The room is packed wall to wall: people crowd near the front of the stage and cover the side risers and filter towards the back of the room. They file in from the bar and outside, getting their tickets checked and receiving their wristbands. The show is sold out and the amount of energy that radiates from the crowd emphasizes it. People push through the crowd to try and find a spot in the crowd.

The first band of the night is getting ready to take the stage and the excitement is growing. The room is dark, lights shine on the set stage, ready for the show to begin.

On March 21, pop punk band Magnolia Park brought their headlining Baku’s Revenge Tour to Mahall’s in Lakewood, OH. The tour is in support of their album Baku’s Revenge released in November 2022. Supporting the band on this tour is First And Forever, Poptropicaslutz, and Arrows In Action.

First up for the night is First And Forever. This emo and rock inspired band was a stand out performance of the night. From their original songs, to their “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” by My Chemical Romance cover to their overall stage presence, everything worked together to capture the crowd and get everyone ready for the night ahead. The lead singer Alex Ryan brought the songs to life, climbing parts of the stage to sing for an extra level of performance. Towards the end of the set, he joined the mosh pit to close out a song. This band was the perfect way to start the night. Their harder, rock, emo sound brought the energy up and their set was a go from the start. The theatrics, strong vocals, killer instrumentals and just overall stage presence was perfection. It is a band to watch, and definitely gained fans after their set.

Next up was Poptropicaslutz. This group is a newer one on the scene and takes elements of hip hop, electronic, and pop punk and mixes it all into one. Their set was not over the top, but still brought the energy up in the crowd. They had people jumping around during their sets, arms moving, and overall held the attention of the crowd. They did a good job of using the stage and hitting each part of the crowd. It was a good contrast to the other acts of the night. They had the pop punk and rock elements, but had the electronic and hip hop sound to add an extra level. They are definitely an act to watch.

The last opening act was Arrows In Action. This band has been gaining a following so much of the crowd were familiar and were fans of this group. They are a fun group to watch on stage for sure. They look like they are having a great time and enjoying what they are doing. Mixing that with sounding great as a live band, created a killer opening act. This three piece brings a pop punk sound with a twist, creating a different sound then the other acts. They have played this venue before, and it showed. They sounded great and owned the stage. At one point the lead singer of Magnolia Park, Joshua Roberts, joined the group on stage to sing their new song “The Credits” which features Magnolia Park and the band Loveless. When bands on a tour collaborate on stage, it is always a fan favorite moment.

By the time Arrows In Action took the stage the crowd was excited. You could feel the ground moving when everyone would jump, people were clapping, screaming the lyrics, and just living in the moment. The band was getting the crowd involved, joking around and just enjoying themselves. Ending the set with “Uncomfortably Numb”, the energy was high and everyone was ready for the main act of the night.

Then it was time for the main act of the night: Magnolia Park. From the minute the band took the stage, the crowd was ready for the night of their lives. The pit opened and mosh pits were full blown. Everyone was ready to let loose and enjoy the night. The energy was reciprocated by the band. They were ready to put on a great show, feeding off the energy from the crowd for sure.

One of the best nights of the night was the crowd doing the “O-H-I-O” chant after one of the songs and catching the band off guard for a second. Someone in the crowd started the iconic chant and the crowd was quick to follow. If you are from Ohio, you know the chant. It is almost a law that if someone says “OH,” it must be followed by “IO.” It gives cult vibes, but it is an Ohio tradition.

The band opened with “Feel Something” off Baku’s Revenge. Other songs played off the new album “Addison Rae,” “Misfits,” and “Radio Reject,” among others. Each song flowed perfectly into the next, taking breaks to interact with the crowd and joke around. They knew how to get the crowd moving: encouraging opening up the pit, clapping hands, hands waving in the air, jumping around to feel the ground shaking. It was high energy, no time to rest.

The set also brought out another collaboration between acts on the tour with some nostalgic energy. The band covered the iconic and fan favorite Fall Out Boy songs, “Sugar We’re Goin’ Down,” which was very fitting as their new album was dropping that Friday. Magnolia Park got the song started, people were singing, dancing, moshing and just living in the moment. The lead singer of First and Forever joined the stage and finished off the song with the group. Which made this one of the best moments of the night. Adding on to the already epic moment was when Joshua Roberts climbed up and hovered over the crowd. Just adding another level of connection, fun and energy to the show.

Another favorite moment of the night was when they performed “Don’t Be A Racist.” The crowd was instructed to be up their middle fingers for the song, and people happily obliged. As a song with an important and relevant message, it went hard. Everyone held up their middle fingers high and sang the lyrics loud and proud.

Magnolia Park brought exactly what you would expect and need at a pop punk show and more. It was non stop moving around, anger, jumping around, loud screaming along to songs and just being yourself. This being the band’s first headlining tour, you could feel the happiness and excitement from the group. They owned the stage and left it all on there. From vocals to roaring guitars and pounding drums, everything, worked together to create a night the audience will not forget.

You could feel the love from the audience and how excited they were to see the group on stage. They felt passionate about the songs, and were happy to get to see them brought to life on stage. The fanbase is strong and gave their full support to the band from start to finish.

No breaks at all, just going full speed the whole time: Magnolia Park and the fans.

Baku’s Revenge can be streamed on all major streaming platforms. Information about future Magnolia Park tours and performances can be found on their website.