Gearing up for a good night at the South Side Music Hall, I was thinking about the last time I got to capture the guys in State Champs. It was So What! Music Fest and they had people crowd surfing all over the place coming across the barricade so as expected, it was going to be a great night. They were accompanied by Hunny and Between You And Me with a local opener to get the show started. The venue began to fill, and I got in position to capture the night.

Local opener, morningbuzz, jumped out on stage and were more than ecstatic to be there. Saying they were asked the day before; they were a ball full of energy. I had never heard of them, but it was cool to see the tour bringing on a local to the show. It helps support the local scene and opening for a group like Champs is def an honor as they said. They were a whole vibe the entire time and excited for more people to check them out.

Next up were Australian natives, Between You And Me. A new one for me but nonetheless always excited to see and hear some new tunes. As expected, there was a ton of energy in their stage presence. I found myself getting super into the sound and vibing song to song. Lots of jumping and crowd participation was happening everyone was there for it. You could tell this wasn’t their first rodeo. After going back and listening to them after the show, they played all of the hits like “Deadbeat”, “Butterflies”, and “Dakota”. A band I’m sure I’ll be seeing again in Dallas.

I was looking forward to the bands that were being added to this tour because Hunny always comes up on Instagram when I type in Hunnypot so I’m excited to finally capture and share some photos of them! Hunny ran out on stage and didn’t skip a beat. Jason Yarger, the front man, is a great stage personality and of course a great vocalist. Every member of the band was in sync during the performance. Based on the crowd’s reaction, you could also say that they were very much enjoying the set as well. I was a big fan of the very catchy riffs and jumpy drums from them. There was no downside, it was all good fun out of them the entire time.

Lastly, the Kings of the New Age, State Champs are set to take the stage. Peeking over to the side, I could see them doing their pregame huddle before running on stage. I’m sure it is always a thrill headlining a show and playing to a room full of excited fans. Lights dim and the house music silences, a deep bass fills the room and ominous lights start to shine on the crowd. The intro to “Just Sound” begins and in rolls the members. I had some excitement going into that photo pit to capture once again one of my favorite pop-punk bands. As per usually Derek Steez came out with 110% and the crowd went WILD. A few songs I as super stoked to hear were “Outta My Head”, “Elevated”, “Everybody But You”, and “Secrets”. I have those on repeat most days. My favorite part about their set was when Derek slowed it down and playd some acoustic jams. I was pure bliss and the whole crowd was singing along. State Champs will stand the test of time I think and look forward to what they can achieve down the road! Be sure to catch a date on the rest of the tour, you won’t want to miss it!