Candles, Angels, and Craig Owens, Chiodos And Friends Hit The Espee
There’s something so painful about missing a show you’ve been looking forward to for years. The last time Chiodos came anywhere close to me out here in Texas, I had a work meeting that I just couldn’t get out of… so I watched the whole thing happen from the livestream of a stranger I happened upon on TikTok. I swore to myself that it wouldn't happen again, that I’d be front row barricade at the next Chiodos show that even came remotely close to me. So when the opportunity came through to shoot their set at The Espee on October 14th, put on by Twin Productions — I didn’t think twice.
The Venue: A Pretty Neat Space With a Few Caveats
The Espee is a self described boutique amphitheater built on the site of San Antonio’s first train station, the old Southern Pacific depot in historic St. Paul Square otherwise lovingly called the Sunset Station, and it’s got a fun character all its own. The grounds are split pretty evenly between a large outdoor GA area and a front “club” space that puts you right up against the stage. VIP seats line the sides of the space, but honestly? If I were coming here as a patron, I’d go straight for that front section. When I was shooting from the GA area situated in the back, the distance made it genuinely tough to see everything happening on stage. Get there early, get up front, and thank yourself later.
Evergreen Terrace: A Myspace Blast From the Past, Bloody Nose Included.
Evergreen Terrace kicked off the night and immediately reminded the room that they didn’t come to mess around. The Jacksonville five-piece consisting of vocalist Andrew Carey, guitarists Craig Chaney and Alex Varian, bassist Jason Southwell, and drummer Brad Moxey (who rejoined the band back in March) have been at this since roughly 1999, and their melodic metalcore and hardcore blend still hits with the same raw power it always has. PS: if the name sounds familiar it’s because it’s the street the Simpsons live on… just figured I’d save anyone the time, because it was literally bugging the hell out of me the entire night.
Their music calls you back to the era of coding your Myspace page in the dead of night, hiding your music player from the front page because you were obviously far too cool for that. I distinctly recally hearing “New Friend Request” off the page of a popular scene queen & desperately digging around her source code just to find Evergreen Terrance. Snapping out of that memory, it was a joy to watch the crowd begin to lose themselves to Drew’s screams & let the music take over.
The pit, though, that was a different story. Three crowd killers tore through the pit during the set trying to knock people out, and it got a little rough. One girl standing outside the pit got knocked over and walked away with a bloody nose, and at one point someone tried to knock a camera outta the hands of another photographer. Crowd killing is a thing, I get it, but it felt out of place for this particular crowd and this venue. That aside, Evergreen Terrace delivered and the crowd that was there for the music got exactly what they came for… minus the bloody noses.
Check out Evergreen Terrace Spotify Here
Emery Delivered Everything I’d Been Imagining Since the iPod Days
Hearing “The Ponytail Parades” live and up close from the photo pit is the kind of thing that hits you somewhere you weren’t expecting. I remember stealing some unnamed CD from a cousin of mine back in the day and transferring “Track 09” to my cracked iPod Nano, becoming instantly obsessed with that song in the way only a moody teenager going through one of her first break ups could.
Emery consists of vocalists Toby Morrell and Devin Shelton, lead guitarist Matt Carter, keyboardist Josh Head, drummer Dave Powell, and rhythm guitarist Chris Keene. They have been at it since 2001 and their screams are just as goddamn beautiful live as they are on record. Clean, crisp, and coursing with raw power, exactly what you want from a band whose catalog has held up for over two solid decades. They released the “Stimulated” single earlier in 2026, and I’m lucky enough to catch them again later this year (with Underoath), which after this set’s beauty I cannot wait for.
What stuck with me just as much as the music was catching them in the merch area after their set, despite having to dash right after the show. Signing items, chatting with fans, genuinely taking the time, it’s the kind of thing you notice and appreciate, especially from a band that didn’t have to do any of it. They truly love their fans and genuinely try to spend as much time as they can saying hi to everyone.
Check Out Emery’s Spotify Here
And Then Hail the Sun Happened
I need to talk about something that happened throughout the night because it genuinely moved me, weirdly, because I don’t feel like I often run into this kind of thing when chatting up the crowds.
Almost everyone I talked to at this show had a Hail the Sun story. Not a vague “yeah I like them”. A real, specific, personal memory involving Donovan Melero and this band. The kind of story you tell with a smile already on your face before you even get to the good part. Don mentioned wanting to move to San Antonio one day during his set, and honestly, the way this city feels about him, they’d throw a goddamn parade complete with the Spurs out front.
Hail the Sun consists of Donovan on vocals and drums, guitarists Shane Gann and Aric Garcia, bassist John Stirrat, and drummer Allen Casillas, put on the kind of set that made me REAL glad I had bumped up my shutter speed. Heads up, if you’re ever shooting this show: Don throws the mic stand. He spins around A LOT. He goes shirtless mindset and screams directly at you and somehow you feel grateful for it, maybe even needing a cigarette after. All the energy that had been building across the night found its peak here, and the crowd gave every single bit of it right back at the Suns.
If you have never caught a Hail the Sun show - go. At least once. You will thank yourself for it. Their Audiotree Live session dropped in April 2026 and the September single “I Can Tell By The Scars” featuring Shyeye is worth every listen to hold you over until the next time they come through.
Check out Hail The Sun
https://open.spotify.com/album/2rOSzn1L8yYr0YuVdMezto?si=7zWq3hBRSsyDXqYirz8LHQ
Chiodos: The One I’d Been Waiting For
Candles and angel figures lined the stage, lit and casting this quiet, eerie glow across the whole setup. Warm oranges and baby blues alternated through the stage lights throughout the set, giving the whole thing a visual weight that matched the music perfectly. Craig Owens, Bradley Bell, Pat McManaman, Matt Goddard, and Derrick Frost have been on an extraordinary run in 2026. The “All’s Well That Ends Well” 20th anniversary cycle has taken them to Louder than Life, Sonic Temple, Warped Tour Montreal and Mexico City, and Aftershock. The momentum was alive and present in that room. Tonight’s stop of the “It’s Not You It’s Me” tour was a memorable one for me, and as I gazed out on the crowd, it was a core memory for us all.
People in the GA section were shaking that barricade, screaming every word back at Craig’s voice. In the far back I watched people dancing together to “There’s No Penguins in Alaska” one of those small moments that tells you everything about what a band means to them. Before the show I had talked to people who told me Chiodos was their entry point into hardcore music, myself included. That this band shaped how they heard everything that came after. That they changed their lives musically in a way they still feel today. Craig and crew brought all of that full circle on October 14th, and San Antonio screamed their throats raw as the swell of the music crashed over them all at the Espee.
I genuinely did not expect the show to be done by about 10pm, usually these nights run until midnight and you shuffle out half-delirious. It felt unreal when the last bow went out and Craig exited the stage. I watched as the crowd dispersed slowly, hoping for an encore as they exchanged numbers and showed off their new merch hauls.
The last time they came close to San Antonio I couldn’t be there. This time I was. Worth every minute of the wait and then some. Also, man, shoutout whoever orders the Chiodos merch, those shorts and hoodies were some of the softest, most comfortable things I have ever touched in a merch stand.
Check out the tour’s Spotifty Setlist Here
Final Thoughts, My Dudes
Four bands, one historic outdoor venue, and a Tuesday night in San Antonio that punched well above its weight. Evergreen Terrace called us all back to our Myspace era with the same raw energy as ever, Emery reminded us why “The Ponytail Parades” still hits twenty years later, Hail the Sun delivered shirtless insanity in a city that clearly considers them hometown heroes, and Chiodos closed it out in a way that made the years of missed opportunities feel completely worth it.
Twin Productions put together something real on October 14th. If you were there, you already know. If you weren’t, the next time any of these bands come through your city, clear your calendar. No work meetings. No excuses.