LIVE REVIEW: August Burns Red at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ 7/16/22
August Burns Red’s Through the Thorns tour recently kicked off with support from We Came as Romans, Hollow Front, and Void of Vision. The five-piece metalcore band stopped in Sayreville, NJ on July 16th at the Starland Ballroom, a small but well loved venue in central New Jersey.
Photos and Review by: Gina Monahan
Lineup: August Burns Red, We Came as Romans, Hollow Front
Date: July 16th, 2022
Location: Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, New Jersey
August Burns Red’s Through the Thorns tour recently kicked off with support from We Came as Romans, Hollow Front and Void of Vision. The five-piece metalcore band stopped in Sayreville, NJ on July 16th at the Starland Ballroom, a small but well loved venue in central New Jersey.
Hollow Front kicked off the night with a 6 song set, opening with the song “Comatose”. I was pleasantly surprised by their light show, as it was very entertaining and matched the band’s fun energy. Hollow Front consists of vocalist Tyler Tate, Dakota Alvarez on guitar and vocals, Lee Albrecht on guitar, Brandon Rummler on bass, and Devon Attard on drums.
We Came as Romans started out strong and continued to deliver through the entirety of their set. They opened with the song “Darkbloom”. They also played other hits such as “Daggers”, “Cold Like War” and “Black Hole”. We Came as Romans consists of Joshua Moore on lead guitar, Dave Stephens on lead vocals, Lou Cotton on rhythm guitar, Andy Glass on bass, and David Puckett on drums.
August Burns Red took the stage around 9pm. They opened with “Chop Suey!”, a System of a Down cover, and then went right into “Vengeance” and “Paramount”. August Burns Red is an absolute joy to photograph. They have such incredible energy on stage and equally impressive lights to back them up.
The Lancaster-native band consists of vocalist Jake Luhrs, guitarists John Benjamin “JB” Brubaker and Brent Rambler, drummer Matt Greiner, and bassist Dustin Davidson. Greiner’s drumming is genuinely some of the best I’ve seen live and Brubaker and Rambler’s guitar riffs on songs like “Paramount” and “White Washed” are pure magic. ABR is a band I’ll always try to catch when they’re in town.
Luhrs had incredible control over the crowd, and at one point he spread his arms and parted the crowd like the red sea (or, rather, the pink and blue sea, as those were the colors of the stage lights!). Crowd surfers were continuously flowing over the audience as those below them moshed and danced.
The band briefly stopped the show halfway through in order for an audience member to safely leave the crowd after suffering an injury. It is always heart-warming to see a band care enough for their fans to make sure they’re safe before continuing the set. Later on Luhrs happily announced that the fan was okay.
ABR left the stage right after the song “Composer” before returning for the encore. Luhrs gave a heartfelt speech before the song “King of Sorrow”. He encouraged us to love and embrace who we are. The band ended with the track “White Washed”, which is always a fan favorite and was the perfect song to end this magnificent set with.
August Burns Red’s Through the Thorns tour will continue through August 27th. You can find additional tickets here and be sure to follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
