Our guest photographer Jen Hopper captured the essence of a William Beckett solo show with her words and photos. Enjoy her review and photographs from ‘An Evening With William Beckett’ in Grand Rapids below!
On the third date of his solo tour, Walk the Talk, William Beckett stopped in the arcade district of Grand Rapids, MI to play the Pyramid Scheme to an intimate room of no more than a couple dozen.
It’s no easy feat, packing Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre on a Tuesday night (April 17), but young and old fans flocked to see the All-American Rejects make their return to the stage with their brand new album, Kids in the Street. The boys opened with long-standing fan-favourite “Dirty Little Secret” and were their usual quirky selves throughout. Eccentric frontman Tyson Ritter strutted around stage with a hop in his step and a sway to his hips, setting the tone for the show early on by knocking over his mic stand mid-song, falling to his knees, and all but devouring his microphone.
Three years after their self-titled record hit shelves in 2008, Say Anything are back on the scene with their latest release “Anarchy, My Dear,” the promotion of which sees them hitting North American stages all throughout April and into the start of May. The band took over the Opera House in Toronto on Good Friday, packing the place despite the holiday. As soon as lead singer Max Bemis grabbed the mic stand, the crowd surged forward against the barricade and began screaming along, with at least five overzealous crowd surfers pulled out by security within the first three songs.
YIKE Records
Good news TAI fans: the wait is over. William Beckett, former lead singer of The Academy Is…, has announced 3 EPs and a tour, reports Alternative Press.
The first of the three EPs, ‘Walk the Talk,’ is due April 17 and will be released under YIKE records. The other two EPs are to be released in July and October. Beckett’s first solo single, ‘Compromising Me,’ is out tomorrow (March 20).
A press release states that Beckett was meant to release his solo work under his former label, Atlantic, but was unexpectedly dropped.
Photo: JC Hendricks
Andy Tongren – Vocals
Dylan Scott – Guitar
Julian Holubiak – Bass
Steve Patrick – Drums
Together since: Jan, 2011
Based out of: New Jersey
INK: Your music is very soulful. Tell us a little about what your sound is all about.
ANDY: If I could sum our music up in one word, I’d say that it’s honest. Having been a band for a year, we’ve experimented with all sorts of ideas and sounds. I believe that’s a process that every artist goes through to develop themselves.
