A Spotlight on Supporting Acts
We all know first impressions are important, but opening acts don’t often get the appreciation they deserve for warming up the crowd. As plenty of concertgoers are guilty of timing their arrival to miss the opening act, they miss the opportunity to find their new favorite artist. Opening acts are better than any Spotify algorithm because they’re hand-picked for fans of the headlining band.
Choosing a supporting act is an art in itself. The opening band sets the tone for the main show, and since they’re typically up-and-coming artists that aren’t as well-known as the headlining artist, their music often isn’t yet on the audience’s radar. Potential listeners get their first taste of the band live, and the opening act’s performance can make or break whether or not a new legion of fans is anointed. No pressure, right?
For the supporting acts that leave an impression, they’re remembered even after the curtain falls on the headlining artist. In some cases, the opening act might just become your new favorite band.
Here’s a highlight of three stand-out opening acts that earned spots on my listening rotation alongside the headlining acts they supported. Coincidentally, they’re all NYC-based bands even though I saw them in cities hundreds of miles apart. (As a New Yorker myself, my music taste probably has some hidden bias).
Photo by Mark Shaw
Hello Mary
Brooklyn-based alt-rock band Hello Mary opened for Silversun Pickups during their Physical Thrills tour. Since seeing them for the first time at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, I haven’t been able to get over how much I love this band. Their playful grunge filled a hole in my music taste I didn’t know existed. The Hello Mary song that got me hooked was “Special Treat,” which is what their music feels like on my playlists.
The trio of drummer/vocalist Stella Wave, bassist Mikaela Oppenheimer, and vocalist/guitarist Helena Straight broke onto the scene in 2020 with their debut EP Ginger. After signing with Frenchkiss Records, they followed up with their self-titled album Hello Mary in 2023 and recently released their highly-anticipated sophomore album Emita Ox this past September.
What caught my attention first is that Hello Mary is an all-female band, which I’m always eager to support in a male-dominated genre. Secondly, Hello Mary is effortlessly cool. They’re self-assured and confident performers, necessary for their outbursts of concentrated noise, but they still manage to be approachable and relatable. Imagine the modern-day Hex Girls from Scooby-Doo, but without the fangs.
Hello Mary’s thoughtful, imaginative lyrics are weighted down by relentless, in-your-face sound characterized by plenty of distortion and fuzz. Each of the musicians’ individual influences weave together effortlessly into tight-knit rhythms and roaring melodies that flit between melancholy and exaltation.
Find Hello Mary’s music here, and catch Hello Mary live by checking out their upcoming tour dates.
Geese
Hello Mary’s Brooklyn neighbors, Geese, aren’t to be confused with the jam band Goose that hails from Connecticut, which I admittedly did the first time I heard of this band when they opened for Greta Van Fleet’s Starcatcher Tour in Kansas City.
Made of lead singer Cameron Winter, guitarist Emily Green, bassist Dominic DiGesu, and drummer Max Bassin (alongside touring band member Sam Revaz on keyboard), the band was founded while the members were still in the humble halls of high school. After garnering attention for their demos, Geese signed with Partisan Records and dropped their debut album Projector in 2021. Recorded in a basement, Projector is a testament to the band’s creativity and scrappy sound that earned them an 83/100 score on Metacritic.
Geese's 3D Country album cover.
Their 2023-released sophomore album 3D Country explodes from their previous production limitations like a bull out of a rodeo gate. 3D Country locks down a niche, rock-Western hybrid sound. Experimental, progressive rock meets a retro sound. Imagine the love child of King Crimson and the Rolling Stones. Groovy, danceable rhythms, twangy and choppy instrumental interludes, and Winter’s rounded, at times theatrical, crooning come together to create a listen that’s fun, sometimes unsettling, and never less than engaging. If you want a visual representation of the album’s sound, just look at the album cover of a toppled-over cowboy with a mushroom cloud on the horizon.
Listen to Geese here, and check out their tour dates. If you can’t catch them on tour soon, check out their EP of live performances, Alive & In Person, until you can.
Photo via Certain Death
Certain Death
If you like Geese and want something with a harder edge, give Certain Death a listen. My first introduction to Certain Death was at the Brooklyn venue The Broadway when they opened for Ask Carol. With a band name like Certain Death, I was expecting to be hit with a wall of mosh-pit metal. While their sound does have an undercurrent of heavy metal rhythms matched by some morbid lyrics, they’re integrated with the lyrical and melodic sensibilities of 70s rock to create an eclectic, dynamic sound.
Self-described as “a love letter to an era of amp towers, flashy guitars, long hair, and polyester department store suits,” Certain Death began in 2020 with lead singer and guitar player Henry Black. The band has since expanded with drummer CJ Young, guitarist Matt White, and bassist Jared Schapker.
Similar to Geese’s lead singer Cameron Winter, Henry Black’s sly, soaring voice has a hint of nostalgia. The familiarity of the classic rock underpinnings blended with scorching guitar solos and moody lyrics gives Certain Death’s sound the gravitas of an instant classic. Seriously—their songs are incredibly catchy. I dare you to try and sit still while listening to “When She Ain’t Around.” If you were to hear the song in passing, like if it were blasting from the car beside you while at a red light, you’d probably spend the rest of the day obsessively searching through the top tracks of classic rock bands wondering how you didn’t recognize the song.
So far, the band has released four singles—“NHR,” “Paranoid,” “When She Ain’t Around,” and the self-titled “Certain Death”—ahead of their debut album Strange Gardens, out October 17. Check out Certain Death on Spotify here, and find upcoming performance updates on their Instagram.
