It seems no coincidence that it’s thirty-three degrees the day Hail The Sun play Sheffield. The room is packed, and everyone attending the show has a sheen of sweat on their happily expressed faces.
Jumper Boy
Jumper Boy is up first, a local band from Sheffield. They brand themselves as “Indie Math-Emos”. Their set is the perfect balance of mellow and fun. It’s upbeat, and the crowd can’t help but jump along to the rhythms they produce. Their female bassist is hugely talented, as is their guitar player and lead singer, and the drummer keeps everything in time. As well as being uniquely talented, they all play very well together and in sync with one another.
They engage well with the crowd between songs while tuning guitars, and it’s clear to see they’ve lots of fans in the audience. They ask the audience… “What’s the furthest you’ve travelled for this show?” There’s some competition between fans until one group screams “IRELAND”. I had met fans earlier in the queue who had been to all of the Hail The Sun shows on this UK tour run and will also go to Glasgow to see them again tomorrow!
Jumper Boy brings a lot of fun to the room. They have a huge career ahead of them. We’re warmed up in more ways than one..
Blight Town
Blight Town are a “math-infused, post-hardcore” band from Nottingham who take to the stage next. They bring so much energy into the room, and their music is heavy in all the right places and gets progressively heavier throughout their set, with moshing from the crowd to match the mood given.
They seemed to have a huge fan base in the room who were happy to jump, mosh, and create circle pits on command. There was so much jumping and alternating from the band on the stage, they really gave the performance their all. Fastly plucked guitars matched high-pitched screaming in their cleverly delivered melodies. Their set becomes a little bit mellower at times, but each time it does, they then quickly reach new hardcore heights abruptly after, like a gotcha moment!
Thundering riffs and drumming drills lead to the crowd two-stepping in complete synchronicity. The circle pit seems to exceed the whole room now, with everyone involved in this team effort. They were an incredible warm-up act, and their set was courageously chaotic.
Hail The Sun
Hail The Sun are tonight’s headline act, and there is huge suspense from the crowd who are awaiting their arrival onto the stage. We’re suddenly plunged into complete darkness with a voice-over playing. The band takes to the stage as blackened silhouettes, and the crowd is now manically screaming with excitement. There’s a burst of light from behind the band, and we’re into the most energetic performance.
The lead singer holds the microphone on its stand outstretched to the audience, and not a single word is missed from seemingly every person in the room. You can tell Hail The Sun are prolific at what they do. They’re so in tune with each other and play so perfectly. Every note is defined and delivered with complete authenticity.
They fluctuate between bending genres effortlessly, with some songs more melodic, some more pop punk sounding, and others heavy. They play a mix of older and newer songs, and each song is equally well-received by the audience.
There’s an insane drum solo backed up by a guitarist who has both bands up the top frets of the guitar, exuding extra high-pitched frequencies, with the Olympic drum playing alongside, igniting all of our senses.
The audience matches their insane stage presence and altruistic energy; the band headbangs and moves around the stage all in sync, long hair flying everywhere, even sometimes flipping around in circles too fast for the eyes to properly catch. There are magnificent guitar riffs played and so many mood-changing songs throughout, you never know what’s coming next.
The lead singer has an incredible vocal range; his growling is guttural and strong, his belting voice fluctuates effortlessly from soft and high-pitched to complete depth and bass.
They surprise fans with medleys and also a stunning, unprecedented cover of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears For Fears from the 1980s, which is sung with such devotion, it’s an incredible rendition.
The fans seem to worship them, and it’s clear to see that Hail The Sun has created a unique bond with them. When they perform, it seems they speak to the fans’ souls. I look around and see so many beaming faces that are completely present throughout these special moments. You can see the spark in the band’s eyes and the dedicated emotions behind the fan’s eyes; it’s really beautiful to watch.
The lighting was harsh, manic, and quite distracting at times throughout the show. The fog machine was requested to be turned off by the band about halfway through the set.
The lead singer delivers powerful speeches that make it clear to fans that they’re supporting the right kind of band.
He spoke up against government control and was quick to dedicate a heavier song to this. He spoke about the band’s love for playing intimate venues and getting to connect with the fans. “I can smell every single one of you in this room. I can also feel all of your energy, and that’s fucking awesome. We’re a band that often speaks our mind, we encourage everybody to think freely, don’t just take our word for it, we encourage critical thinking, one of the things we’ve been about for the last fifteen years.”
The fry screams from his voice for the last few songs were harshly but wholeheartedly delivered with a lot of emotion behind them.
He announced the band is releasing a new album in the Autumn, and you could feel the excitement in the room grow alongside the fans’ cheerful screams in response.
The chant for an encore from the crowd was one of the loudest I have ever heard. The anxiousness in the room while awaiting the band to come back on stage turned rapidly from emotive feelings to circle pits in ideal timing.
Hail The Sun were truly mesmerising to watch and hear live throughout the whole show. Their energy never faltered, only grew. They have a beautiful stage rapport with each other and such an incredible rapport with the fans. They created something special in the room tonight.w