Faye Webster @ Paristown Hall - Louisville
February 23rd, 2025 : Faye Webster, Mei Ehara @ Paristown Hall - Louisville, KY
Faye Webster | Photos Courtesy of: Emily May
Singer-Songwriter Faye Webster performed to a sold-out (or nearly sold-out) show at Paristown Hall on February 23rd. The line to get in was the longest line I have ever seen at this venue. Luckily there are three security lines to get in, making the wait much quicker than one would imagine! Performing a mix of genres that include indie-folk, alternative, modern R&B, and country, she has garnered an ever-growing and loyal fan base of adoring fans over the years. Webster released her latest album, Underdressed At The Symphony, in March of last year. She started out her set with two songs from the album, “But Not Kiss” and “Wanna Quit All the Time”, performing other new tracks that included “Lifetime”, “Tttttime”, and “Lego Ring”. She also performed older tracks such as “Right SIde of My Neck”, “Jonny”, and “Kingston”. With a stage production that mesmerized through beautiful, soft lighting, as well as an incredible band, she gave an amazing performance that did not disappoint! Japanese artist Mei Ehara opened the show with a captivating solo set!
MEI EHARA
Violent Femmes @ Paristown Hall - Louisville
October 4th, 2024: Violent Femmes @ Paristown Hall - Louisville, KY
Violent Femmes | Photos Courtesy of: Emily May
Beloved Milwaukee folk-punk band Violent Femmes brought their current tour to a sold-out crowd at Paristown Hall on October 4th. This tour sees the band performing their first two albums in full- Violent Femmes (1982) and Hallowed Ground (1984). The venue was packed this evening, with fans filling out the floor and balcony, ready to have fun. The band performed Hallowed Ground first, with the crowd singing and dancing from the first note! The band was having fun on stage and seemed to be enjoying interacting with the crowd and performing these songs! At the end of this set, there was a brief intermission before the band came back out to perform their iconic debut album. Although the crowd was enjoying themselves during the first set, there seemed to be a shift in energy as the band performed this album. Performing such hits as “Blister In The Sun”, “Kiss Off”, “Add It Up”, “Please Don’t Go”, and “Gone Daddy Gone”, to name a few, the crowd was enthusiastically singing along, dancing, and smiling with each track! The band chatted a bit with the crowd throughout the evening, but they mostly let their music do the talking. It was a really special night of music that left the crowd buzzing long after the music stopped!
Knocked Loose @ Paristown Hall - Louisville
June 14th, 2024: Knocked Loose, Poison The Well, White Reaper, and Division of Mind @ Paristown Hall - Louisville, KY
Photos Courtesy of Emily May
Beloved Oldham County, KY hardcore punk band Knocked Loose performed three consecutive Louisville shows recently, all of which sold out, with this being night two of three. Nights two and three were the larger capacity Paristown Hall shows, with night one being a smaller, more intimate show at a small local venue. You could feel the energy buzzing in the room from the fans packing out the venue as soon as doors opened, with the fans waiting outside for doors to open wrapping around the venue! The fans cheered and screamed as the lights dimmed, indicating the band was coming out on stage. The band released their latest album You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To in May of this year and started their set this evening with the track “Blinding Faith” from the album. Performing other tracks from the album that included “Piece By Piece”, “Don’t Reach For Me”, and the live debut of “Sit & Mourn”, they showcased their new album in a live setting. With plenty of older tracks for longtime fans, such as “Counting Worms”, “Billy No Mates”, “Deadringer”, “Tapped In The Grasp Of A Memory”, “Belleville”, “Guided By The Moon”, and “All My Friends”, they performed a nice variety of songs that spanned their 10-year catalog as a band.
Early on, vocalist Bryan Garris told the crowd, “Louisville, we are home! We’ve been on the road for the past 6 weeks practicing for this weekend! These shows are to support our brand new album!”. “This is day 2 of three to celebrate the album and we want to thank you for being a part of it.” Telling the crowd they were going to play an old song, Garris announced, “If you know the words, you have to sing along! Those are the rules!”. For most of their set, there were several mosh pits going, with the band at one point telling everyone to join forces to make a big mosh pit, to which the crowd happily obliged. The band got the crowd hyped throughout the set, encouraging everyone to mosh and sing along. It was a high-energy set, both from the band and the crowd, from the first note to the last! Ending the set with “Everything Is Quiet Now”, they had the fans moshing until the very last note! Opening the show this evening were Richmond, VA hardcore band Division of Mind, popular Louisville garage punk band White Reaper, and Miami metalcore band Poison The Well.
Poison The Well
White Reaper
Division of Mind
Underoath @ Old Forester's Paristown Hall - Louisville
July 18th, 2023: Underoath, The Ghost Inside, We Came As Romans, and Better Lovers @ Old Forester’s Paristown Hall - Louisville, KY
Underoath - Photos Courtesy of Emily May
Underoath and The Ghost Inside brought their co-headlining tour to Paristown Hall on July 17th to a packed venue! This was Underoath’s first-ever co-headlining tour and The Ghost Inside’s first tour since their return, with fans being very visibly excited for the evening ahead. Opening the show this evening was new hardcore super-group Better Lovers, on their first-ever tour, and comprised of Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Jordan Buckley, Clayton Holyoak, and Stephen Micciche of Every Time I Die, and Will Putney of Fit For An Autopsy. Full of energy with plenty of leg kicks, jumps, and hair flips, Puciato thanked the crowd early on for coming out, saying this was one of the first few shows the band had played and how happy they were to be on this tour. In addition to unreleased tracks “Punk” and “Croc”, the band performed their 4-song EP God Made Me An Animal, released on July 7th, and a really incredible cover of Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage”. As the band was launching into their final song, Puciato joked to the crowd that “This is an old one”. These guys performed an incredibly fun set and no doubt will no doubt have plenty of new fans by the end of this tour.
Next up was the metalcore band We Came As Romans. These guys have incredible energy on stage and having formed in 2005, have amassed a dedicated fan base, with the ones in attendance this evening singing along to every song! There were platforms at the front of the stage for the band members to stand on, allowing them to stand tall above the crowd and engage more directly with the fans. Talking a bit about losing bandmate Kyle Pavone in 2018, going through the stages of grief, and feeling a wide range of emotions (happy, sad, hopeful), singer Dave Stephens told the crowd that it is ok to feel your emotions and to reach out for help if you need it. That there is no shame in needing help. Starting their set off with “Darkbloom”, they performed an 8-song set that included “Daggers”, “Wasted Age”, and “Cold Like War”. Towards the end of the set, Stephens told the crowd “We’re gonna take it back a bit and sing a song from Tracing Back Roots (2013)”, before launching into “Hope”. “I wish we had more time to talk,” said Stephens as they were nearing the end of their set. “I wanna give a shout-out to Underoath and The Ghost Inside. What a dream it is to be on this tour. I hope you guys are as excited for them to take the stage as we are! Thanks for having us in your city and showing up early.” They ended their set with “Black Hole” and left the crowd buzzing with energy!
Next up was co-headliner The Ghost Inside. Being their first tour since making their comeback, you could feel the excitement, both from the crowd and the band. Starting out the set with “Avalanche”, from their 2014 album Dear Youth, the band tore through a 14-song set list with lots of energy and with fans screaming along to each and every song with a passion. Performing older songs such as “Faith or Forgiveness” from their 2008 album Fury and The Fallen Ones and “Engine 45” and “Dark Horse” from 2012’s Get What You Give, to newer songs like “The Outcast”, “Pressure Point” and “One Choice” from their latest album The Ghost Inside (2020), they had plenty of songs for both newer and older fans alike! Early in the set singer Jonathan Vigil asked how many people had seen them before, to which there were a lot of cheers! “Wow! Thank you so much! We released an album in 2020 and we want you to sing along!”. He later told the crowd “I know I’ve said it already, but it means a lot that all of you showed up tonight and are hanging out and having a good time. A week ago, we released a new song called “Earn It”. Sing along if you know the words!”. He went on to talk a bit about the band’s horrific bus crash in 2015 and how they’d had no expectations that they would ever be back on stage, but how “People like you supporting bands like us is the reason we are back so thank you!”. It was clear the band was happy to be back on stage and were grateful for their fans’ enduring support. It was an emotional and intimate moment in the set that highlighted how far the band had come and how happy their fans were to have them back. “It’s been a while since we could tour and be a band again. It’s good to be back out on tour and see familiar faces. We always remember Louisville! You guys always go hard in the pit but take care of each other. There aren’t a lot of cities like that. It’s a great first tour back, especially being with a band like Underoath!”. The band ended with “Aftermath” from their latest album and the fans were singing along until the very last note!
Ending the evening was Underoath. The band performed a 12-song setlist that encompassed their career, with hits both old and new and some deeper cuts sprinkled in. The crowd was ready to go wild from the first note, with the energy of the band feeding the crowd’s energy. Singer Spencer Chamberlain was jumping and dancing around the entirety of the stage throughout the set, a bundle of energy that saw him engaging with his bandmates and the fans, at one point getting down from the stage to stand at the barricade and sing amongst the fans, causing a frenzy of excitement. Starting out their set with “Take A Breath” and “Writing on the Walls”, the band blew through a set list that included “Breathing in a New Mentality”, “It’s A Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door”, “Casting Such A Thin Shadow”, and “You’re Ever So Inviting”, to name a few. Chamberlain chatted a bit with the crowd, saying early in the set how the band hadn’t played Louisville in a really long time and thanked everyone for coming out". The band then performed their new single “Lifeline (Drowning)”. He later said how there are a billion things going on, as it’s summertime, but everyone chose to be here tonight! “We’re going to throw it back a bit. This one is called “Reinventing Your Exit””. With a career spanning over 2 decades and 9 studio albums, the band has cultivated a passionate fan base who have followed them through their career, which included disbanding in 2013 and reuniting in 2015. Although they haven’t performed in Louisville for many years, the vibe tonight was one of sing-alongs, dancing, a bit of crowd surfing, and most of all a lot of fun! They ended their set with “A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black and White” from their 2004 album They’re Only Chasing Safety, a great end to a great evening!
The Ghost Inside
We Came As Romans
Better Lovers
Jungle @ Paristown Hall - Louisville
September 8th 2022: Jungle and Paul Cherry @ Paristown Hall - Louisville, KY
JUNGLE | Photo and Coverage courtesy of Emily May
British electronic project Jungle, founded in 2013 by producers Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland, brought their current tour to Louisville, KY recently, drawing a sizeable crowd! Opening the show this evening was Chicago-based artist Paul Cherry, who came out on stage wearing a white suit covered in red cherries! Performing music that blends indie rock and elements of jazz, he had his band have the crowd dancing with their smooth sounds. Having released his latest album, Back On The Music!, in March of this year, he announced to the crowd that he would be playing a lot of new songs this evening! Skillful musicians, he and his band wowed the crowd with their amazing, multi-instrumental performance. Cherry also announced towards the end of the set that his keyboard player had lived in Louisville for 8 years! They performed a fun set that got the crowd warmed up for the evening!
Next up was Jungle. Coming out on stage to a roar of cheers and applause, they started out the set with “Keep Moving” from their latest album Loving In Stereo, released last year. With a large touring band performing a variety of instruments, they got the crowd dancing from the first note. Performing several tracks from the new album, including “All Of The Time”, “Talk About It”, “Truth”, and “Bonnie Hill”, they also performed older tracks such as “Smile”, “Happy Man”, “The Heat”, and “Time”. The stage was awash in beautiful, multi-colored lighting throughout the set, adding to the fun and energetic performance! At one point the saxophone player for Paul Cherry came out on stage for a song! With a 4-song encore this evening that included “Fire”, “What D’You Know About Me?”, and “Time”, they took the opportunity to introduce the band and thank the audience for coming out this evening before ending the set with “Busy Earnin’” from their first album, 2014’s Jungle. Between the incredible lighting, the fun interactions that the band had with each other and the crowd, and the fact that the crowd was dancing and having a great time, it was an amazing evening of music!
JUNGLE
PAUL CHERRY
Beartooth @ Paristown Hall - Louisville
May 3rd 2022: Beartooth with Silverstein, The Devil Wears Prada, and Erra @ Paristown Hall - Louisville
Beartooth at Paristown Hall - Emily May
Beartooth brought their Part 2 of The Below Tour to Louisville, KY on May 3rd, with this being their final show of this leg of the tour. The venue was packed, with a sizeable crowd gathering this evening looking forward to a fun night of music. Starting out the evening was progressive metalcore band Erra. Hailing from Birmingham, AL, they talked about how it was the last night of their tour and that they’d had a great time and made a lot of new friends. Full of energy, singer J.T. Cavey, guitarist/clean vocalist Jesse Cash, and bassist Conor Hesse stood often on the platforms at the front of the stage to better engage the crowd, with Cavey having each side of the crowd scream “Hell Yeah!” and judged who was loudest! They definitely got the evening started out on a high note! Next up was The Devil Wears Prada, a metalcore band from Dayton, OH. A bundle of energy from start to finish, they talked about how good it was to back in KY. Performing both older and newer songs, they had a varied setlist that included “Watchtower”, “Termination”, “Chemical”, and “Sacrifice”. Being the last night of tour, all of the bands were having fun together, with Beartooth’s Caleb Shomo making an appearance on stage at one point! Next up was long-standing Canadian rock band Silverstein. Having formed in 2000, the band has amassed a dedicated fan base over their 2 decades as a band. Lead singer Shane Told announced early in the set, “Louisville! It’s good to be here! It’s been a while! We are happy to squeeze you in on the final day of the greatest tour of 2022!”. Performing a setlist that included “Bad Habits”, “Vices”, “My Heroine”, “Retrograde”, and “Massachusetts”, they also announced their new album due to be released on May 5th, launching into their latest single “Ultraviolet”. Joking with the crowd about the band had only been coming here for 18 years and had just started correctly pronouncing Louisville, he then asked how many people remember the old songs from 2003, then performing “Smashed Into Pieces”. Thanking the crowd for coming out and Beartooth for having them out on tour, the band ended their set with “Smile In Your Sleep.”
As an intro to Beartooth coming out on stage, AC/DC’s “TNT” played and a white curtain hung across the front of the stage. As the band came out, the curtain dropped, and the crowd erupted into cheers and screams as the band appeared on stage. With platforms that extended across the entire length of the front of the stage, singer Caleb Shomo walked back and forth throughout the entire set, giving both sides of the room ample attention. The band performed a lengthy setlist that included ““Aggressive”, “Hated”, “Body Bag”, and “The Lines”. Chatting quite a bit with the crowd, Shomo addressed them early on, after directing the fan’s cheering like a conductor, saying “You guys are insane! Are you having a good night? Has anyone out there seen Beartooth before? Any first-timers? If you weren’t already aware, we came here to do do one thing, and one thing only-rock your faces off with high voltage rock and roll! This is the last show of the tour, so normally I’d say no pressure, but we’ve played a lot of really great shows so far. I think this could be the craziest. Open up the mosh pit. This song is called “Fed Up””. Leading the fans in plenty of sing alongs, there was a fun energy to the set that kept the crowd engaged and having a good time. Talking about what the opening bands meant to him, Shomo talked about how The Devil Wears Prada had a great impact on his life and changed the trajectory of what he wanted to do, and that Silverstein have become some of his closest friends he has toured with and that he has written Beartooth songs with them. He then dedicated the next song, “Phantom Pain”, to every band on the tour, and told the crowd to form a circle pit. Shomo also thanked the fans for coming out, telling them it really meant a lot because so many bands over the past couple of years had no idea whether not not they would ever tour again, so to come to Louisville on a Tuesday night to such a great crowd was a beautiful thing to see. “Ending” the set with “In Between”, the band then came back out for a two song encore, ending the night with “The Past Is Dead” and “The Last Riff”. It was a great night of music and the crowd’s fun and infectious energy made it even greater!
BEARTOOTH
SILVERSTEIN
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
ERRA
All Time Low @ Paristown Hall - Louisville, KY
All Time Low recently brought their current North American tour to Louisville, KY to a packed crowd! Starting the night out was pop-punk band Meet Me At The Altar. A whirl of fun and upbeat energy, they had plenty of fans in the crowd singing along from the first note! Performing a variety of songs from their catalog, including a few from their latest EP Model Citizen, they also performed a short medley of covers halfway through their set, asking “Are there any emotion kids in the building? Of course there are! We’re gonna play some covers and we want you to sing along!”. The crowd proceeded to sing along to covers from Jimmy Eat World, Limp Bizcuit, New Found Glory, and LIT. Taking about how they are an all female band, singer Edith Johnson told the crowd how growing up they didn’t see a lot of female bands and were sad about it and wondered why not do it themselves? Also this evening there was a 7 year old fan in the crowd named Zoe, whose birthday it was, so the band had everyone shout Happy Birthday! It was really fun set to start the evening out with! Next up was Nothing, Nowhere, the stage name of singer, rapper and songwriter Joseph Edward Mulherin. A mix of emo rap, trap, and indie rock, he and his band had the crowd dancing along throughout the set with their infectious energy. Moody lighting and a connection with the crowd made it a fun and engaging set!
Headlining this evening was Maryland emo pop punk band All Time Low. Having formed in 2003, they have gained a strong and loyal fan base over the years, with their 8 studio albums and fun and energetic live shows. Playing songs this evening from their extensive catalog, they also performed tracks from their latest album, 2020’s Wake Up, Sunshine. Asking the crowd if there was anyone for whom this was their first show since live shows started back, they proceeded to say “Feels good doesn’t it? Thanks for being here! It feels good to be back on a stage!”. They started things off with “Do You Want Me (Dead)?” and performed tracks throughout their set that included “Some Kind Of Disater”, ““Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t)”, “Once In A Lifetime”, “Life Of The Party”, “Monsters”, and “Nightmares”. Towards the end of the evening, they talked about how there was so much love in the room this evening and how they could feel it coming off of everyone and how when they play shows, everyone in attendance becomes a collective family for a while. They then talked about how love is love no matter who you love! They ended the evening with “Dear Maria, Count Me In”, capping off the evening by shooting off a massive confetti cannon, sending colorful bits of confetti throughout the crowd! It was a fun way to end the set and left people buzzing long after the music ended!
MEET ME AT THE ALTAR
NOTHING, NOWHERE
ALL TIME LOW
