State Champs Celebrate 10 Years of ‘Around the World and Back’ at Majestic Detroit
State Champs hit the road to celebrate 10 years of the album ‘Around the World and Back,’ and stopped by Detroit on Saturday, January 10, at The Majestic. On this stop, they brought along Real Friends, Driveways, and Summerbruise, which was the perfect combo of support for this audience.
SUMMERBRUISE
Summerbruise was a new band to us, but they immediately captured our attention. Their enthusiasm for playing for this audience was demonstrated, both by the band saying it, and how exuberant their playing was. Hailing from Indianapolis, this group encompassed the “Midwest Emo” genre, and even though they were only one stop for this tour, they made the absolute best of it. Some of the tracks you should check out by them include “Cookie Monster Snapback,” “Stop The World, I Want To Goof Off,” and quite possibly my new favorite song title, “Man! I Feel Like A Dumbass,” which had me audibly cackle when it was verbally introduced.
DRIVEWAYS
Somehow, we’ve never heard Driveways despite our love of October / Halloween, as much of the information on this band cited online brings up. Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, they straddle the Midwest Emo and Pop Punk genres with ease. While we can’t find much else on them than that, we can be sure to let you know some of the tracks to check out: Their top Spotify song “Skeptic,” the cited reasoning for tying this band to spooky season, “October Forever,” and one of their most popular tracks (according to the internet), “Drop Dead.”
REAL FRIENDS
We’ve caught Real Friends before at The Maine’s Sad Summer Fest 2024, and we’re not going to lie: seeing them again was a must — especially not in 100-degree weather. Real Friends’ frontman Cody Muraro brings a full-bodied energy to his performances, flinging himself into the crowd, jumping across the stage, swinging mic stands (not at people, just in general), and standing on the speakers in the pit to get as close to the audience as he can.
You could tell the band was feeling the audience’s reciprocation of joy: crowd surfers started to make waves during their first 3 songs, and you could tell it helped to fuel the performance’s high-octane fun. They kicked off their set with the first 3 songs being “Late Nights In My Car,” “Mess,” and “Waiting Room,” which helped to stabilize the exciting foundation of their set. To see the full setlist, click here.
STATE CHAMPS
I must say it, because I personally think they might find it funny: State Champs, I was not familiar with your game. From the word go, the crowd unglued and pushed into a tsunami of crowd surfing, custom tees in the front row that said “I’m A Realist,” “I’m an Optimist,” and a young person in the front row bearing a sign “State Champs: My First Concert.”
The band has been around for some time, and while I’ll fully admit that I was doing different things during their rise (going through that phase of partying in your 20’s to Lil’ Jon songs), they’ve solidified themselves within the genre and have carved out an audience that fits their vibe. I did, however, find out that I know more of their songs than I thought, starting with “Secrets” being the 3rd song of the set (which I’ll credit to Emo Nite bringing State Champs bassist Ryan Scott Graham to DJ and @Emos_Barbie for keeping their music in rotation).
The band chronologically played ‘Around the World and Back,’ followed by 8 other staples in their catalog, closing out the night with “Common Sense,” “Elevated,” and “Anyone But You,” while keeping the energy up and helping people to burn off all the booze from the bar and pizza from Sgt. Pepperonis.
State Champs also did not just come to Michigan without leaving a piece with us. Wyandotte local coffee roasters Kekoa Brew. Co partnered with the band to create the “History” brew, a Peruvian Geisha with tasting notes of white grape, strawberry jam, and brown sugar. I got my hands on the bag before the show, and honestly, what a great way to tie in local interest… at least to the caffeine-addicted like me.
State Champs will be on the road until February 6, so be sure to get your tickets before they’re all gone. And if you’re a Michigander, plan a trip! Live a little! See all the dates here.