New Found Glory kicks off acoustic tour in St. Louis

The first show of punk legend New Found Glory’s “Make the Most of It” Acoustic Tour kicked off at Delmar Hall in St. Louis, Missouri on January 28th. The show sold out fast, with a crowd ranging in ages from pre-teens to teenagers to people in their late thirties and early forties. St. Louis has been on the receiving end of many a live music event over the years, but I’m not sure we’ve ever seen an acoustic tour sell out as fast as this one did. In an age where rock bands like to throw all sorts of special events – guitar pulls, meet-and-greets, Q&A’s – most of them are more ways to make money than they are ways to preserve the integrity of the music, which is often lost in the process. The “Make the Most of It” tour was not one of those events.

The name says it all: rather than masking itself with gimmicks and extra bells and whistles, on this tour New Found Glory is letting the music speak for itself.

Leanna Firestone, a fairly new acoustic singer/songwriter, took the stage before New Found Glory as their support act. She seemed so excited to be on stage and, with just her and her acoustic guitar, played through some of her most popular hits, including “You Just Didn’t Like Me That Much,” “Google Translate,” and “Love of My Life.” With her simple and sultry vocals, she had the crowd’s attention the entire time she was on stage and had the majority of those in attendance singing right along with her. It really set the tone for New Found Glory’s performance.

New Found Glory, who have been around for over 20 years, are known for playing upbeat, pop-punk shows that are fun to dance along with. However, this acoustic tour was a surprising departure from the norm, and it worked out well for both the audience and the band. Once the show got rolling, they had everyone in the audience singing along to tracks from the bands early days all the way up to their newest album Make the Most of It. They played new hits like “Mouth to Mouth” and “Understatement”, which were both very well received by the crowd, while also playing some of the classic older songs like “My Friends Over You,” and “All Downhill From Here” which are more nostalgic for fans who have been listening to them since they started in the early 2000’s but still sound great today. The band seemed very happy. They had smiles on their faces and seemed genuinely thrilled to be on stage. Even though they’re not known for being a strictly acoustic band, they sounded wonderful.

I’d go ahead and say that the first stop on the “Make the Most of It” Acoustic Tour was a roaring success. The crowd at Delmar Hall was electric, Leanna Firestone sounded beautiful, and New Found Glory put on an energetic show that had the crowd buzzing like it was 2003. With plenty of more dates available, grab your tickets now for the “Make the Most of It” Acoustic Tour. 

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