With a rather late show time for a Sunday night, fans of all ages still made their way to the Granada Theater to see indie-pop rockers Echosmith. They brought along with them solo artist Jayden Bartels and the alternative-pop rock band Weathers. Despite there not being a huge crowd in attendance, there was definitely a huge energy in the room that made it feel like the capacity was maxed out.
Kicking off the night was the young indie artist Jayden Bartels. Although just a teenager, Jayden has the confidence of a much more experienced artist. It was easy to see how much she cared about sharing her music with the Dallas crowd. She played through songs “New You,” “Galaxy,” and her new single, “Gameboy.” However, I don’t think she completely won over the crowd until she covered Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts.” This got the crowd pretty rowdy, they started clapping, signing along, and dancing around.
Next on the docket was four-piece alt-pop rockers Weathers. This show in Dallas was the first night where they’d be performing as a trio (due to a family emergency, their drummer had to leave the tour). This forced Weathers to perform each song acoustic. They played through most of their most popular songs, including “Problems,” “1983,” “Feel Good,” “Lonely Vampire,” “Happy Pills,” “I’m Not Okay,” and “Shallow Water” – which they subbed in place of a song from their usual setlist to fit the acoustic set better. Despite this curveball that Weathers got thrown, they still performed great and kept amping up the energy throughout the entire set. They reeled in the crowd and had them singing along as loud as they could.
As it grew later into the night, anticipation filled the air. As it hit 9:30, the lights went dark and an ominous blue glow filled the stage. Lights flashed as the music picked up and as the first chords rang out, giant confetti filled balloons were tossed into the crowd. The light show got more intense and the giant balloons continued to dance around the music hall as Echosmith came out swinging with “Love You Better.” Their set had so much range. They played some of their best pop songs, some slower ones, and even a few where they ripped guitar solos. Towards the middle of the set they slowed it down with “Bright” and cell phone lights filled the venue – making it a magical moment between the band and audience. They closed out the initial set with “Stuck,” where they brought back the killer light show and confetti filled balloons.
After a brief break, Echosmith came back on stage to perform two final songs, the title track to their newest album, Lonely Generation, and their most widely known single “Cool Kids.” Echosmith completely blew me away with every aspect of their performance. The variety of songs, the light design, the amount they interacted with the crowd, and best of all – how much energy they had throughout the set. Echosmith is a band you’ve got to see live, even if you only know the chorus to “Cool Kids,” you won’t be disappointed.
– Lauren Frederick
