Little Rock Arkansas, 04/12/2025
This past Friday we ventured to Little Rock, Arkansas to catch Pop Evil on their tour promoting their new album “What Remains”.
First up for the night was metalcore band Oni. I gotta say that I’ve been pretty excited for this band to come close enough to us to see. I discovered them when one of my favorite YouTubers, Jared Dines, joined the band. I’ve always been a massive fan of metalcore, and this band doesn’t disappoint through your earbuds or live. Jake Oni switching from screams to clean vocals, Jared almost doing the splits to rip some djenty 8 string riffage, and drummer Dylan Roy literally punching his drums during songs, creating high energy in the crowd. I’m extremely excited to see what the future holds for this band.
Up next, we had Return To Dust. I must admit that I didn’t know much about this band going into the show, but I’m a fan now. Their sound is very 90’s AIC grunge meets almost southern rock. It was a perfect pairing with all the metal and drop tuning the night had. They even looked the part of a 90’s grunge band by being shirtless, wearing baggy denim jeans, the long hair and tattoos aesthetic. Check out their song “Belly Up” and you’ll see exactly what I mean.
Devour The Day hit the stage next. This was one of the most energetic sets I’ve seen in quite a while. Vocalist Blake Allison didn’t leave an inch of the stage to go to waste. Ripping through some of their classic songs like “Good Man” and “Respect”, they kept the energy very high song after song. Hailing from the Memphis/Little Rock area, I had always heard of Devour The Day but somehow never got around to seeing them live. After finally seeing them play Friday night, I will definitely see them whenever they come close.
Finally, Pop Evil. Friday night was personally my 3rd time seeing them live. I don’t know how, but somehow, every time, they get better and better. From the high energy to flawless sound to the production, they put on a hell of a show every single time. Opening up their set with “Eye Of The Storm” they kicked it off with a banger of a song. Leigh Kakaty’s smooth voice belting ballads over two drop-tuned guitars is just something you have to experience. Having been a band since 2001, they have a pretty long discography which they covered expertly, and still somehow fit in some of their newest songs off their newest album “What Remains” .
They have a lot of tour stops left, so grab tickets today and catch Pop Evil on the date nearest you!
MID SOUTH 