Photo Credit: Steve Barrass
Since its announcement on May 30th, 2023, the “Speaking Our Language Tour” has been arguably one of the most anticipated tours of 2023. This is not only due to official return of Boys Like Girls, but the bill of emo and pop-punk icons that they decided to bring along with them on this 31-stop run of US shows! With Boys Like Girls headlining the run of dates, with State Champs opening every night, you can expect to see a wide range of familiar names tagging along, such as Four Year Strong, 3OH!3, The Summer Set, and more on select dates! Its safe to say that whether or not you had WWWY Fest on your to-do list this summer, this tour is closest thing you are getting in one night that you wouldn’t want to miss!
This star-studded tour made its way to the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday Night with LoLo and The Summer Set kicking off the evening before State Champs and Boys Like Girls capped off the night! The event started a little earlier than usual, with doors at 5:30 PM and show time at 6:30 PM. LoLo put on the perfect set to get the night rolling as the sold-out crowd filled the city’s prime concert venue. It was right before The Summer Set took the stage that it appeared as everyone had officially packed onto the floor and into the balcony’s reserved seating. It was at this time you would have though that The Summer Set was headlining due to the crowd screaming back every word throughout the band’s set and they weren’t even the night’s main opener!
State Champs kicked off their set with “Outta My Head”, a single from their latest album Kings of the New Age, which dropped mid-2022. The band played through an 11-song setlist that spanned their career up until this point that ended with Gregory James of ‘Boys Like Girls’ joining them on “Everybody But You”. This appearance would make State Champs’ 4th show since 2021 in Cleveland, proving that the city can’t get enough of these future legends!
Not long after State Champs left the crowd completely energized, Boys Like Girls made their first appearance on a Cleveland stage in 11 years! It is to be noted that the anticipation for their arrival was at peak level since the group’s first album since 2012, Sunday at Foxwoods, dropped the day before. Opening their set with the fan favorite “Love Drunk”, Boys Like Girls performed a setlist of 23 songs that spanned their career and kept all 2,500 fans moving for almost 2 hours. This night was nothing less than spectacular and one that many will never forget. All of the bands on the bill for this evening played with such force that it made you feel like you were in high school again.
For all of the band’s setlists from the night, as well as full photo sets, keep your eyes on our Instagram page throughout the week!