Sevendust Live at the Cain’s Ballroom 10/4/2024

Sevendust is one of those bands that has the reputation of one of the hardest working bands out there.  Album after album, you can always count on them to have a solid product. The band has been around for a long time and they could just hit the road and tour on the old catalog, but they still make the time and put in the effort to bring something new to the table.

I became a fan of this band in the early 2000's and have wanted to see them perform live for a long time, but didn't make it a reality until 2019.  Not going to see them every time they came to the area has been one of my biggest regrets.  Thankfully they continue to tour as much as they do.

Sevendust made the announcement that the band would be performing the seasons album on this tour and I had to order tickets as soon as they became available. Seasons was an album that I could listen to over and over from beginning to the end. So to get the chance to cover this event was a special one.

This stop of the Seasons Anniversary tour was held at the legendary Cains Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  This venue was where I saw Sevendust perform live in 2019. 10 Years who was also on the bill for this show and they happened to be a part of my first concert at the Cain's Ballroom 19 years ago!

The night started off with the band Horizon Theory opening up the show. I had not heard any of their work prior to this show and thought they had a good stage presence with a solid setlist. Being the first band up on the show, it is hard to predict how the crowd will react.  The crowd all bunched up towards the front and really seemed to enjoy their performance and started the evening off right.

Next band on stage was Return to Dust, a band I had seen open up for the band Chevelle a few months ago at another venue.  Return to Dust brought the intensity to another level. Their songs have catchy hooks and have moments where their double vocals remind me of Alice in Chains. The crowd was really behind them. Even after the show I heard others talking about how they had heard them play a few months ago in Tulsa and really liked them. I can definitely see this band finding their way on the program for a lot of the shows I try to make in the future.

10 years hit the stage and like most of the crowd I was excited to see them perform again.  They opened up for one of my first concerts in 2005 and after I saw them play I made sure I went to the merch booth and supported their band.  They will always have a special place with me.  The band has a strong catalog and was able to play a good mix of their newer songs and getting the core fans excited to hear some of the older hits. They announced that they have a new EP called "Inner Darkness" with a scheduled release date of October 11th. They kicked off their set with the song "shoot it out" which brought a high level of crowd interaction right at the start.  Halfway through the set 10 Years played their version of Nirvana's "Heart shaped box" which I thought was really good and a different take on the song.  They ended their performance with their first hit "Wasteland".  The band had a strong showing at this venue with the crowd singing along to the hits and really raising the intensity of the show.

The energy kept building and when the final band Sevendust took the stage you were quickly reminded how powerful their music can be. The seasons album has hard hitting songs all the way through. Sevendust brought it with every song.  This band has a very unique way of creating music that is heavy with hints of anger and beautiful melodies all in every song. After the first few songs going in the same order as the album, there was a short break in the set to make sure someone in the crowd was okay. The lead singer Lajon Witherspoon noticed that some fans were concerned about somebody in the crowd needing some assistance and had the band stop mid song.  After that was cleared the band came back on stage and started right where they left off. I think that says a lot about the band as well.  They make it known that the fans are considered family and make sure that everybody is taken care of. This show proves every bit of that to be true.  Sevendust shares vocals on most of their songs and it was known before this show that their guitarist Clint Lowery would not be on this tour due to an injury. I want to say that if you have any doubts about seeing them on this run because of that reason you are going to miss out.  Jon Jourdan, a guitarist from the band Mammoth WVH filled in for Clint on guitar and back up vocals and I think he did an amazing job.

After the songs from the seasons album was played the band did an encore and brought out some older songs from their catalog playing songs Pieces, Rumble Fish and Praise to end the night.  This show was a night to remember and if you have not seen Sevendust perform live yet, please do yourself a favor and make it happen. Do not make the same mistake I made years ago.  You will NOT be disappointed.