Thursday night at Stifel Theatre, Halestorm, In This Moment, and New Years Day—all fronted by women—commanded the stage and the attention of every single person in the crowd throughout the night.
Sometimes opening acts have it hard. When the audience sat during the first song California metal band New Years Day performed, Ash Costello, the lead singer, chided the crowd into standing, saying she’d never seen this and that the metal gods must be appeased. From that moment on, the crowd rarely sat, even during set changes. Here are photos of New Years Day:
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The night was two hours of a trio of powerful female-led music that resounded through every inch of the theater. It's not often you hear "Don't Stop Believin’" by Journey pumped over the speakers prior to a heavy-metal act. In This Moment, from Los Angeles, did before wowing the crowd with its 45-minute theatric-filled set with a costume change after nearly, if not every, song. The comparison has been made many times before, but to see her in action, with smoke swirling around the band, it’s hard not to think of Maria Brink as the Lady Gaga of metal. Here are photos of In This Moment:
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Co-headliner Halestorm, from Pennsylvania, rounded out the night with 45 minutes of pure rock 'n' roll. Vocalist Lzzy Hale can be melodic one minute and nearly guttural the next. Her eyes are nearly always on the crowd, and she quickly turns up the heat with her vocals and guitar action. If it were doubtful that the metal gods were appeased at the beginning of the night, by the end there was no question that they were. Finally, photos of Halestorm:
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