I had the absolute pleasure of getting to go a little bit out of my Atlantic Canadian comfort zone and cover Halestorm and I Prevail’s amazing sets at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage on July 18th.
We were really, really lucky with the weather that day. It was gorgeous and sunny, and there was a beautiful breeze coming off the lake, and it just made for a really enjoyable concert-going experience.
The evening began with Fit for a King, who completely floored me from the get-go, and is honestly one the best openers I’d ever seen in years. With tracks like, “Keeping Secrets,” “End (The Other Side),” and their latest track, “Technium,” in their arsenal – trust me, RUN – don’t walk to see these guys live. You will NOT be disappointed!
Hollywood Undead, who were ready to rock that stage from the moment the first note was played were up next, and brought with them such an unbridled energy, paired with high octane tracks like, “California Dreamin’,” “Another Way Out,” which was immediately followed by a sick vocal solo of Journey’s hit track, “Don’t Start Believin’,” by their Drummer, Skidmark Tony (who is also a Toronto Native) and closed the set with their hit, “Undead!”
I Prevail exploded onto the stage next just as the sun was setting over Toronto with their epic hit, “There’s Fear In Letting Go,” and from there it was one track after another of their post-nu metal/metal core hits that lifted up everyone in that venue. I Prevail brought with them a show unlike anything I’d seen before (and certainly something you don’t get the chance to see in Atlantic Canada). To say it was refreshing was an understatement. Their sets are no joke. With tracks like, “Bow Down,” “Self Destruction,” and “FWYTYK,” to name just a few, they put every ounce of themselves into each song that they perform – and it shows! Personally, one thing I love most about this band is that they’ll stop their sets to talk about mental health awareness, and talk about how important it is to reach out and keep the conversation going. Was seeing I Prevail worth flying half way across the country? You’re damn right it was!
Halestorm was the headliner of the night in Toronto, and the set began with frontwoman, Lzzy Hale walking out and performing a vocals-only rendition of their song, “Raise Your Horns,” an anthem of love, that Lzzy wrote to promote mental health awareness, and to remind fellow “freaks” that we’re not alone. For a bit of a backstory on this song, in 2018, Hale began the “Raise Your Horns” campaign and began using the hashtag #raiseyourhorns, which gained global recognition. The purpose of the campaign was created to encourage those with mental illness. This, of course was in the aftermath of another female musician, one Jill Janus, and a friend of Lzzy’s who died by suicide.
From “Raise Your Horns,” the band went into hit after hit with tracks such as “I Miss the Misery,” “Familiar Taste of Poison,” and “Love Bites.”
A few highlights for me, personally were when all 4 members of the band approached the stage front and proceeded to perform a drumming fanfare, which, as a drumming enthusiast, excited me to my core! Another moment that I was excited to experience is the slowed down and mostly vocals-only rendition of Heart’s “Crazy On You” classic with bassist, Josh Smith on keyboards. This was performed as an interlude during their track “I Get Off.” It’s no secret that Lzzy’s vocals are something otherworldly, but she displayed them in full force during this interlude and it literally had me on pins and needles. Of course the last big highlight for me was getting to see Eric V., of I Prevail join Halestorm on stage for their joint effort, “can u see me in the dark?”
For this show, I was of course media but when it comes to music, I’m a fan first and seeing Halestorm and I Prevail as co-headliners was a dream come true for me as somebody who is very much a mental health advocate, and a massive fan of both bands. These bands speak to me in a way that I can’t even explain so seeing them both as headliners, seeing them come together to create a song and sing it live was just an all-around exciting and wonderful experience. If you get the chance to go to see these bands in the last few weeks of this tour, which happens to be closing out the US, I would definitely recommend going to see them.
However it won’t be the last chance you get to see Halestorm in 2024 because they’ll be coming back through Canada this fall when they tour with Evanescence and The Warning!