Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming
Stir Cove was the place to be for all things Emo this past Saturday (8.24.24) as the Iowa Is For Lovers Festival ushered in their second year to much fanfare.
Midwest Emo legends Hawthorne Heights have created something special with their "Is For Lovers" brand and tour. Having the humility to put on a festival and not even be the headliner is pretty wild. HH lead singer JT has remarked that the line-up of bands selected have been friends that they've toured with in the past or just bands that they really respect. This year's line-up consisted of Life In Idle, Action/Adventure, This Wild Life, Emery, Armor For Sleep, State Champs, Hawthorne Heights and Yellowcard.
I had a previous engagement so I was pulling up just as Emery was finishing their set, but the place was packed compared to last year. I suppose the weather being almost 100 degrees last year probably kept some folks away. This year it was a bit toasty in the low 90s but things started to cool a bit after the sun went down.
The first band I was able to capture was Armor For Sleep from New Jersey. I was familiar with one of their albums What To Do When You Are Dead from 2005. I think I first heard them on a Warped Tour compilation. For some reason for the longest time I thought the band had a connection to Underoath, like it was a side project or something. I couldn't find anything about that when doing some recent research though. Anyways, Armor For Sleep was a lot of fun. Their emo-alternative had the crowd singing along especially when they pulled out their bigger hits "The Truth About Heaven" and "Car Underwater".
The next band up were the young guns on the bill State Champs. These guys turned the party up to 11 in a hurry! Their pop punk sound leaned really heavy on the pop. Lead singer Derek almost had a boy band vocal style. You'll find no complaints from me, who doesn't love a little NSYNC or Backstreet Boys every once in a while? Derek and crew had the crowd bouncing from start to finish with their upbeat jams. State Champs have a new album slated for November this year so give them a follow so you don't miss it!
After State Champs it was time for the legendary Hawthorne Heights! JT and the boys stepped out to much applause as they broke into "Life On Standby" from their debut album The Silence In Black And White. HH played the ablum in full which was so cool. If you ask me this is one of the quintessential Emo albums of the 2000s. The band had some hilarious shirts that read on the back "Ok, I admit that I downloaded The Silence In Black And White from Limewire in 2004 but this shirt is my redemption arc". Having seen HH several times over the years I had heard some of these songs live but getting to hear the full album blew my mind.
After the full playthrough JT spoke to the crowd about a new song. Everyone put up their lighters in tribute to Casey Calvert and Johnny Beatz as the song was about going through trials and losing people along the way. Of course the band saved their biggest song and the fesitval's namesake "Ohio Is For Lovers" for last. You would think that the band would get tired of playing the song every night but I once heard JT on the Chris Demakes podcast explain that the song was like a badge of honor for them. It was the ong that put them on the map and it's an homage to their home state so they love playing it every time they go out. From front to back the crowd screamed along with the most emo-y lyrics "So cut my wrist and black my eyes, so I can fall asleep to night, or die!" If you came up in the 2000s Emo scene you can't tell me you didn't have a swoopy hair cut and this song set as your ringtone. Hawthorne Heights thanked everyone for supporting the festival and to stick around for the headliners Yellowcard.
Finally it was time for the pop-punk legends Yellowcard! I had seen Yellowcard a few times at the height of their popularity back in 2006. Crazy enough, two of the shows were festivals also featuring Hawthorne Heights! That seemed like ages ago especially considering the band took a break for several years before reuniting in 2022.
With just a simple backdrop featuring the band's logo Ryan and crew lit up the stage kicking things off with "Way Away" from their breakout album Ocean Avenue. A few songs in Ryan addressed the crowd and asked if it would be ok if they played Ocean Avenue in full to keep the summer vibes going. This was met with raucous applause from the crowd as it's one of their most popular ablums which spawned the hits "Way Away", "Breathing", "Only One", and the title track.
As the band blasted through Ocean Avenue the crowd was on their feet singing along to all their favorites having a blast like it was 2003. One of the standout moments for me was the song "Life Of A Salesman". Before the song Ryan told the crowd "Most Emo songs are written from the perspective of kids who are angry at their parents. I had amazing parents who were super supportive. I talk to my dad every day and we're super tight. I wanted to write a song celebrating my dad and all the things he's done for me in my life."
Yellowcard killed their set and sent the festival off with a bang! I had the opportunity to talk with JT from Hawthorne Heights on my way out and thanked him for bringing a small slice of The Warped Tour to the Midwest. I asked if the band planned on keeping the festival going and he said most definitely. You heard it here first, if you missed Is For Lovers festival this year you'll have another chance next summer. So get some vans and start growing out your swoop hair because Is For Lovers festival will be back! This is one of my favorite shows of the year and I can't wait to hear about next year's line-up. I'm so grateful I got to be there for all the action this year and I hope to see you at the next one!
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