The music scene should always be a welcoming place where anyone can find music that speaks to them on an emotional and spiritual level. Many people can get stuck in their ways of listening to the same bands, and only experiencing new music when said bands puts out their latest album. But there are always new bands and artists emerging every day and trying to find their audience. One successful way some new artists have found an audience is through the app TikTok. There is a trend of non-musical TikTokers jumping headfirst into the music scene and using the platform to launch their careers. One of the latest artists to make this jump is Bailey Spinn. So as to not get stuck in only listening to the bands I already love, I wanted to see what kind of new emo and pop punk artists are connecting with the younger generation now. I headed to the Parish Room inside the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA for Bailey Spinn’s Happy Ending Tour, with support from Senses and Glimmers. The front row was lined with girls roughly aged 10 – 12 hanging on the barricade, as well as teens and young adults helped to fill up the room. I knew I was in for a treat seeing emerging bands that have been connecting with the next generation.

Opening the night was a two piece alt pop rock band known as Glimmers. This band consists of vocalist Maggie Schneider and guitarist Alex Downtain. Maggie is a ball of joy dancing around on stage. From her infectious smile to peppy attitude as she sings. While Alex adds the rock flavor to the music. The two could often be seen dancing next to each other with the biggest smiles on both of their faces. You could see the joy that they had getting the chance to perform live every night on this tour, and to all the new people in each city. Glimmers rounds off their sound with bassist Stephen DeFoor and drummer Devin K O’Rourke. Whether you were familiar with their music or not, the entire crowd could be seen dancing and moving to the music. Even seeing the youngest ones in the crowd jumping for joy at the experience of the live music. Glimmers fit as many songs into their set as they could with songs like “False Hope,” “Bad Influence,” “Midas Touch,” “Scared to Lose,” “Bad Romance,” where Maggie even ran into the crowd to sing along with the other Lady Gaga fans, “Back to Hell,” “Not Good At Goodbyes,” and ending with “Jaded.” Glimmers was nothing but a fun show to kick the night off with, and the crowd was amped up for what was still to come.

Up next was the only band I was familiar with prior to this show, that being Senses. I was fortunate enough to see them earlier this year, and they created an instant fan out of me, so I was even more excited to get to see them again when I knew the music. Starting off the night with a high energy song known as “Can’t You Tell.” Vocalist Madison Taylor is probably the most animated person on stage of their entire night. She exudes high octane energy that just pumps up the crowd. Even the kids in the audience could be seen singing along and jumping on the barricade with her. Senses is another dynamic duo with drummer Nick Sampson being the backbone to the band. Not only are his sticks floating around the kit, while tossing some stick tricks in from time to time, but he himself is constantly making faces and being just as entertaining as Madison while stuck behind the kit. Senses also has a guitarist, Jordan Keigher, who helps round out the sound of the band, but Madison herself also grabs an acoustic guitar for a couple songs. Showing just how multitalented of a performer she can be. Senses had the crowd rocking out with songs like “Gonna Make Sure,” “No Fun,” “Every Little Thing,” “Me Against Me,” “Good Luck, Babe,” “Pull me Under,” “Better Than This,” and ending with “Sleepwalking.” Whether feeding the crowd high energy songs or bringing the melody down for a more introspective ballad, Senses captivated every person in the Parish Room.

Finally, it was time for our headliner Bailey Spinn. As the lights dimmed and the intro track played over the speakers, you could see all the young fans in the front row losing their minds with excitement. This reminded me of how happy little girls were when they got to see Britney Spears in her heyday. Before the lyrics to the opening song “Romance is Dead” could be sung, Bailey was already reaching out to her fans on the barricade shaking hands and embracing them. Bailey has amassed 15.6 million followers on TikTok and it was great to see her showing her appreciation to the ones that are transitioning into her music fans as well. A lot of Bailey’s songs have to do with romantic heartbreak and mental health issues, to the point that I don’t know if the youngest fans in the crowd may be able to sympathize with, but the teenagers and young adults certain were connecting with the lyrics of the music. Bailey Spinn also included three cover songs in her set, that of Pierce the Veil’s “Emergency Contact,” Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend,” and Evanescence’s “My Immortal.” With the latter being a challenging vocal song as Amy Lee has one of the most powerful voices in rock. But Bailey took the challenge and created her own beautiful rendition of the piece. Other original songs she performed included “Runner Up,” “Superglue,” “In Loving Memory,” “Front Row Psycho,” “What if I,” “Loser,” “Cheap Motel,” and ending with “Happy Ending.” Bailey Spinn was nothing short of a true performer live on stage, even given how new she is to the medium.

Each and every band to perform on this night brought their new and unique sound to the masses, and the music is fantastic. Glimmers music was filled with pop rhythms and vibes that lifted the energy in the room. Senses is an emo pop punk band to watch, that should already be performing to bigger crowds on their own headlining shows. While Bailey Spinn’s is proving that she is more than just a face on a TikTok video and that she has so much more to offer the world creatively. Each band had a woman singer, and I could only imagine how inspiring these three were to the younger girls in the crowd. If nothing else, these three bands showed the younger generation how much fun live music is, and that they need to go to more concerts. I can already see these kids hit with the concert bug and want to experience this joy more often.