Article and Photos: Courtney Thomassen
Orlando, FL — Sleeping With Sirens transports fans back to 2011 on their Let’s Cheers to This anniversary tour. Thirteen years after the album’s release, fans from all across Central Florida packed the House of Blues in Orlando to celebrate the beloved record with a sold out show.
Australian natives Teenage Joans traveled halfway around the world to support the US tour. The indie rock duo, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Cahli Blakers and drummer and vocalist Tahlia Borg, were met with a warm welcome from the Florida crowd during their short but impressive 30 minute set. Fans were quickly won over, dancing and clapping along with songs off of the duo’s debut album The Rot That Grows Inside My Chest and going absolutely wild for a cover of Pierce the Veil’s “Circles.” Blakers thanked the crowd as their set closed, plugging a unique accompaniment to their 2023 album – a short film by the same name that is available to watch on YouTube.
After a quick set changeover, Welsh rock band Holding Absence took to the stage as direct support. Drummer Ashley Green walked to his kit, set up at the front right of the stage, throwing out sticks to the pit as he went. Already in the crowd was a clear showing of Holding Absence fans, many of whom wore the band’s merch and excitedly sang along to opening track “Gravity” when vocalist Lucas Woodland, guitarist Scott Carey, and bassist Benjamin Elliott joined Green. Heavily represented in their set was the band’s most recent LP, The Noble Art of Self Destruction, including tracks “False Dawn,” “Scissors” and “A Crooked Melody” from the 2023 release. After an electrifying performance, including countless jumps and high kicks from Woodland, the singer warned their set had just two songs left – “If you want to dance, if you want to cry, now’s the time.” The set ended on a high note, with fans screaming the words to the 2021 single “Afterlife” and clapping along with a spirited drum solo from Green during final track “Wilt.”
Spirits were high throughout the venue as the final preparations were made on stage. Security joked around with fans along the barricade as they handed out water and waved folding fans to cool the packed pit. Soon it was time for the lights to dim once more, leaving only the glow of red LED strips and a spiraling strobe behind the drum kit as the silhouettes of vocalist Kellin Quinn, guitarist Nick Martin, bassist Justin Hills, and touring guitarist Tony Pizutti and drummer Matty Best appeared to frantic screams from the crowd. “Tally It Up: Settle The Score” kicked off the full playthrough, though not in order, of the band’s sophomore album. One after another fans sang their favorite tracks from the early days including “Do It Now, Remember It Later” and “Four Corners and Two Sides”, which vocalist Kellin Quinn noted was the “heaviest song of the set” (for now.) As a mosh pit opened in the center of the floor Quinn took a moment to remind everyone to have fun and be nice, this was still a Sleeping With Sirens show after all. In the time between songs the singer often addressed the crowd, preaching messages of perseverance and hope while introducing tracks that tackle heavier subject matter including “Better Off Dead” and “A Trophy Fathers Trophy Son.” After the latter, which for many seemed to be a cathartic release of a decade’s worth of emotions, the set stripped back to its gentlest point, an acoustic rendition of “All My Heart” performed by Quinn and Martin. After a short 10 song set the crowd desperately called for one more song, even though they had already been told more were coming. The extended encore, which lengthened the set by another five songs, was a chance for the band to branch out past the titular album. Fan favorites were pulled from across their full discography, including “If I’m James Dean, You’re Audrey Hepburn” and the aforementioned “Better Off Dead.” Noticeably absent from the main set was one final song from Let’s Cheers to This, the single that helped to cement Sleeping With Sirens in the scene. For a final few minutes, fans danced and sang and screamed to “If You Can’t Hang” like it was the 2010’s again.