Article and Photos by: Same Fallone

Raleigh, NC – Fans began lining up early in the day to catch The Driver Era on the sold out Raleigh stop of their tour. Everyone looked their very best and were sporting such fun outfits; think something along the lines of a pink cowboy hat, cute top, and plenty of sparkles.

VALÈ was first to take the stage and open up the show. VALÈ is a singer/songwriter with the most beautiful voice coming all the way from Colombia. Some of her songs were in English and some of her songs were in Spanish which I thought was fun and something you don’t see that often. She even taught the crowd a little Spanish to sing along a little to one of her songs. She had a full band by her side and they sounded so great together. They were a great choice as an opener for this show – the energy and stage presence was incredible. This was her first tour and in preparation for an EP coming out this summer. I loved her sound and am looking forward to seeing her grow as an artist.

After a quick intermission, the moment that everyone had been waiting for finally arrived. The room went black momentarily and the crowd went wild as The Driver Era took the stage. The Driver Era has been around since 2018 but the brother duo, Ross and Rocky Lynch, has had fans long before then. Between Ross appearing as the main character on Disney’s ‘Austin and Ally’ and ‘Teen Beach Movie’ and both brothers appearing in the band R5 they have had their fair share of fame. Ross and Rocky are the only two official members of the band but have had rotating touring members over the years.

For the next hour and a half they sang and played their hearts out. Ten or so songs in, Ross decided it was time to take his shirt off and the crowd erupted in cheers and screams and phones immediately shot up to grab phones and videos. He followed by laughing and saying that he loves when he does that and everyone cheers because it means he can wear what ever he wants and he knows absolutely no one will be paying attention to it or care! They played a variety of songs from each of their albums. Towards the end of their set, Ross let the crowd know that he was about to play a song that they were sure to love. The band broke out into none other than “On My Own” from Disney’s Teen Beach Movie. For those few minutes the crowd got to relive their childhood singing along to every single word.

After a few final songs, the band left the stage and the crowd immediately started cheering. I heard so many different chants for the encore they were hoping to hear – “ONE MORE SONG!” “THREE MORE SONGS!” “PREACHER MAN!” “KISS!” “R5!” The fans got their wish and the band came back to finish off the night with two more songs. They ended with two of their most popular songs “Preacher Man” and “A Kiss.” It was definitely a fun night to remember and if The Driver Era is coming to a city near you I wouldn’t miss it!