Written by Evan Nave
My experience at the concert for the North Carolina Indie band Hiss Golden Messenger was phenomenal. As soon as I entered the Metro concert venue, service was exceptional and I was welcomed with open arms. The venue was very beautiful and had classic architecture and interior direction. There were also many people that had purchased tickets as Metro was packed that night with people in every direction. They were all loyal supporters of Hiss Golden Messenger.
At around 7:30pm, the opening act went on to perform. It was an acoustic folk trio known as Silvie. The band consisted of two men and one woman with very talented voices. The men sang and played the guitar while the woman only used her vocals for the entire show. They played ballads at first, and then went on to sing more upbeat singles. Silvie played old hits and new hits from their most recent album; however, they decided to sing a cover version of a song that one of the members’ father wrote and recorded in the 70s. The audience loved the performance.
8:30 came along and the band Hiss Golden Messenger came out to perform. They came on stage wearing floral patterned attire and bright warm smiles to greet the audience. The lead singer immediately said “Good evening Chicago!” and started to perform a song from the new album. Throughout the concert, the lead singer and bassists kept changing their guitars from large to small and acoustic to electric at every song. The music in the concert was indie rock with folk and country elements to it.
The band mostly played up tempo hits that were old and new with a couple of ballads and some 70s covers. What I admired most about the performance was how the lead singer always checked in with the audience after every song to make sure that they were enjoying themselves. He even thanked people for attending on a Saturday night, instead of going to a bar or a club. Hiss Golden Messenger really cares for their fans and wants to make them feel special in their concerts.
At the end of the concert, souvenir frisbees were tossed into the crowd. I grabbed one frisbee, but decided to give it to a fan that really wanted it. After the concert ended, the band decided to sing three more encores. I would give the concert and overall score of 5 out of 5 due to audience engagement, diversity in the setlist, and costumes. I did not hear about this band prior to attending this performance. Since hearing their music, I have become a fan and will purchase their songs in the future.
Follow Hiss Golden Messenger on Instagram and check out their Spotify below!