Forgot to take notes? Not a problem. Crave is here with a rundown of what you missed while class was in session at Minneapolis’ Uptown Theater.
The Summer School Tour, backed by idobi Radio, started in 2024 with the intention of helping emerging pop-punk musicians gain more audience, all while creating a fun show with a stacked line-up at an affordable cost for fans.
In 2024, Honey Revenge was on the bill as an opener, and they came back this year in full swing as the event’s headliners, accompanied by Chase Petra, South Arcade, Games We Play and Winona Fighter. This all-ages tour had 25 stops across the US and was well put together, seeming to run smoothly from an audience perspective as each act took turns gracing the stage.
Since it was the last week of the tour, the remaining dates were assigned Spirit Week themes to celebrate the end of the show’s run. Minneapolis’ date, at the historic Uptown Theater, was assigned “Twin Day.” Fans could be seen matching with their besties and partners, and each band had their own twist to the theme.
Chase Petra got things started with their laid back style that includes guitar, drums and a backing track. Vocalist Hunter Allen kept things sweet and playful, while engaging with the crowd from time to time. At one point she asked everyone to talk like minions, but unfortunately the crowd was left a little confused by the term “Minionese.” As jokingly disappointing that was to Allen, they pivoted with the bit and asked for a track to play while giggles rang through the crowd. Chase Petra continued to deliver a passionate performance for the remainder of their set. To go with the Twin Day theme, Allen and her tour drummer stunned in matching pink sets from one of the tour’s sponsors Peta2.
Second on the bill was the incredible band South Arcade from Oxford, England. The band took the stage and immediately gave a shoutout to the tour manager named Ted, which led to a venue-wide chant of his name — a fun way to give credit to the guy running the show. South Arcade has a unique pop-punk sound that just generates hype. They were so energetic, jumping up and down and running around the stage.
South Arcade vocalist Harmony Cavelle mentioned that the boys had lost a bet for Twin Day and had a surprise: they took off their shirts to reveal they were both wearing bikini tops just like their singer. This had everyone cracking up, on and off the stage. Later on in the set, Cavelle stated how shocked she was by how responsive and energetic the Midwest crowd had been, so much so she mentioned they will have to come back on their next US tour. Another fun little moment during their set was when they were about to play their song “Uptown,” the bass player revealed the back of his instrument that had the words “What’s Uptown?” in gaff tape, in reference to the Minneapolis venue. The audience found it silly and began cheering.
Third to perform was the witty and sincere, Games We Play. Before they started their set, they revealed they weren’t as prepared as South Arcade in terms of matching bikinis, but then collectively pulled out black underwear from their pockets and said, “We’re matching too, you just can’t tell.” The whole venue erupted in laughter at the sight of the matching undies. Vocalist of Games We Play, Emmyn Calleiro, went on to talk about how awesome the tour has been before they started to perform.
During one song, the band invited a person from the crowd on stage to play a single note on the keys. The person they picked was named Jerry and turns out he knows how to play the keys. In a gleeful tone Calleiro revealed it’s the first person on tour they’ve picked that actually knew how to play. Jerry played the one note perfectly, and then just started riffing playing whatever sounded good with the song. The crowd absolutely loved this, and before Jerry stepped off the stage he took a bow with the band as the audience chanted his name. Calleiro wanted to play a new song for the fans but ran out of time, so he offered to do a performance outside their tour bus after the show. Due to venue load out and the unexpected rain it is undetermined if they were able to follow through, but the offer was very kind regardless.
The final band before Honey Revenge took the stage was none other than Winona Fighter. Being the more punk-forward band on the bill, it was exciting to see what they had planned. From the second they took the stage, they did not rest. It truly was back to back performances, while the lead singer Coco Kinnon was breathing and talking in between songs to keep the energy up. It was such a lively performance. Kinnon and bass player Austin Luther wore matching “In Frog Years I’m Gay” t-shirts and silly sunglasses. Kinnon closed out the set by crowdsurfing. Cheering across the venue grew louder as fans who caught her kept her afloat all the way back to barricade.
As the house lights dimmed for the last time, more cheering rang through the theater as Honey Revenge took the stage. Class was now officially in session. The band performed and added segments of crowd interaction that mimicked a classroom. The first segment was seeing how many people they could get to crowdsurf during one song, having other musicians keeping a tally against Chicago’s total.
Honey Revenge did not stay still for a second. There was so much jumping, twirling and synchronized choreo. The whole band coordinated all black fits, and their touring bass player and drummer twinned with bandanas. The band did a remarkable job interacting with the crowd and encouraging people to dance. Not a phone was in sight for their set as people were too busy having fun. It was an incredible experience seeing a wide range of ages enjoying the show. One little girl was so brave and crowdsurfed for (presumably) the first time. The crowd cheered her on, and some performers watching by the barricade made sure to let her know how cool she was.
It’s safe to say this was not your average summer school experience. It will be fun to see how idobi Radio continues this in the future, as well as what other artists will join the bill.
Keep up with the artists!
Honey Revenge: Website / Spotify / Apple Music / Instagram
Winona Fighter: Website / Spotify / Apple Music / Instagram
Games We Play: Website / Spotify / Apple Music / Instagram
South Arcade: Website / Spotify / Apple Music / Instagram
Chase Petra: Website / Spotify / Apple Music / Instagram
