Sleep Theory Burns Down The Bourbon!

Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming

If you weren't at the Bourbon in Lincoln on Tuesday night (6.10.25) you missed a piece of rock history. Sleep Theory from Memphis, TN is blowing up right now. Their new album Afterglow just dropped a couple weeks ago and it is an absolute no-skip banger! The band is on their first ever headline tour and they are packing clubs across the U.S. If you didn't catch them in Lincoln I'm sorry to say, you missed out big time. I predict that the next time they come to Nebraska on a headline run it will be at a bigger venue like the Astro, the Steelhouse, or quite possibly the arena level.

The show was incredible but we have to take it back a few months to really get to the beginning of the story. Around December of last year my buddies DT and Spicoli from Good Life Records put Sleep Theory's Paper Hearts EP on their top albums of 2024. I gave one of the songs a listen but I was a bit hastey in my judgement. I thought it sounded like radio-friendly metalcore, a genre that's being completley saturated right now. I was a little turned off so I set it aside and didn't really think much of it. A few months ago I was listening to something on streaming and it did that thing where the algorithm starts playing a song you might like. The song was "III" by Sleep Theory. I liked what was hearing this time around so I went to the album. Since it wasn't released yet there were two other songs available that had been released as singles. I listend to those and was starting to warm up to the band. Only a couple weeks later and Afterglow was released. I gave it a spin still not fully convinced of Sleep Theory's awesomeness. Pretty soon I had racked up four or five playthroughs of Afterglow and I was hooked. I went back to the Paper Hearts EP and any other Sleep Theory songs I could get my hands on. I was getting super excited to see them live and kept playing Afterglow on repeat.

The day of the show came and I got in touch with Animal from the Blaze to see if I could get a photo with the band and possibly get a vinyl signed. I ordered a copy of Afterglow from First Day Vinyl in Lincoln to be picked up right before the show. I didn't realize how far away the store was from the Bourbon. Especially with after-work traffic! I made it to the Bourbon just a few minutes late but I was able to get a pic with the band and tell them how much I loved the album. Like the nerd that I am I said "You guys botched the name of the album, it should be called "Banger City"! They got a laugh and lead singer Cullen said "I told y'all there's no skips!" No lies detected.

After the meet and greet my son Aeros and I hit Honest Abe's for a quick dinner. I got the "Awesome Burger" minus the spicy "awesome sauce". I'm sorry Lincoln but it was just ok. Nothing beats Stella's in Bellevue. Fight me in the comments.

After dinner it was time for the show. Things kicked off with Dallas new-comers Stray View. They got some heads bobbing and a lot of people jumping. It wasn't really in my lane but I could appreciate their efforts. There was one guy who tried to start a mosh pit and he had to have been in his late 70s or early 80s. He got a shoutout from Stray View's singer and everyone cheered.

Next up was Oxymorrons from Queens, NY. I was familiar with the band because they used to be on Jason Aalon Butler's label 333 Wreckords. I had never seen them live before, but after catching their set I want to see them again as soon as possible! These guys tore the stage up. With a mixture of punk rock and hip-hop they had the crowd going nuts. There was so much jumping and hands in the air you would've thought they were the main act. Towards the end of the set guitarist Jafe had some technical difficulties. He kept trying different guitars but the sound was shorted out or something. The band was going to cut the last song but the crowd cheered for more and chanted "Let them play!". They finally got the tech issue fixed and blew the roof off the place. I talked with Jafe after the show and we bonded over our love for 311 and how Jason Aalon is such a real one. Jafe said they're hoping to do a headline run later this year. Keep an eye out for a Nebraska or Iowa date. You don't want to miss this band, they rip!

The next band was the direct support for the evening, Nevertel. The crowd seemed to dig their sound but to be honest after seeing Oxymorrons destroy the stage Nevertel had a really tough time carrying that same energy. They did a great job musically but the air in the building had flattened out a bit. No shade to them, they clearly have a great fanbase, but the music just wasn't in my lane. They leaned very far to the pop side of pop-metal. With super high falsetto vocals they almost sounded like a boy band with guitars thrown in the mix. Add in some rap verses and it's just not my thing. But super nice guys, I had a great time chatting with them before the show. Definitley give them a look if you're into pop-metal. They have a new album dropping in September so check it out!

Between Nevertel and Sleep Theory Animal and the Blaze crew came out to thank everyone for packing the house on a Tuesday. I absolutley love the Blaze team! They always treat my kids and I like royalty when we come to Lincoln. There's a ton of good shows on the calendar this year so give the Blaze a follow to keep up!

Last but not least it was time for the mighty Sleep Theory! By now the room was packed and the place was sweltering. Sleep Theory jammed out to "Party In The U.S.A" over the house speaker before melting our faces with "Fallout" from the new album Afterglow. The crowd was super into it singing along loudly. For a brand-new album I was surprised how much homework the crowd had put in so they knew all the songs. I put in at least a dozen listens myself so I was ready!

Sleep Theory got the energy up to 11 in a hurry. They were calling for circle pits and crowd surfers and the crowd obliged. While I was shooting photos from the back railing I felt someone pushing me and I look over to see Willy, former bass player for the band Saul. I said "Willy what are you doing bro?" He smiled and waved at me as he surfed on. It was pretty funny. A couple songs later I was crouched down trying to get a certain photo angle and I felt a guy roll across my back and into the crowd below. Luckily he popped up and was ok but I had no idea he was coming. With a camera on my face he got no support from me. With super young kids to my left and right our pocket of the crowd was not it for crowd surfing. Had I known he was coming I would've tried to support but I was completely blind. Oh well, I didn't see any ambulances or security dudes tending to hurt people so I think everyone made it out alive.

In addition to playing the full Afterglow album Sleep Theory pulled out a cover of "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC, a Boyz II Men song and a cover of "My Heart" by Paramore. During "My Heart" bass player Paolo took the lead on vocals and totally crushed it! That's part of Sleep Theory's secret sauce, not only is Callum an incredible R&B vocalist, but when Paolo and guitarist Daniel harmonize together it's pure magic.

This was such an awesome show. Getting to see the full Afterglow album live was such a trip. In ten years when Sleep Theory is doing anniversary shows for Afterglow the fans who were at the Bourbon can say "I was there on the first headline tour and they played Afterglow in full!". Seriously, if you haven't given Sleep Theory a look yet, now is the time. I have no doubt this show will be on my top ten for the year. They've made a fan for life over here and I can't wait for the next show!

Huge thanks to Bourbon Theater and 104.1 The Blaze for bringing such a great show to Lincoln. Shout out to Raylan and his mom Ashley. They came to the show from Kansas and it was their third time seeing Sleep Theory! It's always great to see new fans becoming life-long supporters.

Thanks for reading and we'll see you at the next one!