The Idobi Radio Summer School Tour 2024 made a recent stop in Oklahoma City at the historic Diamond Ballroom. For fans who miss The Warped Tour, this was a small taste of what that used to be. This show had an early start time of 5:00 since there were six bands on the bill. This tour aims to foster the next generation of emerging alt-acts in the scene.
Letdown. kicked off this session of summer school with an explosive start, delivering high energy from the very beginning. From amazing harmonies to awesome crowd interactions, Letdown. brought the heat and got the evening started off right. Vocalist Blake Coddington asked the fans why they didn’t warn him about the intense Oklahoma summer heat, admitting he was more accustomed to Chicago’s milder summers.
Honey Revenge took the stage for the second period, maintaining the high energy level. The loosely choreographed movements and interaction between band members captivated the audience. Guitarist Donovan Lloyd played right to the crowd, and they loved every minute of it. A couple of beach balls bounced through the crowd, and when Lloyd tried to kick one back, it got lodged in the rafters. The fans chanted “Free the Ball,” but the ball remained stuck.
The Home Team was the next band to give their lesson for the night. The first “band members” on stage were an Elephant and a huge Mouse (or maybe something similar). Their set was high-energy, as promised. Vocalist Brian Butcher awarded the fans an A+ for the night, and their appreciation was evident as they showered the band with even more love.
Magnolia Park’s lesson plan was packed full of excitement. After a few songs, the band paused their set to let security tend to a fan in distress. Once she gave the thumbs up, the band resumed. Vocalist Joshua Roberts took a crowd poll on who had crowd surfed before and encouraged everyone who hadn’t to give it a try on the next song. Security was busy for a few minutes as fans followed his suggestion. Later, Roberts requested the biggest conga line of the tour so far, and the fans delivered, much to the band’s and audience’s delight.
Scene Queen was next to educate the crowd, making an entrance to “Barbie Girl,” which was fitting. She performed her unique style of music, known as Bimbocore, to an eagerly awaiting crowd that sang along with every song. She performed “Barbie and Ken” with her boyfriend, currently touring with her, and played her risqué songs like “MILF” and “Climax.” She also reminded everyone of the importance of voting in November.
The Australian pop/punk band Stand Atlantic wrapped up this summer school session. The energy remained high as their fans screamed and sang along. Vocalist Bonnie Fraser kept the crowd involved, and when she told them to keep the circle pits going, they eagerly complied.
While this tour only has a handful of dates left, check out the idobi website for a rundown of remaining dates at www.idobi.com.
