AWOLNATION & Bryce Fox Shine At The Admiral!

Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming

What a beautiful sampling of musical flavors! On Tuesday (4.29.25) The Admiral hosted alternative staples AWOLNATION along with newcomer Bryce Fox. Opening the show was Makua from Hawaii. Let's get into it!

When I got the invite to check out Bryce Fox I listened to a couple of his songs, but when I know I'm going to see an artist live I usually try to hold back and let their stage presence shape my opinion. So when I saw this first band ripping pop-rock tunes with a reggae twist I was a little surprised. I was like "Ok, Bryce Fox is getting down with the funky bass and shredding guitars!" After the first song lead singer Makua Rothman said "We're Makua", and it hit me that there was an opener before Bryce Fox, haha! No worries, more new music is always welcomed. I really dug Makua and their sound. If you've read any of my previous articles you've probably inferred that I'm a die-hard 311 fan and these guys were totally in that 311 rap-rock/reggae lane. So I was jamming out having a great time. With so much music at our fingertips it can be hard to keep up. Apparently in addition to writing music Makua is a champion surfer?! He also has a song with Wiz Khalifa that's racked up almost three million views! Apparently I was sleeping on Makua. If you like pop-rock with a reggae twist give Makua a listen today!

Next up was the band I was truly on assignment to check out, Bryce Fox. This guy knows how to warm up the crowd! Bryce and his band came out swinging with some pop-rock bangers that had a bit of a dirty country vibe. Bryce was an excellent compliment to AWOLNATION and their fans welcomed him with open arms. There were quite a few fans singing along and Bryce made sure to point them out and give them some extra attention, noting "I see some people singing along, that's super cool." As an artist I'm sure that's the ultimate good feeling, knowing someone took the time to not only listen but to memorize the words to your song. I get the same enjoyment when someone says they liked my photos or if I introduce myself and they say "Oh yea I follow you on socials!" All the cool people follow Stories From The Crowd on socials, wink wink. Bryce opened his set with the single "Golden Boy" which is such a good choice for an introduction. It's got that high school pep rally drum beat that's perfect for clapping along. Sometimes you see an artist and you can just tell they have that little something extra. Like there's this unexplainable energy that lets you know they could be the next big thing. I have a feeling Bryce could be on that track.

Bryce played for about half hour which suprised me a bit. I was hoping to get a few extra songs, but it's cool. The songs we did get rocked the house and got the crowd hyped for AWOLNATION. His closing song "Horns" is a certified banger and had everyone on their feet. It has over 70 million plays on YouTube music alone! I'll make sure to keep an eye out for Bryce to see if he comes through Omaha again. I highly reccomend catching him soon, where he may be playing a smaller venue. If you wait a couple years you'll probably see him on a major support slot opening arenas or playing big theaters. Get there soon before he blows up!

Last up was AWOLNATION. The band is currently out promoting their latest release The Phantom Five. In headlining tour protocol the band played a lot of tracks from the new album and shyed away from their radio hits. The last time I saw AWOLNATION open for 311 they played nothing but hits. Seeing as their true fans showed up for this one they pulled out some deeper cuts and crowd favorites.

Aaron Bruno and crew did a great job bringing the energy and had the people dancing. My favorite song of the night was definitely "Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf). That got all the people jumping! I can't recall which song it was but at one point Aaron had everyone get down real low and when the break hit the whole floor was bouncing in jubilation. It was such a great sight to see. Of course the band had to close with the hit that put them on the map, "Sail". I feel like you couldn't go anywhere in 2011 without hearing "Sail". It made it's way into all kinds of media, sports games, you name it. So the crowd for sure knew every word and made sure to sing it back loudly. Overall, it was a great time out and I'm so appreciative that I got the invite. Thanks for reading and we'll see you at the next one!

Big thanks to Bryce Fox management for photo access.