Cartel: Chroma 20 Year Anniversary Tour

Cartel has one of the most delightful back stories that a pop punk band formed in the early 2000s could hope to have. Forming in their hometown of Conyers, Georgia in 2003 while the guys were attending college the band built their strong fan base and signed a label early on releasing an EP and soon later they they were caught up in the whirlwind that was MTV and wrote, recorded and released their second studio self-titled album in 20 days while inside a building dubbed ‘the bubble’. (You can watch the episodes on YouTube, it’s highly nostalgic Cartel - Band in a Bubble - Episode 1 - MTV - 2007)  After a well-needed break, the band slowly returned to the scene, starting in 2022 with another pop-punk powerhouse, Dashboard Confessional. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of their first album Chroma, the band is back on tour to play the entire album front to back with a splash of songs from Cycles & Cartel; their support for this tour is Hunny and Macseal. 

Macseal is helping support the first half of the tour, the New York natives got their start around 10 years ago with the release of their self-titled EP. They have some heavy-hitting tours under their belts so far with the likes of Origami Angel and Tigers Jaw, the band takes the stage for their cold open. Lead singer Ryan Bartlett tells the crowd that the show might have been in peril due to a couple of blown tires in some of the bands’ camps, but nonetheless, they were all excited for the show to persist. With a blend of math rock and melodious lyrics, Macseal played the goodies like “Harry,” “Four Legs,” and “Next To You.” 

HUNNY came on stage next and brought a couple of goodies along with them. A small television on stage played what looked to be an 80s anime (I’m still searching for a name, I’ll get back to you with my findings). Hunny hails from California and is the main support for this tour, the band formed from other side projects about 10 years ago and has kept their line up from their formation. Their newest album, Spirit! released in early fall of this year, but they played the span of their decorated discography. Their sound being 80s-inspired makes sense with their stage setup and really set their vibe from the first song. 

The main event took to the stage. Cartel opened with "Let’s Go," "Faster Ride” & "The Fortunate." After they disappeared off stage, they ushered in the Chroma XX set, with the album being played from start to finish. Fans really moved forward with the energy in the room reaching an all-time high. 

Keep up with the artists on their socials linked below!

Macseal: Facebook | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram | X | Website

HUNNY: Facebook | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram | X | Website

Cartel: Facebook | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram | X | Website