While some of The Backseat Lovers’ beloved indie-rock songs can be heard on a weekly basis as performed by the University’s student bands, the band themselves took the stage this week at the Jefferson Theater. With the Jefferson’s intimate setting, the four members of the band connected with the audiences, creating a personal feel to the performance.
Although the set list order changed from Monday to Tuesday’s show, the core songs remained the same and spanned across The Backseat Lovers’ discography including their debut EP, two albums and new music yet to be released. First-year Engineering student Rina Kopylev commented on both the venue and the sneak peek into the band’s future projects after attending the Monday night performance.
“It was really cool to hear [The] Backseat Lovers in person, especially the new music. The energy of the crowd was great, and the small venue made the concert even more enjoyable,” Kopylev said.
The opening set of songs at their Monday performance got the crowd up and moving, as the extended musical intro of “Silhouette” flowed into “Pool House” and “Growing/Dying” to begin the night. The laid back yet lively beat of “Pool House” had audience members swaying their heads and chanting the chorus alongside the band. “Growing/Dying,” on the other hand, features a heavier guitar track and raw lyricism, allowing the crowd to rock on to the rhythm while showing off the band’s signature instrumental interludes.
Fourth-year Engineering student Daniela Schneider appreciated the excitement and energy thrumming through the audience during her experience Tuesday night.
“The crowd was surprisingly amazing and knew almost every single song. Everyone sang along and was super excited,” Schneider said. “I heard some people even camped out at noon [to be at the] barricade.”
The enthusiasm of Monday’s show continued as the band transitioned into some slower favorites like the melodic tune of “Snowbank Blues” and the deliberate build of “Heavy.” The crowd leaned into the raw emotion in these mellower melodies, feeling a close connection with the band members as they sang along to “Snowbank Blues” wistful chorus, “Wish I could roll the windows down/ But the snow has swallowed up our little town.”
The band then dove straight into some of their latest tracks. The audience grew hushed as the chords to the unreleased songs rang out, listening carefully to every note. While beginning without introducing titles for some songs, they referred to others by name, including one piece entitled “Evergreen.” In this teaser, lead singer Joshua Harmon, steps aside and yields the lead vocals to his fellow bandmate.
Amidst the rocking, rolling and dancing to the soulful songs, colorful light beams soaked the stage in multicolor magic and added to the overall ambiance. Fourth-year College student Jaden Homan admired the lighting effects, as well as the backdrop behind the band, during his experience at Tuesday’s performance.
“The music was great, but I found myself even more captivated by the intricate set design. Their backdrop was a quilt of artwork that was illuminated differently depending on the lighting for each song,” Homan said.
One of the most electric moments of Monday’s show, however, occurred as the opening notes to one of the band’s most popular tracks, “Kilby Girl,” rang out. As the song picked up, the crowd came alive, jumping in unison and dancing as the rainbow lights went wild. Their most streamed song, “Kilby Girl” highlights the musicians’ guitar mastery with electric riffs interspersed between catchy choruses reflecting on a feeling of teenage freedom and rebellion.
Ending the set with an ode back to their roots, the band finished their lineup with “Still a Friend.” As students and the band alike belted out, “Well I sure hope that it was one hell of a kiss, my friend / still a friend, just a friend,” the frustrated emotion behind the longing of relationships linked the musicians and fans in an empathetic understanding. In addressing feelings of longing and heartbreak, the song features an anticipatory buildup with a strong beat and a lengthy guitar interlude that flows into an energetic conclusion to drive the concert to a close.
The fans, however, were hungry for more. Chants of “one more song” brought the Backseat Lovers back to the stage for an encore. The band bade goodbye to its Charlottesville supporters with an enthusiastic rendition of “Sinking Ship” from their debut 2019 album, “When We Were Friends.” The track’s mellow introduction entranced the crowd, before the gradual crescendo brought the venue back to life one final time.
Students and community members bopped to the music, shouting out “Don’t hold back / Don’t wait for the night to end” as their night of grooving concluded. Even as the band left the stage and light returned to the venue, the lively tracks left the crowd abuzz and humming along to their favorites.
Read More
The summer Ellie’s Country Club hosted watch parties
By Zoe McFarland | YesterdayEllie’s wisely tapped into the shared appeal of the show by opening up their bar space on Wednesdays for viewers to watch the show side by side, beginning Aug. 27.
The Front Porch is cultivating a new generation of Charlottesville jammers
By CC West | 3 days agoA group of local musicians at The Front Porch Charlottesville, a non-profit music school, cultivate lessons and community events that nurture this beloved Americana music scene.
Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival expands community through music
By Delaney Coppola | 4 days agoAfter a quarter of a decade, the vision of the co-founders and artistic directors, Timothy Summers and Raphael Bell, remained the same even as the schedule and scale of the festival has modernized and developed.
