Quarters Rock Out at Mahall’s
Lakewood, Ohio - March 19, 2026
On March 19th, just a week after the release of their third album, I HOPE THIS ISN’T THE END OF THE WORLD, Quarters took to the stage at the iconic Lakewood, Ohio venue Mahall’s.
As the clock ticked closer and closer to doors, a line of antsy fans waiting outside grew steadily. The uniform of the night seemed to include similar oversized band tees, dark ripped jeans, stacked silver jewelry, and beaten-up converse. After finally being let inside, an anxiety-ridden, anticipatory buzz floated through the air. The hour in between doors and the first opening act was excruciating.
Kicking off the show with an endless expression of energy, there’s no doubt openers Telescreens and Porchlight walked away with new fans that night. The bands had the crowd invested in their sets at a level I’ve never seen another opener have the power to do before. With such an insane start, you can hardly imagine how the crowd reacted when Quarters finally stepped on stage.
Opening their set with “EZ,” a song off of their new album, Quarters dominated the stage with a calm confidence and for a moment the energy throughout the room morphed into something softer. Realization flashed across many of the crowd’s faces as they slowly became acutely aware of the fact that their favorite band was actually playing right in front of them.
Later into their set, the iconic beginning chords of “Kiwi,” one of their most popular songs, rang out into the air. The song felt like it went on for hours as lead singer Ben Roter stumbled back and forth across the stage singing the beloved chorus: “A kid kiwi / Mm, I guess I’m not / You say you need me / Oh, hell no, uh.” The crowd greedily ate up every second of it.
Although I HOPE THIS ISN’T THE END OF THE WORLD was only released a few days before the show and memorization of the newer lyrics might not have been the strongest for the crowd, that didn’t stop them from giving it their all. Through each and every song, fans screamed, shouted, danced, headbanged, and jumped, throwing themselves in every which way possible with as much of their energy as possible to show their dedication to the music.
“Star” was another standout as fans had plenty of time to learn this single’s lyrics, and they made it known. The bright strobe lights accompanying most of the set emphasized Roter’s passionate performance as pounding drums and heavy bass that had your teeth vibrating made it impossible not to jam out.
Though the night wasn’t over yet, even after the band walked off fans' feet stayed planted in their spot with knees weak from their non-stop jumping, necks sore from their haphazard headbanging, bodies drenched in sweat, and mouths still begging for more. After about a minute of the crowd chanting “one more song,” Roter and Harris walked back onto the stage and surprised fans with a change to the setlist that was taped to the floor by their feet.
For the second time on this tour, they sang a stripped back rendition of their song “Blue Copper.” It was the loudest the crowd got that night. The crowd was so loud, in fact, that you couldn’t even begin to hear Roter singing over the chorus of fans’ voices shouting the lyrics right back at him with ear-splitting smiles plastered across their faces. It was also the most he’d ever smiled that night.
After “Blue Copper,” the rest of the band came back out and finished their encore with another familiar favorite, “T Love.” By that point, although everyone was beyond exhausted, both the crowd and the band used every last bit of their energy to finish the show at the highest point possible.
While direct interactions with the crowd, beyond music-related performance gestures, were few and far between, their quietness felt natural to them. They didn’t need to shout at the crowd; they just needed to connect. Their music spoke for them.
Be sure to grab tickets to see Quarters on their 2026 North American tour, you won’t want to miss it. Listen to I HOPE THIS ISN’T THE END OF THE WORLD below.
