On July 27, 2025, Summer of Loud came to Charlotte at the PNC Music Pavilion and it was one of the hottest shows I’ve experienced in a long time. We were on a heat advisory that day and water was my only friend. This show was the last one of the tour and it was one of those shows where, as a media person, I had the best time of my life even though I left the event with blisters on my shoulders. During the day, I found out some horrible news and it caused my mental state to deteriorate slightly, but once I was in that photo pit with my friends, I knew I was going to be alright.

Alpha Wolf was up and this band easily became one of my favorites within the last year. They came onto the stage with a beach ball with their bands name on it and automatically threw it to the crowd to activate crowd participation! During their set, I did get hit in the head several times with the same beach ball which made a few attendees at the barricade giggle. During their set, I heavily focused on their guitarist Sabian because he was one of the most interactive member on stage. Alpha Wolf performed songs such as “Sucks 2 Suck” and “Akudama” which is one of my favorite songs from this band because when this song started, the crowd went completely feral.

The Amity Affliction was up and this band truly encapsulates all emotions in their songs that a person might feel during their life and I did shed a tear during their set. I am one of those individuals who, even though a band removes a member and has a new one join, will respect them and continue to listen to their music. I could hear people in the crowd talking about the vocalist that does cleans stating that he shouldn’t be in the band. When you hear attendees talking negatively about a band during their set, I find that really disrespectful. Bands are allowed to grow and evolve even if it means adding and removing members to allow that growth to happen in a healthy way. 

The Amity Affliction will always be one of my favorite bands, and throughout the years, they have stayed true to their sound and continued being the band that everyone grew to love years ago.

The Devil Wears Prada was next and I swore that, between the energetic movements of the musicians, stage production, and the crowd, it felt like a small earthquake happening with the amount of chaos occurring. I’ve seen this band at least five times within the last two years and they are one of those bands that will consistently create music that keeps the integrity of their original sound from years ago. In my high school years, The Devil Wears Prada was one of those bands I got bullied about because of how they sounded, but at the end of the day, I realized that these bands helped me cope with bullying throughout my teenage years. During their set, I was walking around to take photos and I could see a dad and his younger son rocking out in a private area. This warmed my heart because some of us wish we had families like this that understood why we love this type of music, but now we see our generation bringing their kids to these shows.

I Prevail was the next band to perform and this was the first band of the day to use pyro which I had only experienced once at a show. I personally never gave this band a listen besides knowing “Bow Down” and their cover of the Taylor Swift single “Blank Space” which they performed at the event! There’s something about heavier bands covering pop songs that itches my brain in the best way possible.

Killswitch Engage was up and this was my first time seeing this band live. The vocalist did not disappoint. As I was in the photo pit, I was in complete awe of his stage presence. Within the first minute of the first song, he hopped off the stage and went down the barricade until he went from one end to the other, hugging attendees and singing to everyone. This is when the weather was at its hottest, and of course, when we thought we would survive this set, the pyro started. The heat from the pyro made this summer day feel like we were in the desert. “My Curse” was finally performed and that’s the only song I knew from this band. Once the song started, I felt my soul leave my body because of how angelic the vocalist was with his vocals. The live performance of this song sounded like the studio version.

Parkway Drive was up, and the last time I saw this band was at Vans Warped Tour in 2013 or 2014— I personally can’t remember. If you want to experience a once in a lifetime performance, you need to see this band. The stage and light production during their set truly was an astonishing thing to see because you could feel the dedication and love the band has towards their fans to give them the most memorable experience. I was speechless throughout their whole set and I haven’t listened to this band in years, but the way they sounded that night reminded me of when I first saw them when I was a young teenager, giving me a nostalgic feeling.

Beartooth was the last band of the night and they ended the tour with an explosive and energetic set. The best part of their set—aside from the stage production—was when the vocalist welcomed his son onstage and sang to him. I believe it was his son because the little boy looked exactly like him and it was so wholesome to see. Beartooth is one of those bands that will have your eyes glued to each musician because each of them are doing something interactive to cause crowd participation. The band opened up with “The Lines” and all the attendees behind me at the barricade starting singing along instantly with Caleb. I never really listened to this band, so the only reason I knew the song that the band opened with was because Caleb stated the song’s title. We as media people need to act professional in the photo pit at all times, but when no one was around me, I would start head banging in my own space because that’s how pulsating Beartooth’s performance was. They made it so difficult to stay still and that’s when the crowd surfers started to come over the barricade. Out of all the times I have photographed at this venue, I’ve never seen crowd surfers before which shocked me. After we left the photo pit, I went to find some friends to enjoy the rest of the show with and when I finally did, my friends were crying. Music truly has an impact on individuals, and seeing my friends having the time of their lives is the reason why music is the best medicine.