Sep 104 min read

HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS "20 Years of Tears Tour" in Pickering, Canada

Photos and review by Zachary Coleman

The 20 Years of Tears Tour at first sounds like a tour of mourning, but this tour is a celebration of the music that got us through those tears throughout the last 20 years of our lives. The idea of the 20 Years of Tears Tour came from Hawthorne Heights when thinking of ways to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their Emo anthem filled debut album “The Silence in Black & White.” The band had done a 10th anniversary tour in smaller intimate venues and then a 15th anniversary co-headline tour with Emery who were also celebrating the 15th anniversary of their album “The Weak’s End.” How could the band celebrate this album for its 20th anniversary and make it unique? Well, it turns out there were a few different ways they planned on doing this. The first was on the Behind the Tears: Acoustic Tour where the band reimagined the debut album in a laid back/chill version for this tour. They released reimagined versions of “Ohio is For Lovers” and “Niki FM” to give people a taste of the vibe to expect from this tour. About a week after this tour was announced, the band announced the dates for Is For Lovers Fest all across the United States containing varying lineups. Then in April, the band started teasing a major tour announcement that turned into announcing the 20 Years of Tears Tour.

"20 Years of Tears Tour" in Pickering, Canada

The 20 Years of Tears Tour announcement turned out to be a major one with varying lineups in each of the over 50 cities it was going to in between Is For Lovers Festival dates. The lineup consists of Hawthorne Heights (performing The Silence of Black & White in full), Thursday (celebrating War All The Time), Saosin (celebrating Self-Titled), Anberlin (celebrating Never Take Friendship Personal), I See Stars, Cartel, Armor For Sleep, Stick to Your Guns, Emery (celebrating The Weak’s End), and This Wild Life (celebrating Clouded). This tour is stacked with legends in the Emo genre that people grew up listening to in their bedrooms whenever they felt alone. The tour made its stop in Pickering, Ontario, Canada on September 8, 2024.

Ontario fans of these bands celebrated because this was the first time in over 10 years a lot of these bands including Anberlin and Cartel had been in the Ontario area. Doors opened at 4:30 at the Pickering Casino Resort Arena with the show starting at 5:30 with This Wild Life. The acoustic duo started the show off with a mellow slow paced set including a stripped back cover of Taking Back Sunday’s emo hit, “Cute Without The E (Cut From The Team).” Emery then picked up the pace celebrating their debut album as well as playing some singles from other releases in their catalog. Even though the next band wasn’t celebrating an album, that was not what made them the oddballs of the lineup. Stick To Your Guns have always had a name in the hardcore punk/metalcore scene and they definitely showed that with their performance.

After having whiplash from the acoustic duo to the hardcore punk band, Emery had an unexpected surprise for the crowd. Emery came out as an acoustic trio since some of their members didn’t make it across the border into Canada. That didn’t stop them from performing their set and the crowd loved their acoustic renditions. The energy was thriving in the room when Cartel came on stage. Cartel reunited in 2022, but had not “reintroduced” themselves to Ontario until now.

Anberlin is another band who had disbanded and then got back together in late 2018. Though the band just released an album entitled “VEGA,” the band had a drastic change they announced in late 2023. Their frontman, Stephen Christian, will no longer be touring with the band. Taking his place would be Matty Mullins of the band Memphis May Fire. Anberlin came on stage like nothing had changed. Matty Mullins brought a vocal performance that didn’t mimic Stephen Christian, but made the songs his. The band performed the two new songs that Matty fronted on VEGA, “Walk Alone” and the bands heaviest song to date, “Seven.” Matty stepping up to fill the large shoes that Stephen left is no easy task, but Matty brought professionalism to the stage and I commend him for it.

The last band of the night was emo legends Hawthorne Heights and they proved themselves to be a very capable headliner with the already stacked lineup. Hawthorne Heights performed the entirety of their album “The Silence in Black & White” and was the only band in the lineup to actually perform a full album. Hawthorne Heights had the entire crowd singing and screaming along with them. The band also performed their new single, “Gold Econoline,” as well as “Saying Sorry” from their second album. They ended their set with the hit single off their debut album as well as the song that named their festival, “Ohio Is For Lovers.” I don’t think there was a better way to close out the night.