As the perfect first day of class gift to many of Tech’s students, Wallows graced Atlanta’s Cadence Bank Amphitheater on Aug. 19. The indie band seamlessly delivered a gorgeous show to their zealous fanbase gathered at the venue, spanning their whole discography from the big hits to the underground gems.
Actor-turned-musician Dylan Minnette (vocals/guitar), Braeden Lemasters (vocals/guitar) and Cole Preston (drums) make up Wallows. They met as teenagers and began making music together. Many different names and transformations later, they became the “Wallows” they are today.
They first ensnared the minds of fans with their debut single “Pleaser” back in 2017, and Minnette’s previous fame from Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why” allowed the band to grow a platform immediately in the music industry. However, they earned the attention in their own right when their songs “Remember When” and “Are You Bored Yet?” featuring Clairo became smash hits on TikTok.
The band’s famed 2019 album “Nothing Happens” was a coming-of-age record for many teenagers at the time, and it initiated their introduction to the indie genre. By incorporating boyband-esque elements familiar to the early 2010s (i.e. One Direction, the Jonas Brothers), Wallows was able to tie their listeners’ youth to an entirely new type of music.
Wallows went on to release their second album “Tell Me That It’s Over” in 2022 and, most recently, “Model” in May 2024. Singles from “Model” such as “Calling After Me” and “Your Apartment” showed that the band is staying true to their roots, utilizing the recurrent, catchy guitar licks that are iconic to their music.
After their most recent album’s release, Wallows embarked on a massive world tour through North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. They are set to play prodigious venues, including New York City’s Madison Square Garden and Los Angeles’s Kia Forum. Their tour featured a stop in Atlanta at Cadence Bank Amphitheatre, a secluded venue in Chastain Park surrounded by woods and suburban homes.
The show began with a phenomenal performance by alternative artist BENEE. Her R&B approach to music gave her a unique and captivating appeal, and she certainly left the amphitheatre that night with hoards of new fans.
Soon after, the main act began as the opening chords of “Do Not Wait” rang out. Screams filled the open air as the band’s silhouettes from behind the massive curtain appeared. The silhouettes shifted with the lighting, flashing and morphing as the song’s intensity grew and grew. At the song’s peak, the curtain dropped to reveal Wallows as they broke into “Your Apartment.”
The band went on to play “Scrawny,” another popular track from “Nothing Happens.” In an interview with Zane Lowe, Minnette explained the song’s place on the album: “There was a lot of introspective moments on the album, and that’s cool to us and everything, but we were like, ‘We need something light, something that is borderline funny, just a moment on the album to make people smile.’”
“Scrawny” did exactly that, transitioning the audience from the shocked stupor of the first few songs into the wild, uninhibited joy of the rest of the set as the crowd screamed the lyrics back to the band.
During “Quarterback,” Minnette took Preston’s seat at the drum kit while Lemasters kicked off his first vocal performance of the night. It is a show of their musicianship that they each take the time to switch instruments and roles on stage, and it adds to the overall dynamism of their staging.
On his way to the B-stage, Minnette sang “She’s An Actress” and wandered through the crowd, eliciting screams from the lucky fans he passed by. Concert-goers threw themselves down the stairs of the amphitheatre in an attempt to get closer to him.
The rest of the band eventually joined him on the B-stage for a three-song solo set. The smaller stage had couches and chairs for the band to sit on, resembling the apartment from their earlier song. They performed “Pictures of Girls” and “Drunk On Halloween” and then gave the crowd the opportunity to choose the final song to which the answer was a resounding “1980s Horror Film.”
“Pleaser” and “Remember When” marked high points of the rest of the set, as those were the songs that early, devoted fans initially connected with. For so many of these fans, it seemed like a dream come true for them to see the band they grew up with and yell the songs that have impacted them over the past years.
Wallows clearly understood that connection, ramping up their energy and giving them a show to remember as the concert came to a close.
To be transported back into the good old days of adolescence, Wallows’ discography is streaming on all music platforms and tour dates can be found at wallowsmusic.com.