THE STORY SO FAR BRINGS AN EXPLOSION OF POP PUNK TO THE FILLMORE

October 28, 2026

5–7 minutes

On October 18, 2026, The Fillmore in Charlotte, NC, was packed with fans for California pop-punk band The Story So Far’s sold-out show.

Graphic (L) by Rosi Martens and photos by Cheyne Ford

Fresh off a nonstop summer festival run, The Story So Far have begun ‘Part two’ of their tour supporting their 2025 album I Want To Disappear.

The Story So Far gave the audience a treat with this tour lineup, starting with Ultra Q kicking off the pop-punk-filled night. Reigning from Oakland, California, and founded in 2019 after a brief rebrand, changing their name from Mt. Eddy to Ultra Q, the band is sure to become a household name in the coming years. Ultra Q got the crowd warmed up with their unique blend of indie/90s punk/shoe-gaze style of writing and instrumentals— which makes sense considering lead singer Jakob Armstrong is none other than the youngest son of punk rock legend Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer of Green Day. It’s very evident the band takes influence from bands of that era, and lovingly adapts modern twists to their music.

The next act was none other than Philadelphia’s own The Starting Line. The band’s high-energy set spanned music from over their entire career, even opening their set with “Saddest Girl Story” — a song they haven’t played live in over 14 years. They truly made sure their time on stage pleased every member of the audience, playing familiar songs from their early Warped Tour days, along with sprinkling in some songs from their newest album, Eternal Youth. That album also being the first full length album from The Starting Line in almost 18 years! The band had no problem building more and more energy from the crowd as they anxiously awaited The Story So Far’s performance, even after all these years.

And finally, The Story So Far.

One of my favorite parts of getting to photograph live shows is taking a second to turn around and capture the most dedicated fans screaming their hearts out to the lyrics of their favorite songs, all with their favorite band right in front of them. Lead singer Parker Cannon is a big fan of this as well, you could tell he was absorbing all the energy he could from the crowd, all smiles the whole time. Speaking of fans singing their hearts out, I truly have never been to a show where every single person in the entire venue was singing every word to the songs from their full chest with as much passion as these fans were. I had to take a few moments throughout the night to really soak up how special these moments were not only to me, but to the fellow fans around me.

From the start of the set, there were mosh pits galore and crowd surfers coming from every direction possible at the Fillmore. It was only a matter of time before the crowd began to do Cannon’s signature ‘finger point’ right back at him, and there wasn’t a still body in the venue for the whole hour-and-a-half set. The band played through many classics like “Roam,” “The Glass” and “Empty Space.” Along with new crowd favorites like “Big Blind,” “Letterman” and “Watch You Go.”

Right before the band covered the song “Vegas” by New Found Glory, Cannon asked the audience who knew where they got their name, The Story So Far, from. The crowd mumbled to themselves before a young man in the center of the crowd shouted out, “New Found Glory!” To which Cannon briefly explained how the band was indeed named after the popular song of the same name by New Found Glory. He then acknowledged the recent passing of New Found Glory’s Guitarist Chad Gilbert, reflecting on how much of an impact the band made on his own band, and how uplifting he was to young artists within the pop punk scene for decades. They then proceeded to cover “Vegas,” with Cannon expressing, “This one’s for you, Chad!”

Another notable moment from the set was the back-to-back performance of deeply emotional tracks, “White Shores” and “ Clairvoyant.” Many fans pulled out their flashlights and lighters, swaying along to the slower songs as they soaked in the moments around them. During the performance of “Clairvoyant” specifically, Cannon was left by himself on stage, a faint guitar track playing behind him as he sang the heart-wrenching song. One of my favorite moments was Cannon stepping away from the mic to let the crowd sing the iconic line, “Don’t paint me black when I used to be golden.”

The Story So Far had the audience in the palm of their hands through the whole set, mainly due to the band switching song order throughout the first few dates of this tour, and some fans going in completely blind to what they’d play in general. After every song, the crowd was on the edge of their seat, awaiting what possibly could be played next. I noticed early on that the last song on the setlist (which is usually their song “Quicksand”) was marked with “????????,” rather than their usual closer. When the band returned to the stage for their encore, Cannon jokingly asked the audience what song they’d want to hear; he was immediately met with ineligible requests from the crowd, to which he said, “Okay, okay, I got it. You’ll like this one, let’s go!” The band then proceeded to play their 2016 single, “Nerve,” off of their self-titled album The Story So Far. The crowd went absolutely insane at the surprise ending; everyone was jumping in sync, pushing and moshing and fighting to get up in the air to crowd surf. The looks on the audience members’ faces are truly something I’ll never forget.

The community the band has built from their live shows is something so incredible. After so many years, The Story So Far has proved more and more every year their place in this scene, and they’re not going anywhere.

Setlist: