exclusive
reunion show coverage
It’s hard to put into words what you see when five best friends find themselves in the same room, almost exactly two years after they played their finale show in their hometown. Lucky enough for me, I was able to witness it when the guys from Sing It Loud (Pat Brown, Nate Flynn, Kieren Smith, Ben Peterson and Chris Lee) came home to Minneapolis to play a reunion show. After landing in the city – Ben, Kieren, Pat and Charlie (the band’s longtime friend and old tour manager) went straight to the rehearsal space where the band shared laughs, hugs, inside jokes and last but not least, a few beers.
Although only two of the five members of Sing It Loud still live in Minneapolis (Pat and Nate), it felt as if no one had ever left, as if no holidays had been spent away from each other and no shows had be missed. After a three hour rehearsal playing through the whole set, making some tweaks and changes, and going through the band’s old intros while on tour, we called it a night on rehearsing and headed back to Pat’s house for some relaxing and eating. We ended up all going to bed pretty early knowing we had to be up at 9AM for an early load-in at Mill City Nights, but not before Kieren and William Beckett (who was staying at Pat’s house that weekend for the show as well) pulled out their guitars and played a few songs together. We woke up the next morning to an incredible homecooked breakfast and stuffed it down before having to pack up all the gear, merchandise and people in as few cars as possible. Having left New York City when it was 79
degrees outside, being greeted by snow in Minneapolis once we arrived at the venue was the last thing I was expecting. The merchandise was unpacked, the guitars were tuned and the band ran through the whole set for the last time before their show, ironing out some last minute details. For not playing with one another for two years it was mind-blowing (to say the least) how tight they were and how well they played – it was as if they had never left each other. After an acoustic set and meet and greet for those lucky enough to snag a VIP package for the show, the boys went on to relax for a few hours before their set; eating dinner, seeing old friends, family members and watching openers Love Out Loud, The Roll Call and their old friend, William. By 8:15, it was time for the guys to hit the stage. The band got in a circle, gave themselves a quick pump-up speech and hit the stage to screaming fans. A set list full of older material (“Maybe I’m A Ghost”, “MPLS”) as well as the newest material from the band (“Shadows”, “Thunderstorms”, “Here With You”) was exactly what the fans needed, a perfect set from the band they loved. It was a privilege to watch these guys come back once more and play the songs live that they wrote together years prior. Watching them play together with the biggest smiles on their faces, knowing they loved what they were doing was the absolute best way to spend a Saturday evening. STORY AND PHOTOS: Tanya Gelman