No kid enjoyed going to summer school during their formative years - having to give up precious summer vacation days to sit in a classroom and learn. There is one burgeoning tour that is setting out to make summer school fun! The Summer School Tour, sponsored by idobi Radio, is now in its third year of making the ideal school in the summer fun again, gathering some of the most popular up-and-coming pop punk bands of the modern generation to blow the roof off each school (venue) they pass through. This year featured returning fan favorites Honey Revenge with support from South Arcade, Winona Fighter, and Games We Play. The second stop on the most fun travelling party of the summer happened at The Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, where fans were ready to throw their homework out the window.

The first band I got to see this night was Games We Play, making their triumphant return to the stage with this tour, turning the stage into what felt like a backyard show with some fake grass thrown down, a white picket fence spray painted, and even a grill sitting in the middle of the stage. Games We Play wanted to make this 1,000+ capacity venue feel like an intimate, personal show for each fan. Vocalist and guitarist Emmyn Calleiro has a voice like you’re listening to your best friend. It feels warm and familiar, and you could listen to their problems all night long. Games We Play put on a backyard show with songs that make you want to trash the house, like “The End,” “Is This What I’m Made Of,” “The Smash,” “Right Place Wrong Timing,” and “I Hope You’re Happy.” Throughout the set, I just felt like I was sitting in the backyard with great friends, drinking a beer, and talking about our problems that Games We Play turned into soon-to-be classic songs.

Up next was Winona Fighter, who was ready to kick the show into another gear. Starting out with their song “R U FAMOUS,” vocalist Coco Kinnon was a madwoman losing her mind in a fit of hysteria. From running around the stage, jumping, and dropping to her knees, and feeling like a ball of chaotic energy, you never knew where the music was going to take her through the performance. Guitarist Dan Fuson and bassist Austin Luther felt like the rocks of the band, holding down the instrumental side of the music while Kinnon manically performed for the audience. Winona Fighter’s music had a strong influence of punk to their sound that got the mosh pits and crowd surfers started for the night. One highlight of their set was when they covered the Beastie Boys classic “Sabotage,” which fit their sound and style perfectly. If you had never heard the song before, you would believe this was just another original. Winona Fighter kept up this ferocious energy with songs like “Swear to God that I’m (FINE),” “Subaru,” “You Look Like a Drunk Phoebe Bridgers,” “I’M IN THE MARKET TO PLEASE NO ONE,” “Bombs Away,” “Wlbrn St Tvrn,” and “HAMMS IN A GLASS.” Winona Fighter was a force to be reckoned with, and I would love to see a headlining show, as I know there would be even more chaos.

It was then time for a band I have been waiting a while to finally get to see live - that being England’s own South Arcade. This band has been playing consistently on many of my Spotify radio stations, and I knew a live show from them could steal a show. As soon as they started their set off with “HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER,” fans were already shaking the Belasco from jumping with the music. Vocalist Harmony Cavelle showed up for a California summer in a bikini top and some breezy jean shorts, like she wanted to walk down Santa Monica Blvd. Instead, she graced us with a high-energy-filled set, commanding the stage and crafting choruses that anyone in the crowd could be singing by the second verse if you were new to the music. Guitarist Harry Winks, bassist Ollie Green, and drummer Cody Jones created uplifting and powerful instrumental music that elevated Cavelle’s vocals through the roof. South Arcade kept an upbeat and lively sound with songs like “FEAR OF HEIGHTS,” “Supermodels,” “DEADMEAT,” “Drive Myself Home,” “Superman,” “2005,” and ending with “Stone Cold Summer.” With the energy, support, and liveliness of the crowd, there is an argument to be made that South Arcade could have been a co-headliner for this tour, as there is so much more in the future for this band.

However, it was time for our actual headliner, as hometown heroes Honey Revenge showed off why they are closing each night. This dynamic duo consists of vocalist Devin Papadol and guitarist Donny Lloyd. I’ve been fortunate enough to see this band quite a few times, and each time they bring such a fun energy to their live shows you can’t help being sucked into the music. With their first song “Technicolor,” fans were ready to tear the house down. Devin struts around the stage with a pep in her step and a rhythm that makes it clear how happy she is to be getting the chance to perform for fans each and every night, while Donny has a smile that could light up a dark room as his joyful energy and catchy guitar riffs give everyone a shot of dopamine. Honey Revenge got to perform on the Summer School 2024 tour, where they were one of the early bands on the bill, and Devin gave a speech talking about how happy they were to now be headlining this show and the support from the fans over the years.

One of the biggest highlights of the set was during the song “Habitual,” where Devin brought out a score keeper and a giant white board to keep track of all the crowd surfs. Blazoned across the top of the white board was “Los Angeles,” so the band is keeping score of the number of bodies barreling over the crowd at each stop, and I like to think LA put up a good score. But there are still many stops and more competitions to go up against.

Honey Revenge is on the verge of putting out their second full-length album, Loving and Losing, and they plotted many of those new songs into the setlist along with the Honey Revenge classics we’ve come to enjoy, like “Run Your Mouth,” “Seeing Negative,” “Recipe for Disaster,” “Risk,” “Worst Apology,” “Butterfly Effect,” “Hot Commodity,” “Poison Apple Baby,” “Distracted,” “Sunday Scaries,” “Are You Impressed?,” and ending with the song that put them on the map, “Airhead.” From playing an opening spot on this tour to closing and headlining it two years later, Honey Revenge continue to put out music and put on a live show that can’t be missed. The music is infectious and the live performance is joyous.

This was my first time attending the Summer School Tour, and I guess I have been missing out on a fruitful musical education tour of some of the best bands that will be taking over the world soon enough. idobi Radio has put together an annual tour that is quickly becoming a fan favorite, and I hope it continues for years to come. I can already see many of these bands headlining future years of Summer School, and even more so, I can’t wait to see headlining shows from all these bands.