The year is 2022 and The Summer Set got the band back together. After a surprise announcement and a whirlwind few months, the Arizona natives returned to Phoenix for a rousing headliner to celebrate their new era.
Fellow AZ legends Anarbor provided the opening salvo of the night, blasting through nearly 20 years of music during their set. The two bands played shows together when both were just starting out, and lead singer Slade Echeverria reminisced fondly on past gigs.
The party started with “Gypsy Woman” and the energy exploded from there. Like The Summer Set, Anarbor has been mounting their comeback as well, treating the growing audience to “Drugs” and “Bad Love” from their upcoming album. Naturally, “18” had its nostalgia moment and Anarbor left the stage having successfully warmed things up for the main event.
The Summer Set played a headliner back in January, but since so many fans were from out of town for that one, singer Brian Dales declared this night to be the first proper Phoenix show in over six years. The band was all smiles- both at the audience screaming every word and at each other as they got back to the thing they love so much.
They promised to play “a lot of songs” and wow did TSS deliver. Every album in their catalog was represented- with a dramatic lyrical reading of “She’s Got the Rhythm” to the delight of the entire room and the chagrin of a band trying to forget their high school years.
It’s also been 10 years since the release of Everything’s Fine so Arizona celebrated in proper fashion with a group sing-along to “Someone Like You” and “Mannequin”. We took things back to 2005 with “Chelsea” and it turns out the inspiration for the song made the trek to join her old friends for the show.
Crescent Ballroom was filled with old friends, new fans and pure joy to welcome this staple of the AZ music scene back to the fold. It’s thrilling to see these four friends find true happiness being back onstage together and we’re so excited to see what the Blossom era holds for The Summer Set.
Check out all the photos from the show!
Story and photos by Olivia Khiel
