In 2018, there were 365 days of music in our neighborhood—that is one show every night.
This amazing statistic has inspired a new monthly column: Sounds of Southwest. Each month, “The Southwester” will explore a new venue, band and genre. We will explore the unique fabric that is our Southwest neighborhood, and we will do it through sound. We would love your help too! Email us at editor@thesouthwester.com if you have an idea for a column feature, or if you want to write the next column. We all see and hear this neighborhood differently, and that makes this neighborhood home.
For our first Sounds of Southwest column, we ventured to Union Stage, which features a tap room upstairs and a state-of-the-art music venue downstairs. The weekend of Feb. 15 and 16, Union Stage was host to a band with a one-word name: Thursday. Kicking off their American tour at Union Stage, Thursday is best described as a post-hardcore band formed in New Brunswick, NJ in 1997. The band played back-to-back sold out shows (Union Stage has a standing capacity of 450), playing a different album each night.
Some readers may remember Thursday from their Warped Tour appearances in the early 2000s, but over 15 years later, the band hasn’t missed a beat. Performing with an energy and sound that made the intimate venue seem larger than it was, Thursday was able to take fans back to the summers of their youth.
It wasn’t just the music that captivated the crowd. Before the show, lead singer Geoff Rickly greeted fans both inside and outside the venue. The fans had the opportunity to ask questions and share how the music of Thursday played a role in their lives, while creating new memories.
Memories created by music are a part of the evolution of Southwest as a neighborhood. With so many different music venues, genres and stories, “The Southwester” is excited to continue to explore Southwest through sound in the editions to come.
By Katelynd Anderson