311 Bring The Unity Tour to Charlotte
Charlotte “Didn’t Stay Home” for 311 Sunday night
311, AWOLNATION, and Neon Trees performed at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre in Charlotte, NC for The Unity Tour. It was a perfect evening without any rain in the forecast, a welcome relief after Tropical Storm Debby
The members of 311 are seasoned touring musicians from Omaha, Nebraska. They formed the band in 1988 and have since toured extensively around the world, blending a variety of genres to create a unique sound. Over their 34-year career, they have released 13 studio albums and continue to put out new music. Their latest single, “You’re Gonna Get It,” was released in June.
The show started at 7 PM, but eager fans had been lining up since early in the morning. The venue offers a mix of standing general admission, seats, and lawn seating, so you can enjoy a great view from anywhere. You can also rent chairs if you forget yours or prefer not to sit on the lawn. The venue layout makes it easy to access refreshments, and there’s no bad spot in the venue for hearing the best sounds!
Neon Trees started the evening with their pop-rock sound, making them an enjoyable band to dance to.
They gained popularity with their first hit “Animal” and continued to build their fanbase with songs like “Sleeping with a Friend” and “Everybody Talks”.
Frontman Tyler Glenn’s high-energy presence on stage kept the crowd engaged during their short 30-minute opening set.
Next, AWOLNATION took the stage. You might be familiar with the LA band from their breakout song “Sail,” which gained widespread popularity in 2011.
They kicked off their performance with the high-energy rock track “Soul Wars” to get the crowd pumped up.
The band made the most of their 45-minute set, led by frontman Aaron Bruno, and performed a variety of songs from their extensive catalog, including “Kill Your Heroes,” “The Best,” and a new song from their latest EP, “Panoramic Views.” They also delighted the audience with their cover of “Song 2” by Blur.
The entire time, he encouraged the crowd to get up and dance with him, quoting Whitney Houston: “I wanna dance with somebody, somebody who loves me.” “Who’s the best dancer?” Bruno asked. Naturally, “Sail” was their closing song, and by that point, everyone in the crowd was standing and singing the lyrics back at him.
After a quick set change and a couple of crowd chants of “3-11, 3-3-11”, headliners 311 finally made their way to the stage. With so many albums under their belt, they could have a new setlist every night. They opened with “Beautiful Disaster,” hitting heavy on the riffs and hyping up the crowd with one of their older tracks.
They blend rock, reggae, hip-hop, and funk seamlessly. As the headliners, they had the maximum time on stage, allowing them to perform a setlist of over 20 songs. They included popular singles like “Sunset in July”, “Come Original”, “All Mixed Up”, and “Amber.” Their latest single, “You’re Gonna Get It”, was also featured.
The band is known for adding some fun to their set by including a drumline routine for the song “Applied Science,” and tonight was no exception. Drums were brought out so that everyone in the band had their own setup, and they all went for it, coordinating drumstick tosses to each other and more.
The set also included a bass solo from P-Nut, which featured a small cover of “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against The Machine, with vocal assistance provided by the audience. The set, which was about an hour and 40 minutes, went by quickly, and 311 closed out their show with an encore of “Beyond the Gray Sky” and “Down.”
The Unity Tour continues throughout the month! Below are the remaining dates. Be sure to catch the show if it’s coming to a city near you!
See the Full Gallery of the Evening Here!
If you captured any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.
The Unity Tour
Aug 13 – North Charleston, SC
Aug 14 – Atlanta, GA
Aug 15 – Albertville, FL
Aug 17 – St. Augustine, FL
Aug 18 – Tampa, FL
Aug 20 – Houston, TX
Aug 21 – Austin, TX
Aug 22 – Grand Prairie, TX *
Aug 24 – Phoenix, AZ
Aug 25 – San Diego, CA
Aug 27 – Costa Mesa, CA
Aug 29 – Bend, OR
Aug 30 – Troutdale, OR
Aug 31 – Redmond, WA
*No AWOLNATION
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