The VAMP Tour made its 7th stop at the Webster Underground in Hartford, Connecticut last Friday night. With Florida’s Magnolia Park headlining, the sold out show was expected to be a hot one (and it sure was). Although the tour is mainly celebrating the release of Magnolia Park’s fourth album VAMP, each act performed their own newly released songs while showcasing their classics.
The show opened with English band South Arcade, who started strong with songs from their latest EP as well as their newest single “Supermodels”. Lead singer Harmony Cavelle has absolutely captivating stage presence and kept the audience engaged throughout the entire set with little adlibs in between songs. Cavelle mentioned how exciting it was to be able to see the sunset outside from the stage inside and that the venue was much hotter than venues they’re used to playing in the United Kingdom. I was already a fan of “2005” and “DANGER” prior to this show, but now I am anxiously waiting to see what they have in store for the rest of 2025. If you’ve never heard of South Arcade, be sure to check them out as soon as possible.
Savage Hands took the stage next and also quickly noted how hot the venue had become after opening their set with “Bloodshot”. The energy in the crowd grew stronger throughout their set, which resulted in multiple mosh pits and several people crowd surfing. There weren’t any security guards near the front of the stage to catch surfers, so lead singer Mike Garrow took matters into his own hands and caught everyone without ever missing a beat. One of the last songs they played was “Reload, Repeat”, a song that was released only a week prior to this show. I will definitely be keeping Savage Hands on my radar, and I look forward to seeing what comes next for this metalcore group.
Third on the lineup was Manchester rock band Hot Milk, who I’ve been wanting to see live since I heard their first album, A Call To The Void, shortly after it was released in 2023. Opening the set with one of their new singles, “90 Seconds To Midnight”, co-lead vocalists Hannah “Han” Mee and Jim Shaw instantly got the crowd off their feet. It didn’t take long for Mee to also mention how hot the venue had become in such a short amount of time, resulting in both her and Shaw dumping water on themselves and into the crowd. Mee encouraged people to stage dive during “I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I’M DEAD” and then stage dove herself during the final song of their set “PARTY ON MY DEATHBED.” Hot Milk (emphasis on HOT) was the perfect choice for direct support on this tour.
By the time headliner Magnolia Park opened their set with “PAIN”, the crowd was as energetic as ever. The majority of their set featured songs from their newest album VAMP, which is already shaping up to be a defining album for the band. Songs like “CULT” and “SHALLOW” were crowd favorites, in addition to some of their hits like “Misfits” and “Do Or Die”. Objectively, the best performance of the night was an acoustic version of “10 for 10” that was teased to be the last song of the set. Lead singer Joshua Roberts showcased his incredible vocals throughout the show, but this stripped down performance highlighted his raw talent. Subjectively, the best part of the night was when they came back on for the encore and performed their cover of “I2I” from A Whole New Sound. They closed the set with “Animal” and encouraged the crowd to create a giant circle pit to end the night. Long story short, the night was hot in more ways than one.
Get tickets to Magnolia Park’s VAMP Tour here
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Check out Allison’s review of the album VAMP for HMM here