Article and Photos by: Courtney Thomassen

Orlando, FL — A little less than a month after releasing their fourth album, Colony House made their sixth stop on their Cannonballers tour at the House of Blues in Orlando, Florida. The national tour, which shares the name with the aforementioned album The Cannonballers, features little image as the sole supporting act.

little image, an alternative band consisting of vocalist Jackson Simmons, bassist Brandon Walters, and drummer Troy Bruner, began their opening set at 8PM. Before the band took to the stage, a spotlight was cast on a red bust with white letters spelling EGO painted across the side. The sculpture, which can be seen in the single artwork for “EGO,” along with an ego themed recording introduced the set which focused heavily on the band’s new era. Out of the nine songs little image played, only “Bottles” was from their 2017 album Musings. The rest of the track list included three unreleased songs from SELF TITLED, “CLEAN,” “BALLET,” and “HOME,” along with the entirety of the 2023 EP OUT OF MY MIND. Throughout their performance, Simmons engaged with the crowd, encouraging them to jump along with him during “OUT OF MY MIND” and even crowd surfing during the closing number, “WORTH IT.” With the audience fully hyped up and ready for Colony House, little image thanked the audience and exited the stage, though it would not be the last time we’d see them.

During the changeover, the little image sign and red bust were removed and a mic stand draped with a red checkerboard fabric took center stage. When the drumset, which sat on a high, risen platform, was uncovered to reveal a clear drumhead with matching checkerboard blankets inside, the crowd went wild. Not long after, the indie rock band composed of brothers Caleb (vocalist/guitarist) and Will (drummer) Chapman, guitarist Scott Mills, and bassist/keyboardist Parke Cottrell walked into view, Will giving the crowd a thumbs up as he climbed up to the drums. A large neon sign depicting The Cannonballers cover art lit up above the drumset and the headliners began. Colony House’s set totalled 24 songs, with high energy tracks like “Don’t Give Up on Me” and “Second Guessing Games” balanced by acoustic renditions including “Moving Forward,” which featured a reappearance from little image who joined Caleb and the rest of Colony House to sing the final chorus. Between songs Caleb would occasionally interject with anecdotes that were also incredibly well balanced between fun and thoughtful – at one point mentioning their Star Wars loving bassist Parke had finally gotten the chance to ride Rise of the Resistance in Galaxy’s Edge since they were in Orlando, then later urging their fans to “give five” in support of their program Exist for Good, which had a stand by the merch table collecting donations for the Turkey-Syria earthquake relief efforts.

Overall, the highlight of the night had to be the crowd interactions that were interspersed throughout Colony House’s set. It is clear that the band genuinely cares about making their show special for the fans there to support them. Upon beginning the song “2:20,” as it seems they do at every show, Caleb asked the crowd who knew it and, more importantly, who could play it. A sea of arms stayed raised but for one lucky fan, a boy named Nathan, a guitar was presented along with the chance to play with the band on stage. As for the rest of the crowd, they would get their moment later in the show. During the final song of the regular set, Caleb jumped off of the stage and climbed over the barricade into the pit. He spent minutes navigating through the crowded venue, shaking hands and giving high fives as he sang “Looking for Some Light.” Once the song ended and the band left, the crowd cheered for one more song. Soon Colony House was back on stage with an encore of two songs, “Cannonballers” and crowd favorite “You Know It.” With the lyrics we’ll be back before you know, you know it, the final song was a fitting end to the night, leaving the crowd hoping they will.