Issue #2

ISSUE #2

It’s no secret that the amount of concerts we attended in 2025 is nearly impossible to describe in one word, that would be downright ridiculous. But to give a few to set the mood for our concert season: chaotic, emotional, wild, energetic, and most of all memorable provides a wide genre of ways to try to put our 2025 experience into perspective. With well over 20 concerts attended together (and apart, Ash enjoyed crowd surfing to ‘Makedamnsure’ by Taking Back Sunday in August), new and old cities visited, and credit card debt achieved, here’s our top five concerts that we attended in 2025!

OUR TOP FIVE CONCERTS OF 2025:

#5: Hot Milk Loud & Fast in the USA Tour - 09/28 Arden Gild Hall (Arden, Delaware)

To begin our favorite concerts in 2025, we have perhaps one of the craziest shows we attended over the course of the year. Announced in June, Hot Milk’s tour was promoted just two days before (June 25th) the release of their second album Corporation P.O.P. (June 27th). An iconic album followed by an equally notable tour, we attended their second-to-last (non-festival) date in Arden, Delaware on September 28th. Full disclosure, this show was quite literally in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no air conditioning in the venue. But what made it all worth it was the memorable experience that came along with it. From our first time stage diving, to our chats with the band after the show, Hot Milk truly knows how to put on an absolutely amazing and thoroughly intimate show for fans. Corporation P.O.P was also Ash’s favorite album release of 2025!

#4: Sleeping With Sirens I Can’t Hear You Tour Sideshow - 05/23 The Paramount (Long Island, New York)

At number four is by far our most emotional concert attended to date. Taking place the day before Pierce The Veil’s Bristow, Virginia’s date (May 24th) for their ‘I Can' t Hear You’ Tour, is Sleeping With Sirens’ sideshow headliner. Announced  on April 29th, Sleeping With Sirens surprised fans with a headliner at The Paramount in Long Island, New York in between the plethora of dates for their direct support of Pierce The Veil’s summer tour. As avid Sleeping With Sirens fans for the past seven years and counting, we were on top of attending the show with VIP to tie it all together immediately, especially since it had been three years since we’d seen the band as headliners. Not only was this show a celebration of Sirens and their opener Daisy Grenade, but it was also both a celebration and grieving of a life lost just one day prior to the show’s date. Dave Shapiro, co-founder of Sound Talent Group and well-known friend of the band, was lost in a tragic plane accident on May 22nd. The concert was centered around his honor as not only an icon in the music industry, but also a dear friend to many. The most notable moment by far was the band bringing back their 2011 song ‘Fire’ off of their sophomore album Let’s Cheers To This since it was Dave’s favorite. With Kellin’s powerful yet unique voice, a setlist absolutely filled with surprises, and Mindy’s phone getting whisked away on stage (yes, that was us!) by Keaton of Daisy Grenade, the high volume of traffic experienced along the way from New Jersey to New York was worth it for the night we had.

#3: Pierce The Veil I Can’t Hear You Tour - 05/18 The Mann Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Who would we be if we didn’t include arguably the most iconic tour of 2025? Just two days after we attended their fall tour in Reading, Pennsylvania at the Santander Arena, Pierce The Veil were already on top of teasing yet another tour on December 2, 2024. The band began with a cryptic video showcasing various symbols to represent all five of their studio albums. Shortly after, the I Can’t Hear You Tour was announced. And as if it couldn’t get any better, they announced Sleeping With Sirens would be joining them on the road. We would finally be hearing the iconic ‘King For A Day’ featuring Kellin Quinn live. The tour brought back fan-favorites, such as ‘Yeah Boy and Doll Face’ and the transition from ‘Where Is My Mind?’ by the Pixies into ‘Floral & Fading’, as seen on their Misadventures Tour. Deep cuts, such as ‘She Makes Dirty Words Sound Pretty’, also made a return to the setlist. The setlist offered a wide variety of songs from each of their albums, celebrating each and every one in their own special ways. The band even reached a milestone in their career with playing at the infamous Madison Square Garden. It goes without saying that this was one of our absolute favorite concerts of 2025, and we think a lot of you would agree.

#2: Waterparks The Prowler Tour - 12/13 Ace Of Spades (Sacramento, California)

Coming in at number two of our favorite concerts we attended in 2025 is the furthest we’ve ever traveled for a concert, which was Sacramento, California for Waterparks’s Prowler Tour. Announced on July 21st, Waterparks fans were warned of the tour via a cryptic message by Awsten Knight just one day prior. Not only did we attend Sacramento as our last date, but also DC’s 9:30 club, Philadelphia’s Franklin Music Hall, and finally, Brooklyn’s Brooklyn Paramount date that ended off our east coast run. From the conclusion of New York’s date, three weeks later we were on a plane to the west coast to conclude our wild following of the tour. A plethora of moments that will last us a lifetime occurred that night, and our VIP experience was one for the books with tears shed (mostly by Mindy) for our last meet and greet with the band (that featured their manager Lucas!). Not to mention the absolute whiplash of secret songs Awsten had in store for the crowd. Getting to hear ‘Silver’ from the band’s 2012 Airplane Conversations EP in 2025 is not a sentence you get to hear every day! Sacramento tying up our following of the ‘Prowler Tour’ was the best decision we’ve made, and we’re already looking forward to what Waterparks has in store for their already infamous “J album”. Also, Ash’s toothache on both flights to Sacramento was one-hundred percent worth it. The Prowler Tour isn’t stopping in the U.S. however! Grab your tickets for the UK/EU as Waterparks continues to take their tour overseas at www.waterparksband.com/tour before it sells out!

#1: 5 Seconds of Summer Pop-Up Show - 11/19 Times Square (New York City, New York)

pop-up show at Times Square. The free show was teased the day before on November 18th, with the caption telling fans to “stay close to your phone and be ready!” With an additional comedic video that showed the band “preparing” to go to space (I mean, the album’s called EVERYONE’S A STAR! After all). Of course, we panicked. But that didn’t mean we weren’t in the Waterparks line in Brooklyn frantically buying Amtrak tickets the night before, getting ready for the scavenger hunt of a lifetime. Not only did the band have a free pop-up show ready, an additional pop-up shop was announced at the Hard Rock Cafe, where they sold two t-shirts, as well as an exclusive New York pressing of EVERYONE’S A STAR! on vinyl. 5 Seconds of Summer started off by instructing fans to gather at the Columbus Circle via X (formally Twitter). We all waited there eagerly, ready for whatever chaos was about to ensue. Before you knew it, an open-air, pink bus was seen in the distance with none other than Michael, Luke, Calum, and Ashton on board blasting ‘Everyone’s A Star!’ Fans (including us, of course) ran into the streets of New York, all while stopping traffic with the beeps of car horns around us. Pink shirts thrown into the crowd were flying everywhere and a camera crew was seen filming; they were actively recording the ‘Everyone’s A Star!’ music video. The next part was something that could have been from a movie scene. Even with Ash’s bad knees and Mindy’s horrible back, we ran through the streets of New York alongside other fans to Times Square. Some ran on foot, while others opted to take the subway. 5SOS naturally arrived in the pink bus in fashion, and performed a four-song setlist 

that consisted of ‘NOT OK’, ‘No. 1 Obsession’, ‘Telephone Busy’, and ‘Everyone’s A Star!’ They would describe this day as “by far the most insane thing we’ve ever done.” (@5sos, Instagram), and we wholeheartedly agree.