I Prevail & Halestorm rock Michigan like a hurricane

Clarkston, Michigan went absolutely wild on July 13th. Four bands collided for the ultimate rock show — the likes the city has never seen.

Fit For a King started off the night strong, with Ryan Kirby not holding back on anything. He immediately started screaming in everyone’s face. Bassist Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary also kept up the energy, as he always does, with his legendary spinning. He doesn’t just spin with bass in hand; it’s spun around his entire body! Add in his jumps and you can’t take your eyes off him.

Next up was Hollywood Undead… and the most chaotic band I have seen in the best way possible.

There are five singers — Jordon, Jorel, Danny, George, and Funny Man — that were all over the stage rapping, switching off playing guitar and bass. At one point, their tech guy was onstage slapping the tambourine and Jorel had him drinking while playing! Hollywood Undead‘s goal for the evening was to clearly have as much fun as possible.

If you don’t know who Halestorm is, then where have you been?! I saw them over five years ago and almost forgot the set of pipes Lizzy has. As my friend describes… “Lzzy Hale can blow!”

I personally like to tell people this band is the definition of rock and roll.

Halestorm started off their set with one of their most well-known songs, “I Miss The Misery”, with a slow beginning to the song to build suspense before exploding right into the rest of the set. My eyes are always drawn to Arejay when Halestorm hits the stage; this day was no different. He is one of my favorite drummers to see live, because he tries to have fun with the crowd in his own way. In the middle of the set, Arejay performed a drum solo showing off his skills. I was so distracted by his playing that I didn’t realize that Lzzy, Joe, and Josh all were bringing giant drums out to drum with him! Arejay climbed down and the four members did a solo in sync. And it’s not an Arejay Hale drum solo until he pulls out the giant drumsticks! During “I Am The Fire”, both Lzzy Hale and guitarist Joe pulled out their dual-necked guitars. And it can’t be overlooked that the band gave a special recognition to Michigan by wearing Detroit Tigers attire.

Last, but not least, was I Prevail. Their set started out with a hooded man on a screen, with a distorted voice talking about the fear of letting go. This hooded man actually showed up multiple times throughout the show. Brian Burkheiser came in perfectly with the clean vocals as Eric Vanlerberge screamed straight into the mic to back him up. “Body Bag” was their second song… I felt heat on my face quickly. My jaw just about fell to the ground when I realized I Prevail casually threw fire, sparks, and fireworks into their set. I knew these guys were big, but pyro — to me — always signals just how big a band has really gotten. Same went for the fact that the show was the second one they have done at Pine Knob.

I’m proud to see their quick growth!

The band then sang their cover of “Blank Space”, which (apparently) they hate but they still did it for the fans anyways. “Can U See Me in the Dark” was the new single by I Prevail, featuring Lzzy Hale who was naturally back onstage to perform live. During “Bow Down”, Brian paid his respects to Michigan, the band’s home state, by wearing a Lions shirt. At the end of the show, the band had the crowd cheering “Jared Goff” as they walked off the stage.

This show had everything, from the fun to the energy to the power to the pyro. There wasn’t a moment where I got bored or where the artists fell flat. Bringing them together was the perfect blend of everything a good show should have. If these four ever come back together for another tour, I suggest getting tickets immediately.

Photography by Kayla N. Rising

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