The power of live music

A live concert return and summer travel

As I write this dispatch, I’m sipping on a cold Miller High Life in a cool, calm Philadelphia beer bar, reflecting on, believe it or not, an epic, real, live rock concert! It’s dawned on me that I haven’t quite been able to type that phrase since I started this music-menswear-craft beer newsletter last summer, and man, is it ever a nice return to form.

The show in question? A true, proper and loud rock show by Kings of Leon, opened up by none other than fellow veteran rockers Cold War Kids at the BB&T Pavilion in New Jersey. There’s no sensation quite like hearing massive hits like “Use Somebody” (go revisit and listen today!) sung by a packed, masked house (I’ll post some of my own photos on my Instagram soon!). The joy and emotion was absolutely unparalleled. It’s been far too long, and I already can’t wait for a packed September of shows — more on that soon in this newsletter and elsewhere.

It was a fitting capstone to my recent travels, which as of late included about three weeks in Pure Michigan with plenty of family and friends. It’s been both a lovely vacation and a nice way to work while on the road (head to my portfolio to check out the rest of my bylines). I’ll be staying plenty busy this week working on my daily style blog and delivering dispatches for sites like Maxim, so hit Subscribe below before Saturday morning’s full newsletter hits your inbox. In the meantime, I’ve got a beer to enjoy and a train to catch. Cheers to live music and much more to come!