences to their songs which were a lot of fun and entertaining to watch! I really loved seeing Lily Wolter, the lead vocalist, and the energy and passion she put into her craft. Isles was the perfect opening act to bring in the crowd for the headliner.
Wallows came on about a half-hour later. The show was completely sold out and the venue was packed. The crowd went wild as soon as frontman, Dylan Minnette, came out on stage. They started with “Do Not Wait”, the closing song on their album, Nothing Happens. Throughout their set, they played a multitude of songs from the album such as “Scrawny”, “I’m Full”, and “Sidelines”. For a chill indie band, they really bring the heat to their performances. They have a sound that is smooth but also high energy. I noticed during one of their more high energy ones, a few people tried to crowd surf.. which did not last long. As I made my way through the crowd, I saw the awe in the audience member’s eyes as they all sang along to every word. Another one of their popular songs, which made the setlist, was “Sun Tan“, which has extreme summer vibes all throughout, which was a breath of fresh air with all the rain and low temperatures outside. They ended the night with an encore of their most popular songs, both off of the new album; “Treacherous Doctor” and “Are You Bored Yet?”. In “Are You Bored Yet?”, there is a feature from Clairo, which the audience sang in full, and the band just listened. Such a cool moment. They ended the night with a bang, surely leaving the crowd completely satisfied and already yearning for another show.
I’d never seen Wallows but I highly enjoyed their performance. They were extremely fun to watch on stage and they really enjoy what they do and the music they play.
Catch them on one of the remaining dates of the Nothing Happens Tour this year.
























