DOORS AT 7 / SHOW AT 8
VENUE INFO
* Box office and will call open 30 minutes before doors
* Free parking lot directly south of the theatre across 23rd street
* Full bar inside venue
* ATM in the lobby
* Support acts are subject to change
* No weapons of any kind are allowed in the building
* Visit our website for more information!
[http://www.towertheatreokc.com]
BAND BIO
The sixth studio album from Tallahassee-based rock band Mayday Parade,
Sunnyland gets its title from an abandoned hospital where the band
members used to sneak in to explore as teenagers. “The hospital shut
down sometime in the mid-’80s but then it just stayed there for
decades,” says lead vocalist Derek Sanders. “It was a super-creepy
place—it was overgrown with vines, and still had some of the
hospital beds and IV stands—but we have all these good memories of
hanging out there when we were younger.”
The follow-up to their acclaimed 2015 album Black Lines, Sunnyland
finds Mayday Parade both reflecting on the past and pushing toward the
future. The band recorded the album with longtime producers Zack Odom
and Kenneth Mount, and also teamed up with Grammy nominated producer
John Feldmann (blink-182, Panic! At the Disco) and Howard Benson (Of
Mice & Men, My Chemical Romance) for the very first time. The result
is an album built on impassioned vocals, sing-along choruses, and
deeply heartfelt lyrics.
From the album-opening “Never Sure”—a tortured love song driven
by blistering riffs and pummeling drumbeats—Mayday Parade instill
all of Sunnyland with unbridled energy. Whether they’re taking on a
folk-infused ballad like “Always Leaving” or channeling brutal
punk fury into tracks like “If I Were You,” the band sustains an
undeniable intensity. While much of the album explores personal
matters like loss and love (as on the stirringly romantic, piano-laced
“Piece Of Your Heart”), songs such as “It's Hard to Be Religious
When Certain People Are Never Incinerated By Bolts Of Lightning”
emerge as an outward-looking burst of anger. “That song was written
within months of Donald Trump being elected and came from feeling
upset that something as horrible as that could happen,” says
Sanders. “But even though there’s a lot of negativity on the song,
there’s still a hopeful chorus, because I think we need to try to
stay hopeful.” And to close out Sunnyland, Mayday Parade deliver the
album’s stripped-back title track, a melancholy midtempo number that
unfolds with graceful acoustic guitar work, delicate harmonies, and
subtly detailed storytelling.
Since making their debut with 2007’s A Lesson in Romantics, the band
has sold over 1.1 million albums, steadily amassing a worldwide
following. Through the years, their chemistry has only gotten more
potent, with all five members now contributing to the songwriting
process (and coming up with upwards of 80 songs in the writing
sessions for Sunnyland). “When we started this band most of us were
still teenagers,” notes Sanders. “We’ve obviously grown up and
changed a whole lot since then, but through all that we’ve grown
closer as friends and tighter as musicians. It’s amazing and
incredible that we’re able to still do this, and we all definitely
realize how lucky we are.”
Having gotten their start selling their CDs in the parking lot of Vans
Warped Tour, Mayday Parade have now headlined the tour five times, and
will play the main stage again this summer for the tour’s final run.
For the band, each live show offers the chance to personally connect
with the dedicated following they consider more like a family than a
fanbase. And with the release of Sunnyland, Mayday Parade’s mission
is to continue strengthening that connection through their
uncompromising honesty and boundless emotion. “There’s a lot of
sadness in these songs, but it’s always a good thing to get those
feelings out,” says Sanders of Sunnyland. “So if there are people
out there dealing with hard times, we hope our music can help them
work through that, and come away feeling a little better about
everything.”
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23/09/2020 Last update