On Tuesday, the idobi Radio Summer School Tour came to The Fillmore in Silver Spring. For the third year in a row, the stacked lineup included headliners Honey Revenge plus Winona Fighter, Games We Play, and South Arcade on every stop. The tour is also closing out the run at Vans Warped Tour Long Beach in July. From the Tours website, creators Eric Tobin, Michael Kaminsky and Kevin Lyman said, “When we launched the idobi Radio Summer School tour a few years ago, we wanted to bring something back to the touring landscape that’s been missing for emerging artists as much as the young fans who fuel our local music scenes nationwide.”
Locals Set For Tomorrow opened up the night. With members from PA, VA, and MD, the guys added a little bit of hypercore heaviness to the night. I’ve worked with them a few times before, and they get better and better every time. Unfortunately, they were down a man, but that didn’t stop them from throwing down and starting this night off right, getting fans warmed up for the main acts.
Chase Petra was up next and this was the only artist I hadn’t heard of before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The band formed in 2018 by members Hunter Allen and Evan Schaid with the name being partially inspired by the character Petra Arkanian from the 1985 science fiction novel Ender’s Game. Describing their music as “quarter-life crisis pop-rock,” singer Hunter’s soft melodic voice is paired beautifully with drummer Evan. Their set was more laid-back than fast-paced, but I still enjoyed their songs, and the fans cheered after every song, hinting that they can relate to the lyrics of growing up and finding oneself.
South Arcade ran and jumped on the stage next and there was an immediate sound of shrieks and cheers. They’re an English rock band from Oxford, formed in 2021, and went viral for videos of their band practices. It wasn’t hard to see why they went viral. Not only are they high-energy with a great sound, but the singer also reminded me of No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani dressed in denim jorts, a bikini top, blonde pigtails and black shades. They had no trouble keeping the audience’s attention, as “So Mean” and “2005” were the loudest songs coming from the singing crowd.
Emmyn and Games We Play made their entrance really quickly. Originally founded by Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, GWP found themselves as part of Fall Out Boy’s So Much For Tour Dust, and So Much For (2our) Dust tours. I had seen them on the first So Much For Tour Dust tour, and was really impressed, but also had some laughs as lead singer Emmyn brought his brother Ethan out on stage for a couple of songs. Before his brother left the stage, Emmyn would tell all the single ladies that Ethan was single, which got everyone laughing. Ethan has now joined the band and seems happy to be playing alongside his brother. Midway through, Emmyn chose two young fans to come up on stage to play keyboard on “Silver Lining.” I don’t know if the girls were more excited to play the song with the band or to have shared Emmyn’s hand. During the set, each member shared something awesome that has happened so far this year, and Emmyn mentioned he became a father, and he then brought his adorable daughter on stage to say hi to the crowd. Before closing out with the hit “I Hope You’re Happy,” he said that this was their first tour of the year and explained how happy and stoked they were to have been a part of the tour.
Winona Fighter came out swinging with high energy yelling to the crowd, “What the F*&k is Up!?” They started with “R U Famous,” and it didn’t matter which song they played, there was a circle pit to go with all of the kicking, screaming, and yelling from lead singer Cocoa. The rising punk group from Nashville is really fun to watch, as this is my second time covering them on a tour. I especially like when they cover Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.” Winona Fighter recently debuted their new single “BOMBS AWAY”, their first new single since the release of “MY APOLOGIES TO THE CHEF” last year. For the last song, “HAMMS IN A GLASS,” Cocoa jumped in front of the barrier, then into the crowd, and crowd surfed back to the stage, giving the fans one last bit of excitement. Their explosive set paired with outspoken lyrics makes them a fan favorite among the up-and-coming emo artists. I also love the bond they have as a band, constantly interacting with each other during the set. Winona Fighter is just simply a fun band to watch.
Honey Revenge closed out the night, and you would’ve never guessed that there were 5 bands before them; the crowd still went wild as the singer emerged as a silhouette under a purple light before starting with “Run Your Mouth.” It was an immediate party seeing the crowd erupt into singing and jumping as the band came out with the same energy to match.
Formed in 2021 by lead vocalist Devin Papadol and guitarist Donovan Lloyd, they’ve released one album, Retrovision, several singles, and have made a name for themselves touring with Stand Atlantic and Loveless. While keeping with their pop-rock vibe and songs such as “Poison Apple Baby,” “Hot Commodity,” “ Recipe For Disaster,” and “Butterfly Effect,” the name came after Devin and Donovan wanted something innocent but uncompromising; Honey Revenge was born.
Honey Revenge was an absolute pleasure to watch perform; during “Habitual,” Devin stated that they were going to have a tally to see how many crowd surfers they could get in one song, as they’ll do this the whole tour. While I don’t know the exact amount at the MD stop, there sure were a ton of fans who obliged. Like Cocoa of Winona Fighter, Devin too went into the crowd during “Worst Apology,” which the crowd was elated about. Fans crowded around her and sang along with excitement. Before their set was over, they performed a few songs from their new album “Loving and Losing” due to be released on September 18th. From what we heard, I’m eager to listen to the rest of it. They ended the night with “Airhead” and “Are You Happy,” which felt like a nonstop dance party.
