Photo Ladies 8/2/26 Photo Ladies 8/2/26

idobi Summer School Tour @ Crystal Ballroom - Portland, Oregon

July 23rd 2026: idobi Summer School Tour: Honey Revenge, Games We Play, South Arcade, Winona Fighter, Chase Petra, Laughing About Nothing @ Crystal Ballroom - Portland, Oregon

idobi Summer School Tour - Photos Courtesy of: Christina Hall

The idobi Radio Summer School tour concluded in Portland, Oregon, at the Crystal Ballroom. The show started with a local band, Laughing About Nothing. With their energy and stage presence, you would have assumed they were the headliners; they didn’t hold back. Chase Petra followed next; lead singer Hunter Allen gave off cool-girl energy with a fun sense of humor mixed into their set. The stage felt full even though it was just a guitar and drums on stage. Winona Fighter literally kicked things up a notch, rocking out, reminding the crowd of concert etiquette, and joked that some of the fans would need to look up who the Beastie Boys are after a Sabotage cover. Their energy was comparable to Amyl and the Sniffers. South Arcade came out with their Y2K dance vibe and had no issues performing Famous, where the night before their mics went out. Games We Play set also felt like a throwback to the soundtrack of an early 2000’s movie. They didn’t take themselves too seriously in a good way. Closing out the night was Honey Revenge, who have really settled into themselves in the past few years. The pit opened up throughout the different acts, even with some performers joining in. The security team earned their keep when the final act announced a crowd surfer contest with an attempt to beat the previous night’s record. The tour was meant to be a vehicle for young fans to discover emerging artists, although one could argue this lineup could satisfy the millennial who loves the pop-punk scene.

Photo Ladies 7/8/26 Photo Ladies 7/8/26

Orville Peck @ Roundhouse - London, Engla

June 30th 2026: Orville Peck, Talullah Argue @ Roundhouse - London, England

Orville Peck - Photos Courtesy of: Brittany Rose Queen

Orville Peck brought his heartfelt brand of alternative country to Roundhouse in London, England, on June 30th. This venue was built in the 1800’s as a railway shed; its striking shape and antique build fit right into the band’s modernised wild west aesthetic.

Orville Peck opened his set by informing the audience of his three nonnegotiable rules:
If you want to sing along, you have to sing along
If you want to dance, you have to dance
If you want to cry, come on, baby, cry

Orville and his band had the crowd captivated as they dashed through the set with album-quality performances of songs throughout their discography. This included fan favorites from Pony, Bronco, Stampede, and his newest release, Appaloosa.

This show was a celebration of not only Orville’s music, but of the queer community and queer love. To celebrate the last night of Pride Month, the masked singer even graced the crowd with a gorgeous version of Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club that had the entire room on its feet, arm in arm, yelling every word.

The crowd was enthralled by Peck’s voice and cowboy charm, and it seems that even without his go-to set of rules, everyone in the building would have sung, danced, and cried.

Talullah Argue

Photo Ladies 6/30/26 Photo Ladies 6/30/26

Jinjer @ Diamond Ballroom - Oklahoma City, OK

June 28th 2026: Jinjer, Crystal Lake, Entheos @ Diamond Ballroom - Oklahoma City, OK

Ukrainian metal act Jinjer is currently in the midst of their Duel tour across North America, in support of their 2025 album of the same name, bringing their punchy riffs and stunningly brutal vocals to audiences across the country. Joined by Entheos and Crystal Lake, the three bands together have put together a show that is not to be missed by any self-respecting metal fan, with many a mosh pit and crowd surfer to be seen.

First to take the stage was Entheos, hailing from Santa Cruz, California. Though I was not super familiar with their discography before the evening, it was difficult not to become entranced by the deep growls emitted from vocalist Chaney Crabb as the quartet performed tracks such as “Hell is a Part of Me” and “Empty on the Inside.” The band also teased the release of their next album on October 23 of this year, so fans can excitedly be on the lookout for that in a few months.

Next up was Japanese metalcore act Crystal Lake, who were in a bit of a unique position as their most recent vocalist, John Centorrino, departed from the band in March, not too long after this tour was announced. In his place for much of the current run of shows was Myke Terry, known for his work with Fire From the Gods and Volumes, and I must say that Myke absolutely crushed it. His screams blended wonderfully with the rest of the band, and together they had the crowd amped up.

Finally, just after 9 p.m., Jinjer took the stage, and all in attendance were instantly enthralled as the band emerged, led by vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk. Leading their set with the tour’s title track, followed by “Green Serpent” and “Fast Draw,” Shmayluk’s live vocals are an enigma to behold as she switches seemingly effortlessly between gorgeous belts and devious growls. Meanwhile, a sea of crowd-surfers began to approach the stage before the first three songs had ended, and did not cease for the rest of the evening. Though the setlist understandably leaned heavily on tracks from their latest release, fans of earlier albums were not left out with the inclusion of tracks such as “Perennial” and “Pisces,” and a wonderful night of metal greatness was had by all.

Jinjer’s Duel tour continues through July, concluding with an appearance at Vans Warped Tour in Long Beach, CA on July 25, before the band makes their way through the UK and Europe later this fall. All upcoming shows can be found on their website.

Crystal Lake

Entheos

Carolyn Lederach 6/16/26 Carolyn Lederach 6/16/26

Holly Humberstone @ Theater of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA

June 9th 2026: Holly Humberstone, Diva Smith @ Theater of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA

Holly Humberstone | Photos Courtesy of: Carolyn Lederach

Holly Humberstone brought her Cruel World tour to Philly on June 9th 2026. The room filled with anxious fans looking forward to seeing Holly live, after it being a bit of time since she last toured in Philly. The front row crowd was a precious collection of die hard fans, including some who donned some Holly tattoos. Holly took the stage with a huge smile on her face the whole night. As someone who has listened to Holly since the her first EP came out in 2020, and got to see her for the first time tonight the setlist did not disappoint.

Setlist

So It Starts...

Make It All Better

To Love Somebody

The Walls Are Way Too Thin

Cruel World

Blue Dream

Kissing in Swimming Pools

Die Happy

Paint My Bedroom Black

Down Swinging

Deep End

Beauty Pageant

White Noise

Falling Asleep at the Wheel

Red Chevy

Drunk Dialling

Dive

Lucy

Scarlett

Diva Smith

Photo Ladies 6/14/26 Photo Ladies 6/14/26

The Cab @ House of Blues - Chicago, IL

June 12th 2026: The Cab, CARR, and Paradise Fears @ House of Blues Chicago - Chicago, IL

The Cab - Photos Courtesy of: Emily Nava

On Friday, June 12th 2026, The Cab brought their 'Back From The Dead' Tour to a packed House of Blues Chicago with Paradise Fears and CARR. This tour follows the April release of their latest full-length album in over 10 years—Chasing Crowns.

CARR opened the show with a fierce and energetic set that got the crowd moving. Paradise Fears kept the show's momentum going with a performance full of singalong moments for their fans. The band also mentioned this was their first tour in over 10 years.

The Cab walked on stage and began their set with "Locked and Loaded," the first track from their latest album, after absorbing the crowd's palpable energy and excitement to see a band that hasn't toured in over a decade. The night was full of nostalgic moments, ranging from lead singer Alex DeLeon sharing stories of his teenage self writing "Vegas Skies" from the first The Cab album, Whisper War, to the band covering a few early 2000s pop hits. Although the show was very high-energy and featured songs across the band's discography, The Cab still welcomed intimate moments. They played stripped-down snippets of songs from their first album, and even created a mash-up of their song "One of THOSE Nights" with a cover of Justin Bieber's "YUKON". While asking for a show of hands from those who had seen them live before, DeLeon mentioned that regardless of how attendees discovered them or how long they had listened to The Cab, the band was grateful they had come to the show. The Cab will continue their tour across the United States through the rest of the month.

CARR

Paradise Fears

Photo Ladies 6/14/26 Photo Ladies 6/14/26

Alejando Aranda @ The Sultan Room - New York, NY

June 10th 2026: Alejando Aranda, Jake Swamp and The Pine, Amelie Lucille @ The Sultan Room - New York, NY

Alejando Aranda - Photos Courtesy of: Lesley Keller

Out of the gazillion seasons that have aired of the hit music competition show American Idol, there are a plethora of names that spring to mind when you’re talking about memorable auditions. Among those names near the top for me sits Pomona, CA-based Alejandro Aranda. Singing two of his original songs, “Cholo Love” and “Out Loud,” I can squarely remember looking up from my doom scrolling and wondering “Who the heck is this absolutely killing it on the guitar & piano?!?” Naturally, when I saw the chance to finally catch Alejandro live, I knew I had to be at The Sultan Room on a muggy Wednesday evening to witness the talent firsthand.

Easing us into things was NY-based Amelie Lucille. Accompanied by a cellist and violinist, my eyebrows shot up in surprise when I heard her begin to sing. To put it lightly, her voice rang through with more gravitas than I expected, and the crowd was pin-drop silent as she moved through each selection. I would later learn that evening that Amelie is 17 years old, and that fact struck me because at that age I remember sitting at home playing video games. If I was a betting woman, I’d bet that Amelie’s talent will carry her through a long career ahead.

Next up was Jake Swamp and The Pine - hailing from Boston, Massachusetts. Normally a full band, we were greeted by singer, songwriter & guitarist Drew Zieff, who launched into his set after a bit of lighthearted tuning and warm-up. From the first moment he opened his mouth and gave way to a voice that made everyone lower their drink, Drew alternated between captivating stories and immersive songs that touched on themes of triumph, pain and all the things in between.

Finally, everyone came a little bit closer to the stage when Alejandro walked on. Grabbing everyone’s attention, he dove straight into a song that honestly felt like it lasted at least 20 minutes, and I mean that in the best of ways. Everyone else in the room and I were captivated by how effortlessly the music poured out of him. As his hands moved over his guitar, I was in disbelief at how good this performance was, and it was just the first song of the night! A stunningly bold choice to rip 5 blistering guitar solos that morphed with relative ease, coupled with minimal lyrics and tender vocals, but it absolutely worked. Suddenly, I realized this is exactly how those American Idol judges must have felt upon first hearing Alejandro unleash his talent.

Defying standard genre definitions, the musical choices he makes are boundlessly interesting. There seems to be no telling where a song will transition to from one chord to the next, and I have to say, coupled with a gentle voice like his, the juxtaposition works beautifully. After a hilarious story of how he met, recorded music, and eventually toured with Twin Shadow, which then led him to that fateful audition, “Out Loud” settled into his set at the perfect time, and once again everyone in the room was captivated, punctuating the close of a stellar evening of music in Brooklyn.