Universal City Walk ended its summer concert series Monday, with performances by Echosmith and Macy’siHeartRadio Rising Star winner, The Summer Set.
It was a hot Labor Day Monday, but that did not stop the crowds from lining up early in the day. It was Universal’s final free concert of the summer and as showtime drew nearer, more and more people filled the city walk.
Newcomers, Echosmith opened the show with songs from their upcoming debut album, “Talking Dreams.” The band, made up of four siblings: Graham, Sydney, Noah, and Jamie Sierota, are almost completely unknown, but they have a stage presence that rivals the pros. The group managed to show maturity on stage that is absent in many of their musical peers, which is amazing considering they just signed with Warner Bros. Records a year ago. Their ages range from 14-20, but other than their young faces, you wouldn’t even know. Lead singer, Sydney has a voice very reminiscent of Haylee Williams from Paramore, but the band still manages to keep its distinct sound. The audience was feeding off the energy onstage and sang along to many songs, including “Cool Kids,” from theirdebut album.
The Summer Set continued the upbeat tone into their set. The band opened up with “Lightning In a Bottle” from their latest release, “Legendary.” Lead singer, Brian Dales, bounced around on stage in a bow tie throughout the entire 11 song set, never dropping anywhere under excited and happy. While front-man Brian’s energy was infectious, it’s hard to deny drummer Jess Bowen’s talent. Sitting behind four boys, Jess’s energy came through with every hit and proved that girls can drum just as well as any guy.
They performed songs from all of three of their albums, including “Someone Like You,” from their second album, “Everything’s Fine.” The Summer Set, composed of Brian, Jess Bowen on drums, John Gomez on guitar and piano, Stephen Gomez on bass, and Josh Montgomery on guitar, easily translated their album’s feel-good, high energy album into their live set. The audience sang along to every word of every single song, and one fan in particular even made a yellow umbrella sign in homage to the lyrics in the album’s title track, “I’ve spent too many nights watching ‘How I Met Your Mother’ alone. Now I’m searching for my yellow umbrella, hoping I’ll take her home.”
Fans who chose to spend their final days of summer watching The Summer Set (see what we did there) were treated to a couple of surprises. The group performed “The Way We Were” for the first time live. But before that, Brian invited his best friend, Alex Deleon of The Cab, to sing-a-long to “Young,” from their first full length album, “Love Like This,” which led to loud screams from the audience. The show felt like an energy drink buzz, in the best way possible, with every song delivering catchy hooks and choruses. The Summer Set finished off with one of their most well-known hits, “Chelsea.”
Set List:
Lightning in a Bottle
Rescue
Young
Someone Like You
The Way We Were
Someday
Jukebox (Life Goes On)
Boomerang
Maybe Tonight
Legendary
Chelsea
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