On May 13, 2024, August Burns Red performed at The Senate in Columbia, South Carolina, with special guests; Wiltwither, Sunmancer, and Fuming Mouth! This is how we start the week! A show on a Monday and I'm not shocked that the venue was packed! Who doesn't love going to a show on a weekday?!
Opening the night is one of my favorite local bands from my area, Wiltwither! I've seen the band probably at least ten times and they have the best energy out of all the local bands that I know besides this band called Parris Bridge. Between these two bands, they give me faith that local musicians will make it in the scene and perform at large shows like this.
Wiltwither formed in the Carolinas consisting of Nick Rendelmen (Vocals), Dakota Brown (Guitar), Anna Harper (Bass), Tyler Syphertt (Drums), and Joshua Davis (Guitar). Each member of this band is very humble and they appreciate every opportunity they get to perform at shows like this. The last time I saw them, they opened up for Silent Planet in Atlanta, Georgia, at The Masquerade! Harper, who plays bass has some of the best hair swooshes as well as Brown. They always capture my attention the most during the set, besides Rendelmen sometimes jumping in the crowd and crowd surfing. Their set can be explained in one word; Explosive. That's all because the second they got on stage and that first song started, each member of that band went completely psychotic. This is why I love them because they never performed a boring set before. And they support everyone around them as well as different communities/populations in the world.
Next up was a band from Atlanta, Georgia, Sunmancer! I've personally never heard of this band before, but they gave a hell of a performance. They are currently on this tour with August Burns Red within the Southeast consisting of Jeremy Harlan, Justin, Kyle Mazlik, Dan Nelson, and Ramon Rellum. The band recently released their newest single, "Chasm Darkly," on May 3, 2024! I swear every band that comes out of Atlanta has the best energy and are very humble individuals! This is the reason why I travel to Atlanta all the time for shows because of the local scene there. I can't wait to see what this band does this year and I hope I am able to see them perform again!
Fuming Mouth was next! Another band I never heard of before, but they didn't disappoint. If they are on tour with August Burns Red; they must be good! They performed a Metallica cover "For Who The Bell Tolls," I actually had a stranger in the crowd hold my camera so I could get into the crowd and scream the song along with other attendees! Fuming Mouth was formed in 2013 by Mark Whelan (Guitar/Vocals) who actually had life-threatening cancer and he stated on stage he is officially cancer-free! The band released their newest single "Daylight Again" at the beginning of May of this year with almost 30,000 Spotify plays!
Finally; it was time for August Burns Red! The first time I was able to photograph this band was last year at Christmas Burns Red and I had the best time of my life at that two-day event! That whole event opened my eyes to more bands that I've personally never listened to before and I will always be forever grateful for that opportunity!
August Burns Red was formed in 2003 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, consisting of; Jake Luhrs (Vocals), JB Brubaker (Guitar), Brent Rambler (Guitar), Dustin Davidson (Bass), and Matt Greiner (Drums). During their set, Jake did state that he loves the New Brookland Tavern in Columbia which is the main venue for a lot of acts that come through this state! This is why I love Jake because he brings local musicians on tour with him which shows that he supports the local scene and that's what national acts should be doing. You can already tell what type of person Jake is because he founded his own charity for mental health called HeartSupport and that's what we needed especially in the music scene because individuals do struggle mentally every day and music is the way some of them cope: Going to shows helps them cope, knowing bands go through the same thing and relating to the lyrics of the songs. The music scene can be the best community at times because we all enjoy music, we all go to shows to enjoy seeing our favorite bands, and we can also relate to one another because you never know if someone is struggling or not.
They performed songs such as "The Truth Of A Liar," "Composure," "Defender," and "Backfire!" Jake is very interactive with the crowd and the other musicians in the band! We love to see when musicians make the crowd part of their performance by encouraging crowd-surfing and screaming along!
Keep Up With August Burns Red Online: Website/ Facebook / Instagram / Heartsupport
I needed this show and to be around supportive individuals. Seeing August Burns Red perform on a Monday night gave me that energy I needed for the rest of the week! Thank you again to August Burns Red for filling the room with nostalgia and supporting the local scene!
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