Article and Photos by: Courtney Thomassen

Just over one month after the first performance at the newly renovated venue, FTL War Memorial Auditorium welcomed the opening night of The Driver Era’s Obsession Tour. At 7:00 PM, doors opened to a sea of eager fans who poured into the main floor, ready to be among the first to witness what the Los Angeles-based duo had in store.

An opening set by singer-songwriter Thomas Day kicked the evening off, literally. Right from the jump, Day was running back and forth across the stage, radiating a level of excitement that the crowd was happy to reciprocate. Throughout his short set, fans sang along to songs they knew and danced along to those they didn’t, as the singer showcased both released and unreleased music. Standout tracks “VICIOUS” and 2024 single “Pretender” made a lasting impression during the 35-minute long set. Given the amount of time he had, Day skillfully balanced his set, mixing high-energy, upbeat tracks with slower piano ballads that left the set feeling fuller than usual for such a short slot. There is no doubt that, when he returns, a large chunk of Fort Lauderdale’s audience will be there for it.

Screams filled the auditorium when a large white curtain was lowered in front of the stage for the set changeover, returning even louder when the house lights dimmed and a bright spotlight projected the silhouette of singer Ross Lynch on the fabric. At the end of opening track “Touch,” the curtain dropped to reveal brothers Ross and Rocky, along with their accompanying band, as they started to play “You Keep Me Up at Night,” another single from the upcoming Obsession album. While the titular tour had started with an Australian run earlier this year, the duo made it clear that the North American leg would bring something new. “The Weekend,” a fitting song for the Friday night show, was the first of three live debuts of tracks from the April release. By the end of the night, the entirety of Obsession had made it onto the setlist, save the closing track “Better,” but there was still room for older favorites that fans expected to hear.

For the first half of the hour-long show, fans enjoyed hearing new music like “Everybody’s Lover” and “I’ll Be There,” and sang along to recently released singles “Can’t Believe She Got Away” and “Same Old Story.” After being treated to what would surely become their new favorite songs come the April 11th drop, fans screamed as Ross and Rocky sat with their guitars on the riser mid-stage and introduced an old favorite, their second song ever released, “Afterglow.” The brothers took turns singing the call-and-response style verse as the crowd swayed to the beat, taking in the change in pace before “Malibu” and Rocky’s vocal feature “Turn the Music Up” had the whole floor dancing.

The stage lights cut to black while Ross made his way behind the large screen at the back of the stage. Up until this point, it had mainly been used for abstract visual effects and live video feeds of the band and crowd, but as the final unreleased track “I’d Rather Die” began to play, a light shone on Ross, now visible through the transparent screen. As the effects began to play again, a checkerboard pattern filled the wall, leaving an unlit circle to act as a reverse spotlight that followed the singer as he performed behind it. The creative lighting effect accentuated what was undoubtedly the heaviest song of the night. By the time Ross reemerged for a guitar solo under blood-red lights, the crowd was fully energized. One last song, “Don’t Take the Night,” closed out the set. Even though it was one of the duo’s most recent releases, the closing track was already a fan favorite. It didn’t take long for calls for an encore to echo across the venue, and it didn’t take long for the calls to be answered. Back to back to back, the band pulled out three of their most popular songs: “Rumors,” “Get Off My Phone,” and “A Kiss.” Whatever energy the crowd had left was used to sing as loudly as they could, dancing until the last song ended. Cheers from fans lasted until no one was left on stage, marking the end of a successful opening night.