by: Nicole Juliette Hetlyn

Music has a special way of bringing people together. People can connect to the lyrics, feel things they never felt before, and let go and have fun. Live music in places like Nashville can also prove that music has a way of creating a community. Saturday night, Nashville got together at everyone’s favorite Chinese restaurant, Lucky Bamboo, for a great night of music with what I consider “friends.” The show started out with funky-fresh natives, Skyway Man. Their smooth vibe and catchy riffs helped to get everyone’s energy rising. Definitely a great band!

Next up, HalfNoise. Zac had warned us that we were in for a night of special treats and surprises, and he kept his word. This show was celebrating the Velvet Face EP release (March 24th, Congrats Records). Three songs in, Zac welcomed his friend/bandmate, Hayley WIlliams to the stage. They did a flawless cover of Radiohead’s “House of Cards.” Zac and Hayley have been performing together in Paramore for 12 years now, and their chemistry and friendship truly shined through this beautiful performance.

As genuine and humble as he is, Zac wanted to welcome his friends on stage to help celebrate the EP release with him. Hayley Williams (Paramore), Taylor York (Paramore), Benjamin Kaufman on violin, as well as a few other friends who worked on Velvet Face (including their producer and a drummer who flew in all the way from the UK) all joined HalfNoise on stage. It was so awesome to see about a dozen people on stage celebrating this release and supporting HalfNoise. This was the craziest concert I went to, but in the best way possible. Everyone was so genuinely happy, having the time of their lives on stage jamming with their friends.

HalfNoise played their full Velvet Face EP, as well as some of our other favorites. “Scooby’s in the Back” was so damn good that they played it during their set, and a second time in the encore (and I promise we all danced even crazier the second time around!). “French Class” was another favorite of mine that they performed. Tony, the star of the French Class video, was at the show, and he joined HalfNoise on stage to jam with them on some maracas and drums. One of their friends also joined the stage - beret and all, smoking an e-cig, looking classy and French to a t - to read the ending monologue from a mini-book. HalfNoise also played their new single, “As U Wave,” which features Hayley on vocals. Another solid performance that gave us goosebumps.

I don’t have enough words to explain how incredible this show was. HalfNoise is extremely talented; their music has such a cool vibe and is guaranteed to make you dance. Seeing so many friends on stage together singing, playing instruments, and dancing, made me genuinely happy. I also made new friends at this show (hey, Hans!) because that’s the type of community that HalfNoise and their friends created. An album release on a Saturday night in a Chinese restaurant where everyone was able to have an amazing time with all of their friends, old and new… who would’ve known that that’s how I would be describing the best show I went to?!